This image of the Tower Bridge crossing the Sacramento River in Sacramento was taken at twilight. Completed in 1935, it was the first vertical lift bridge in the California Highway System. It is 52 feet wide, 737 feet long and 160 feet tall with four lanes for cars and one large center lane for trains, although today the bridge is only used for pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
For years the bridge was painted silver but people complained about the resulting reflective glare. My then mother-in-law, Mildred Hewitt, gathered signatures in a city-wide campaign to have the bridge repainted gold to match the dome on the State capital and, in June 1976, it was painted a shade of gold, although not exactly the one intended. In 2001, as the old paint job could hardly be distinguished, the residents of Sacramento who lived within 35 miles of the capital voted on a new color scheme for the historic bridge. The choices were burgundy, green, silver and gold, or all gold. The winning color was the historic scheme of all gold. It was repainted in 2002, and this coat is expected to last 30 years.