The iconic metallic arches of the Sixth Street Bridge are finally gone.
The last two arches on the West end of the bridge came down Thursday and Friday. The steel structures were taken down with a crane operated by crews working overnight. By Saturday morning, only the end curve of one of the arches remained attached to one of the bridge’s cement columns.
The Sixth Street Viaduct –the official name– is being demolished to make way for a new structure to be completed by 2018. The demolition project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016. City officials say one of the double arch structures of the bridge will be preserved and displayed in a park to be built under the bridge, expected to open in 2019.
This month, the city gave away pieces of the already demolished cement structures to residents and visitors who wanted a memento from the bridge.
Boyle Heights resident and historian Shmuel Gonzales posted a photograph of crews bringing down the arch facing South on his Twitter account.
The demolition of the last remaining arches of the classic #SixthStreetBridge. #BoyleHeights #DTLA pic.twitter.com/xvRPPQqlvB
— Shmuel Gonzales (@HardcoreMesorah) August 26, 2016
Gonzales, who has been documenting the demolition process, photographed and recorded the process Thursday night from the 7th Street Bridge, just South of the Sixth Street Bridge. He posted this video on his Twitter account:
Another arch removed from the #SixthStreetBridge tonight. #BoyleHeights #DTLA #LAHistory pic.twitter.com/czBn4fmTCK
— Shmuel Gonzales (@HardcoreMesorah) August 26, 2016
Like many longtime residents of the Eastside, Gonzales has taken to social media to express a sense of loss over the historic viaduct. In this video, showing the bridge after the Eastside arches were taken down, Gonzales reflects on the role the bridge played on his childhood and youth.
Last October, Boyle Heights Beat published a story about Gonzales, who is also an activist, community organizer and Jewish spiritual leader for the Eastside.
