Bay Bridge Troll
The Bay Bridge Troll is an 18-inch steel figure that was welded to the eastern span of the original
History
In 1989, a section of the Bay Bridge collapsed during the
The troll first came to the public's attention on January 15, 1990, when the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story about the small figure of a troll complete with a spud wrench that had been welded to the iron below the road on the north side of the bridge.[3] The article quotes official spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, Greg Bayol, as saying, "If we were asked, we would have said 'no,' I'm sure." The iron workers had never asked to put the troll on the bridge, so the state is stuck with the troll.
The troll was placed where motorists on the bridge would never see it. It was on the north side of the outside rail, where only maintenance workers and ironworkers ever venture.[3]
When the troll was made, the contractor, Rigging International, ordered another, now mounted on a damaged section of the old bridge on display in the lobby of their Alameda office.[4]
In August 2013, a white paper was published to the Bay Bridge's website, advocating the troll and the entire section of the span on which it resides be preserved.[5]
In 2002, a new eastern span of the Bay Bridge
On December 23, 2013, an article in SFGate stated that a new, sleeker troll carrying a sledgehammer had been created. The article suggested that the new troll was either living temporarily in a secret location or was already installed on the new bridge.
On May 13, 2014, an article on SFGate Blog announced that the new troll has officially been placed on the eastern span of the Bay Bridge. It was said to have been installed overnight, as it is averse to sunlight.[8] "The new troll emerged from hiding Friday and quietly moved in, settling on Pier E2." The troll was placed below the roadway out of sight of motorists; however, it can be seen from a pedestrian walkway.[9] In March 2018 John V. Robinson published a book titled The Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge Troll which documents the creation and removal of the old troll as well as the creation of the new troll on the new Bay Bridge.[10]
See also
References
- ^ John V. Robinson. Al Zampa and the Bay Area Bridges. San Francisco: Arcadia Publishing, 2005
- ^ John V. Robinson. "The 'topping out' traditions of the high-steel iron workers." Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Western Folklore. Fall 2001.
- ^ a b Nolte, Carl. "Fantastic horned spirit Protects the Bay Bridge." San Francisco Chronicle January 15, 1990.
- ^ Ellson, Michele (8 November 2013). "Bay Bridge troll has an Alameda twin". The Alamedan. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "For Whom the Troll Dwells" (PDF).
- ^ "Bay Bridge Troll Comes to OMCA".
- ^ "Lucky troll removed from Bay Bridge's old eastern span". Archived from the original on 2013-09-15. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
- ^ Cabanatuan, Michael (26 December 2013). "Bay Bridge troll rumors fly – there's a new troll". SFGate. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ^ Cabanatuan, Michael (13 May 2014). "New Bay Bridge troll finds home on eastern span". SFGate. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ^ John V. Robinson. The Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge Troll. Fonthill Media, London.2018