Best of 2001: Best Bridge

Spruce Street Suspension Bridge
Between Brant and Frost Streets, Banker's Hill

Built in 1912, this pedestrian bridge is suspended 70 feet above what Banker's Hill locals call Arroyo Canyon. It was designed by former San Diego Mayor Edwin Capps, who was also the architect for the Broadway Pier. It was intended to help walkers have access to the streetcar up Fourth Avenue. Today the connection is far different. On any given day you can find people having picnics on the planks while others sway around them. Marriage has been proposed and free-flowing poetry has been created on the hanging bridge. A throwback to a more romantic time, the bridge generates feelings that flow up from the verdant canyon below, along with the scent of eucalyptus trees. Neighboring residents love the bridge so much that one man has taken it upon himself to paint over the occasional graffiti, even after he moved away.