Broadway Bridge

Play the L.A. River is a come-one-come-all project by the arts collective Project 51 -- a collective of L.A. River-loving artists, designers, planners, writers, educators -- that invites Angelenos to explore, enjoy, reclaim, and reimagine the mighty L.A. River as a grand civic space that can green and connect our communities.

CARD: 3 of Downtown

SITE: North Broadway at Meadow Road, Lincoln Heights, 90012

Can you find a better view of Chinatown and the future water wheel? One of the river's 14 historic bridges, aka L.A. Historic-Cultural Monument #907.

Completed in 1911, the North Broadway Bridge was originally named the Buena Vista Viaduct. Designed by Homer Hamlin and Alfred P. Rosenheim, the bridge was the longest and widest concrete arch bridge in California at the time, as well as the first major Beaux-Arts style bridge in Los Angeles. Later, in 1927, the adjacent North Spring Street Viaduct was built to relieve the heavy traffic along the North Broadway Bridge.

From this entryway into Lincoln Heights, you can take in the view of the Los Angeles State Historic Park with the downtown skyline in the background, while soaking in the history of its adjacent lands. You can walk over to the eastern edge of Elysian Park, where Spanish soldier Gaspar de Portola camped during his journey up north to found Monterey. If the time is right, you may be able to catch a movie underneath the bridge, ride across the bridge on a foodie bike tour as part of the Get Some Dim Sum ride, or explore the remains of L.A.'s Little Italy. 

Photos: Justin Cram/KCET Departures

How do you play the L.A. River at the Broadway Bridge? Tell us here.