The life-saving span over Olympic Way. |
Nutty Narrows -
Squirrel Bridge
Longview,
Washington
In the early 1960s, Amos Peters didn't like what was happening outside
his office window. Peters, owner of a construction contracting firm, had a
ringside seat to a ceaseless procession of hit-and-run fatalities on
Olympic Way. It was a busy street with tall trees, part of a somewhat
confusing circle, with other busy avenues converging in front of
Longview's public library.
Those squirrels
didn't have a prayer.
Peters conceived an escape route dubbed the "Nutty Narrows Bridge," a
human-engineered span between the library grounds and the other side of
Olympic Way. He engaged architects Robert Newhall and LeRoy Dahl, and
built the rodent-scaled bridge with associate Bill Hutch. In 1963, the
bridge was hoisted over the road between two trees -- 60 feet wide and
fashioned from aluminum and a length of retired fire hose. It cost
$1,000.
The bridge has been a Longview landmark for over 40 years. It underwent
a major restoration in 1983; the re-dedication was attended by 300
schoolchildren, costumed Disney characters, and town officials.
Peters died in 1984, but he hasn't been forgotten. A huge wooden gray
squirrel stands in the library park, facing towards Nutty Narrows, acorn
in paw. It is dedicated to Amos Peters and his creative spirit.
The statue was
replaced with a taller, more weather resistant version in 2001 by the
Sandbagger Club, a service fraternity of local wags. According to Longview
City Council minutes, they showed up at a meeting in their "signature
red-and-white striped jackets" and read a declaration as they presented
the squirrel statue "gift." The Sandbaggers urged the council members to
sign the declaration and assured that "it was unnecessary to read the fine
print on the document, and repeatedly asked they not bother to do so.
Mayor Bergquist read the small print aloud, which stated that each person
who signed the document would be personally liable for the payment of in
excess of $8,000, among other things." The Council declined to sign, but
the wooden squirrel was nonetheless installed at the park.
During the holidays, Longview adds a small Christmas tree with lights
to the center of the bridge.
(Nutty Narrows Squirrel Crossing
Bridge: Follow signs to
city center – go around circle (Olympic Way) next to Longview Public
Library. Look up.)
August
2005: Tipster Lisa King reports "the Nutty Narrows Bridge in
Longview, WA, has been moved. The tree that held one side of the bridge
had to be removed, so the bridge was moved east about 100 yards. It is now
directly in front of the Longview Public Library." We hope someone told
the squirrels.
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