Follow this tag to curate your own personalized Activity Stream and email alerts.
A large swath of the 6th Street Bridge, known as the “Ribbon of Light” because of its illuminated arches of color across the Los Angeles River, has gone dark.
Copper wire thieves are to blame, city officials said, and it’s unclear when the lights for the Instagram-popular bridge will be fixed.
— LA Times
Other notable incidents include a deadly fall and several social media-driven impromptu street takeovers that caused damages to its road surface just weeks after the Michael Maltzan design opened in July of 2022. The damage extends over a third of the bridge. Councilmember Kevin de... View full entry
Just over one year after the Sixth Street Viaduct replacement made its debut, Los Angeles city officials have commenced work on 12 acres of new park spaces at the foot of the $588-million bridge. — Urbanize Los Angeles
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on August 5th for the $82 million project, also known as the Sixth Street Park, Arts, and River Connectivity project (PARC). Landscape architecture firm Hargreaves Jones led the design. Previously on Archinect: Take a look at new Iwan Baan photos of LA's... View full entry
Last Friday, Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León proposed an ordinance prohibiting street takeovers, drag racing, vandalism, and climbing the arches, among others, of the recently-opened Sixth Street Viaduct. In the three weeks, since the $588 million Michael Maltzan-designed... View full entry
For the third consecutive night, the Los Angeles Police Department said on Twitter that it was forced to shut down the 6th Street Viaduct, saying it was due to “questionable activity.” [...]
The 3,500-foot bridge that connects Boyle Heights to downtown Los Angeles has been open to traffic for just two weeks, but it’s quickly become a popular spot for street takeovers, illegal racing, dangerous stunts and vandalism.
— LA Times
The 'party people' took over Michael Maltzan’s brand new bridge redesign within hours of its July 9th opening. Some reports indicated that at least 250 people gathered last weekend for a second night of what the LAPD called "illegal activity," which resulted in arrests and the attempted bombing... View full entry
Concluding a multi-year construction effort that began with the demolition of the original 1930s Sixth Street Bridge in 2016 and saw the new structure begin to rise one year later, the City of Los Angeles is set to celebrate the opening of the largest bridge project in its history with a slew of... View full entry
Your eyes do not deceive you: after six years, construction is set to come to a close next month for the new Sixth Street Viaduct. The $588-million structure, which spans 3,500 feet across the L.A. River between Boyle Heights and the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles, will open to the public in a two-day celebration on Saturday, July 9 and Sunday, July 10, 14th District Councilmember Kevin de Leon announced this week. — Urbanize Los Angeles
The largest bridge project in the history of Los Angeles is finally here. Designed by a team including architect Michael Maltzan and HNTB, the Sixth Street Viaduct Replacement Project sees the creation of a new bridge, dubbed “The Ribbon of Light”, to replace the original 1932 structure. The... View full entry
Maltzan has taken the twin arcs and multiplied them fivefold across the 3,500ft length, hopping over railway tracks and roads as the viaduct makes its way eastwards. The result is almost surreal: seen from either end, it looks like the traces of two bouncing balls, ping-ponging their way across the valley, the arches rising to different heights according to what they are jumping over. — The Guardian
The Guardian critic took a tour of Downtown LA's soon-to-be-completed new Sixth Street Viaduct with architect Michael Maltzan, who said the $588 million project’s “real challenge” was to “come up with something as iconic as the original.” Maltzan said the preservation of the... View full entry
Once it opens, construction will start on public playing fields, gathering areas, green spaces and a dog park at the foot of the bridge on the Boyle Heights side, and a performance stage and green spaces on the Arts District side. And cyclists can gear up for the fall unveiling of a 10-foot-wide bicycle lane going both directions on the bridge, which they can access from the bike lane at the river via a steep spiraling ramp. It is a ride that will take some energy. — KCRW Los Angeles
LA architect Michael Maltzan spoke about his desire for the reborn cinematic landmark to be received as a public space that is suis generis within the available Downtown and Boyle Heights vistas, which are mostly blocked by hilly areas and typified by a lack of public space. “The bridge is... View full entry
A major milestone has taken place in the Michael Maltzan Architecture-led effort to replace Los Angeles’ iconic 6th Street Viaduct. Construction Drive is reporting that the falsework has been removed and the first of ten spans successfully installed on the $588 million project that will... View full entry
The Michael Maltzan Architecture-designed Sixth Street Viaduct is slowly taking shape in Los Angeles as new photos by LA Times photojournalist Allen J. Schaben show. The $588 million bridge project, the biggest in the city's history, emerged as the winning entry in the 2012 design competition for... View full entry
The 6th Street Bridge team of 170 includes 15 women — the most on any commercial project in Los Angeles and nearly double the Department of Labor’s participation goal of 6.9% female crew members. — The Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times reports on the relatively high proportion of women construction workers helping to build the Michael Maltzan Architecture-designed 6th Street Bridge in Los Angeles. The bridge is being constructed via a joint venture between Skanska and Stacy and Witbeck. Skanska... View full entry
The Michael Maltzan Architecture (MMA)-designed Sixth Street Viaduct project in Los Angeles, a new $488 million span considered the largest bridge project in the city's history, is taking longer to complete than originally expected. Although the bridge has been under construction for over... View full entry
Earlier this year, the Sixth Street Bridge, which spans the Los Angeles River and connects the Arts District to Boyle Heights, was demolished due to a structural issue known as “concrete rot”. Built in 1932, the bridge held an iconic status in the collective imagination of the city... View full entry
Missing L.A.’s iconic, historic 6th Street Bridge? Never fear – soon you may be able to keep a piece of it for yourself.
At “Rock Day L.A.,” an Aug. 13 event [...], officials will be handing out around 1,000 pieces of the demolished bridge for anyone to take home [...]
Demolition crews have been steadily dismantling the bridge since February, after an alkali silica reaction in the concrete, known as “concrete cancer,” forced the city to move forward with a plan to replace it.
— scpr.org
Previously in the Archinect news: LA mayor Eric Garcetti slow-jams 101 freeway closure announcementTake a look at "6," an experimental documentary that memorializes the recently-demolished Sixth Street Viaduct in LAA final hurrah for L.A.'s Sixth Street ViaductHNTB, Maltzan, AC Martin win 6th... View full entry
These days, it’s hard to think clearly about the Los Angeles River. Once the lifeline of the city and, before that, the Tongva people, the river was paved in the early 20th century following a series of devastating floods and then – at least according to a well-worn narrative – forgotten by... View full entry