The Tower Bridge, The Tower Bridge, is a vertical lift bridge across the Sacramento River, linking West Sacramento in Yolo County to the west, with the capital of California, Sacramento, in Sacramento County to the east.
The Tower Bridge, The Tower Bridge, is a vertical lift bridge across the Sacramento River, linking West Sacramento in Yolo County to the west, with the capital of California, Sacramento, in Sacramento County to the east.
The bridge's style represents a rare use of Streamline Moderne architectural styling in a lift bridge, making it an expression of the social and architectural climate of the period of construction. On December 15, 1935, then-governor Frank Merriam dedicated the bridge. The Tower Bridge was the first vertical lift bridge in the California Highway System. For years, the bridge was painted silver, but people complained about glare off the bridge. In June 1976 it was painted a yellow-ochre color, to be representative of the gold leafed cupola on the nearby State Capitol. In 2001, as the old paint job could hardly be distinguished, residents who lived within 35 miles (56 km) of the capital voted on a new color scheme. Their choices were burgundy, green, silver and gold; or all gold. The winning color was all gold, and it was repainted in 2002. Original image from Carol M. Highsmith’s America. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.