URBAN HIKE: SPRUCE STREET SUSPENSION IS ONE OF A KIND CROSSING
By Priscilla Lister

Beware gusts of wind or groups of teenagers.

Otherwise, the Spruce Street Suspension Bridge, the only one of its kind in San Diego, offers a splendid birds-eye view into Kate Sessions Canyon 70 feet below.

Dedicated in 1912, the Spruce Street Suspension Bridge is supported by cables embedded in massive concrete slabs beneath the soil. The 375-foot-long bridge literally suspends over the canyon, and a sharp wind gust — or teenagers — can make it swing slightly. Some people find it scary, so be forewarned.

It was designed by Edwin Capps, city engineer for the City of San Diego from 1893-1899 then again from 1909-1915, who also served as mayor from 1899-1901 and 1915-1917. Perhaps Capps’ major achievement was his Harbor Project, also known as “Capps’ Plan,” which required a $1 million bond — approved unanimously by voters — to dredge the harbor, backfill the shoreline, sink a seawall, erect piers and wharves, build warehouses and lay a belt-line railway, according to a 1984 issue of “The Journal of San Diego History” (http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/84summer/capps.htm).
The San Diego Historical Society publication reports that the Spruce Street Suspension Bridge was built to link Bankers Hill residents with the downtown trolley line that once ran along Fourth Avenue.
It also says that in 1976, city officials reported the bridge “is inspected every three months and most repairs are for broken flanges that connect hand rail cables to the bridge deck. People rock the bridge and the flanges break. This is not critical to the bridge and should not be interpreted as anything other than people having fun.”

Hopefully the maintenance continues as well as the fun. As you walk across, stop in the middle for views of part of downtown’s skyline. Below lies Kate Sessions Canyon, sometimes also called Arroyo Canyon. Kate Sessions, the horticultural “mother of Balboa Park,” among other areas in San Diego, had a hand in the plantings in this canyon.

You can reach the suspension bridge from either end: Front and Spruce streets or Brant and Spruce streets. Note the giant cables at each entry point that hold the bridge in place.
Getting to the trail below is a little harder, but doable.

I scrambled down from the Front/Spruce entry point along the chain-link fence to the right of the bridge. It’s steep and a little pebbly, but that fence helps if you hang on.

Once you get to the bottom, it’s a short walk along the trail from one end of the canyon to the other — probably only about four blocks long. Note the enormous eucalyptus trees, a few specimen palms, some cactus and other plantings. The eucalyptus may indeed have been planted by Kate Sessions because they are mighty, tall and old.

When I was there, a nearby resident told me you can walk all the way to University Avenue through the canyons, “if you know the way and you’re adventurous.” He said his son showed him. I stopped at either end when the trail appeared to stop, but perhaps you can find that longer version.

Even if you choose simply to walk across the historic bridge, you’ll enjoy those views to downtown and the canyon below. Tip your cap to Edwin Capps.

GETTING THERE: Entry points at either end are at Spruce and Front streets, or Brant and Spruce streets. The bridge is closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and is monitored 24 hours a day.