Monterey history photo collection

California Views:
The Pat Hathaway Photo Collection

Mr. Pat Hathaway, Photo Archivist

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
September 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 latet known as the Crodile's Tail Resturant. 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 bridge 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 falsework struture used to support the bridge during construction was made of ten by ten arches timbers and was 240 feet high.
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 August 13, 1931.
The bridge completed on October 15 and dedicated on November 27, 1932.
It was from this site that Howard G. Sharpe of the Bixby Inn rediscovered the California Sea Otters in March of 1938.

Bixby Creek Bridge
on Highway One, Calif.

Bixby Creek Bridge Circa 1932, Copyright© 1998 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 74-024-0003
5x7 copy negative
October 1932

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This page was last updated on July 1, 2008
Copyright©1996-2008 California Views historical photo collection.
To obtain permission to use any photographs please contact Mr. Pat Hathaway.
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Mr. Pat Hathaway, Photo Archivist
California Views Photo Archives
469 Pacific Street
Monterey, California 93940-2702

Phone (831) 373-3811
Hours 11 A.M. - 5:30 P.M. Pacific time
Closed Sunday & Monday
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