Rio Vista, a sleepy town on the Sacramento River in the California Delta, is an unlikely place for an explosive issue like the future of urban planning. But it has become the epicenter of a debate about the efforts of a few billionaires to build a city from scratch in rural California.
The Helen Madere Memorial Bridge in RIo Vista—generally known as the Rio Vista Drawbridge—is one of many bridges in the Delta. It is easily my favorite, and arguably the most photogenic. Still, like all 27 bridges of the Delta, it is first a utilitarian bridge; it is not some I.M. Pei monument to human spirituality in any of the great metropolises around the world. And yet, it is still a testament to human ambition and spirit. From its geometry to its low placement above the water, it is both of and above its environment.
On this low ground fog morning, it emerged from the mist at dawn, and then the sunrise lit the sky behind it. The bridge seemed to float effortless, stretching from one invisible bank to another. At once graceful and ominous, its steel, rivets, and cable become mere suggestions of form, function, and geometry. This piece, the first in our series of the bridges of Solano County and titled Coronatus, is avilable in our Fine Art Gallery.
