A Piece of San Diego History
Coronado's Famous Bridge
By Brian Bergen

Coronado was named for a group of islands off the coast of San Diego that were first sighted November 8, 1602 by Spanish navigator Vizcaino. He named the group “Los Coronados” or “the crowned ones,” for four martyred saints of ancient Rome whose death had been on that day. Coronado’s nickname is the Crown City and is often referred to as Coronado Island, although the landmass is actually a peninsula connected to the mainland by a very narrow strip on its southern edge called the Silver Strand.

From the time Coronado began to be developed, ferries were the main mode of transportation to the area. A bridge was first conceived by developers Hampton Story and Elisha Babcock in 1888, the year that they opened the world famous Hotel del Coronado – the red roofed crown jewel of the island that has hosted 13 presidents and countless celebrities.

Nearly 80 years later, construction of the $50 million bridge began in February 1967, transforming 88,000 cubic yards of concrete and 7,000 tons of reinforced steel into the first bridge to span the San Diego Bay.  It was given a vertical clearance of almost 200 feet, to accommodate even the tallest ships wishing to pass beneath it. The bridge opened to traffic and great fanfare on August 3, 1969, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the City of San Diego. Then-Governor Ronald Reagan led the caravan that made the inaugural drive across the first structural conquest of San Diego Bay. Spanning more than 2 miles (11,179 feet), the bridge continues to serve as the interchange with Interstate 5 in San Diego and Route 75 in Coronado.

The bridge’s distinctive towers and graceful curve garnered it the “Most Beautiful Bridge” award from the American Institute of Steel Construction in 1970. Today, the award-winning San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge remains an area landmark from air, land and sea.