Monterey history photo collection

California Views:
The Pat Hathaway Photo Collection

Mr. Pat Hathaway, Photo Archivist

US
CA
In this photo you can see the two ribbed open spandrel fixed parabolic arches.
The arches at their crown are almost 9 feet thick and are 5 feet wide. They started pouring concrete for the arches on August 24 and completed pouring on
October 3, 1932.
C.H. Purcell was state highway engineer and F.W. Panhorst was acting bridge engineer for the California division of highways and E.C. Panton was General Superintendent.
This view by an unknown photographer is from the site of the Bixby Inn, Rainbow Lodge and later known as the Crocodile's Tail Restaurant it was pushed over the cliff in 1953.
Bixby Bridge is one the most-photographed man made structures on the West Coast. It is 13.3 miles South of Carmel on California's Highway One. At its completion, it was one of the largest single-arch concrete bridges in the world. Bixby Creek Bridge is 714 feet long, has a main span of 320 feet long and over 280 feet high and the roadway is 24 feet wide. The temporary wooden 10x10 timber falsework structure used to support the bridge during construction was made of ten by ten inch timber's arch and was over 240 feet high. More than 6,6000 cubic yards of concrete and 600,000 pounds of reinforcing steel were used.
We have photos of California Highway One, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway from the 1920's to today.
The contract for the bridge was awarded to the Ward Engineering Co. for $202,334.00 on September 13, 1931.
The bridge was completed on November 15 and dedicated on November 27, 1932.
Howard G. Sharpe and his wife Frida ran Rainbow Lodge in Bixby Canyon on the old coast road in Mill Creek now Bixby Creek.
It was from Bixby Inn on the new highway AKA Roosevelt Highway next to the Bixby Bridge that Howard G. Sharpe rediscovered the California Sea Otters in March of 1938.
On July 1, 1964, it was renamed as State Route 1
In September of 1966 Lady Bird Johnson dedicated it as California First Scenic Highway, a dedication was help with a plaque placed on a large granite boulder near the North end of Bixby Bridge, Big Sur.
More photos of the Big Sur Coast, Point Sur and Notley's Landing just South of Rocky Point.

Bixby Creek Bridge, Big Sur Coast
on Highway One, Calif.

Bixby Creek Bridge, Big Sur Copyright©2019 California Views
We have over 350 Bixby Creek and Big Sur photos in the photo collection. And most of the bridges on the Monterey County part of Highway One from Big Creek Bridge on the South Coast
Photo Accession CV # 74-024-0003
5x7 copy negative
September 1932
The bridge originally opend on ‎November 27, 1932


Holdings:
Bixby Creek and the Big Sur area over 2,400 Photos

Holdings:
We have over 5,000 of Monterey and
28,000 photos of Monterey County listed in our database.
Please click to see over 200 Searchable California Photo galleries with over 2,400 Photos
Prints are available from 11x14" to 40x60"
All images are also available for editorial downloads and one-time editorial use.
Please keep checking back as we will be adding more galleries
This page was first created on May 11, 1996
This page was last updated on October 1, 2019
Copyright©2019 California Views Historical Photo Collection.
To obtain permission to use any photographs please contact Mr. Pat Hathaway.
Dedicated to the preservation of our photographic heritage
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Go to Big Sur Post Office and Pfeiffer's Resort, 1935
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Please send your comments and questions to
Mr. Pat Hathaway
California Views Photo Archives
Phone (831) 373-3811
Monterey, California
By Appointment Only
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