Span (Coronado Bridge) holds special attraction for some

For most of the 85,000 people who drive it each day, the San Diego-Coronado Bridge is a way to cross the bay. But for others, including the original architect and a daily commuter, the bridge is a treasured part of their lives. Here are a few of their stories. The architect When California leaders interviewed architect Robert Mosher in hopes of hiring him to design the San Diego-Coronado Bridge in the 1960s, he told them, “I don’t believe it should be built.” Mosher explained that he had lived in Manhattan when the bridge to Staten Island was completed, to the detriment of the island. He didn’t want the same thing to happen to Coronado. Knowing the bridge would be built with or without him, Mosher said he wanted it to be “as good as we can make it.” So he was hired. It took Mosher about a year to design the bridge. He decided to use orthotropic steel, a thin, tubelike design for efficiency and grace. He modeled the arched pylons after the Balboa Park bridge. But what gives the bridge its unique look – the curve – was unavoidable, Mosher said. Given the state requirements for the bridge, including the desired speed limit and endpoints, the span needed to be a bit more than two miles long, which was impossible with a straight path. “So, we took a piece of string,” Mosher said, smiling. “This is the best part – we pinned (the string) down on Highway 5 and at Coronado on the scale chart, and we used our fingers to smooth it out. And that determined the curve.” After a year of work, Mosher learned that he would have to ditch his design for a less-attractive one because there wasn’t enough money. Mosher refused to continue with the project and threatened to go public with the dispute. Two weeks later, he received a call: The state Transportation Department had found ways to reduce costs, and the original plan was set back in motion. “I saved the bridge, literally,” Mosher said. Mosher fought for other elements of the bridge as well. Instead of the red paint developers wanted, Mosher insisted that the bridge be blue, although that shade faded quickly. He also made sure the side railings, only 34 inches tall, were short enough for drivers to see the bay below. Mosher, 88, who lives in La Jolla and retired from his architecture firm in 1998, still works on projects. He plans to finish his design career by remodeling his first project, The Green Dragon Colony, a La Jolla complex that includes his office. The muralist Although artist Salvador Roberto Torres was forced to leave his Barrio Logan home so the bridge could be built, the concrete pylons later became a sanctuary. Determined to keep the Chicano culture alive alongside the dry-packed dirt and graffiti-plastered concrete under the bridge, Torres proclaimed that he would direct and paint murals on the pylons. Torres’ vision started after protests in 1970 to persuade city leaders to use the space for Chicano Park rather than a California Highway Patrol station. But more than 30 years later, Torres’ dreams haven’t yet become a reality. Although several murals depicting “regional art, social realism and cultural iconography” adorn the concrete pylons, Torres says he wants to see the art stretch to the waterfront and across the bay. He would like a tram, complete with a tour guide, to operate underneath the bridge and a monorail to run above. He wants the transportation to be powered by solar, wind and wave energy. Torres, who has helped direct the painting of eight bridge columns, teaches his concept to his classes at San Diego State University. Read the entire Union Tribune article here.