Comments (0) Best Spot for a First Kiss - 2011
Hollenbeck Park Floating Bridge
Stretching across the narrowest part of a two-block-long lake, Hollenbeck Park Floating Bridge floats on thick pontoons barely visible under the intentionally aged wood planking. Made to rise and fall with water levels, the structure lends itself to the kind of romance you'd see in a Sofia Coppola film. The latest incarnation of the bridge was inaugurated in 2009, but a 1930s postcard depicts a curved lattice, white picket–fence version. Even if the architectural details have changed, it is still the perfect vantage point to view the lake, the park speckled with palm trees, a small amphitheater and ducklings learning to swim. Though it's closed at night, the bridge is tailor-made for a late-afternoon stroll and romantic moments just before sunset, from a first kiss to a marriage proposal. Weekend wedding and quinceañera photo sessions abound. Even without a sweetheart, it's cherry ... as in tricked-out cool. 415 S. Saint Louis St., Boyle Heights. (323) 261-0113.
—Abel Salas
