A.k.a. "Suicide Bridge," Vista Bridge is apparently a favorite topic of Portland bloggers and photographers. The scenery and design are both hard to resist, to be sure. I don't know about the other part. Anecdotes say that there have been suicide prevention signs spotted at either end (I didn't notice them, but that's not to say they weren't there) and that there was unsightly netting raised along the rails in the mid 20th century. I hear Palahniuk likes to tell ghost stories about this place and the sad stories surrounding it.
What I do know is that it's a remnant of the old streetcar system that used to ferry Portlanders past Portland Heights and up to Council Crest and its destination amusement park. My favorite story I've seen so far about this line contains the following paragraph:
"The line opened on February 22, 1890 after operators received a brief training from San Francisco workers. The first accident on the line occurred just two days later. When the car gained speed unexpectedly, the freshly trained crew jumped from the car in panic, leaving the three passengers to fend for themselves. Luckily, the passengers escaped with only minor injuries."
The entire article (and a photo of a piece of the wooden trolley track further up in the hills) can be found here
I know we have those snazzy new European streetcars linking the South Waterfront to Nob Hill now, but I also think they're missing a certain sense of adventure.
There's a beautiful post at another blog about the Vista Bridge here.
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