The Bridge That Was Never Built: Centennial Stories #4

The Bridge That Was Never Built Story 4

According to an article in the San Diego Union dated August 3, 1928, a bridge was once proposed to connect Talmadge Park Unit 1 on the Kensington Mesa with Talmadge Park Unit 3 on the Talmadge Mesa. The article included a remarkable rendering of the bridge by civil engineer Tom J. Allen. Known as Fairmount Bridge, it was envisioned to be even grander than the Cabrillo Bridge.

Due to the onset of the Great Depression, however, the bridge was never constructed. The Lichty brothers, developers of Talmadge, envisioned a network of roads and bridges that would lead to the new State College, now San Diego State University, for which they had donated land. Promoting access to State College was an important part of their ever-evolving marketing strategy.

For many years, the exact location of the proposed bridge remained uncertain. That changed during a recent visit to the San Diego History Center, where original subdivision maps revealed the planned alignment. According to those maps, the bridge would have departed from Talmadge Park Unit 1 on the Kensington Mesa at 4695 E. Talmadge Drive (built in 1937) and connected to Talmadge Park Unit 3 at 4726 Norma Drive (built in 1941).

The later construction dates of these homes suggest that the lots may have been intentionally left open for several years in anticipation that the bridge might eventually be built.