Sunday afternoon, Steve and I were walking across the Schenley Bridge on our way to the Carnegie Library in Oakland. We saw lots of shiny things reflecting the sun. As we got closer, I saw combination and key padlocks.
Not sure when these locks started showing up on Pittsburgh Bridges but this was the first time I’ve seen them.
Love Padlocks or Lovelocks, they’re called.
They signify “everlasting love” according to the entry at Wikipedia. And they aren’t just in Paris. There is a whole list of cities – Prague, Rome, Zurich, London, Moscow, Dublin, Sydney. The padlocks are controversial as some deem them unsightly and akin to litter. Eyesores. Too much weight on some bridges.
Other citizens are outraged when they’re cut off from public bridges around the world. Not sure what the stance is here in Pittsburgh-these additions to the Schenley Bridge over Panther Hollow. Guess time will tell.
We were able to see names or initials inscribed on them, dates. Most of the padlocks hung from one section of fencing.
Just now I read that the padlock keys are thrown under the bridge.
I remembered seeing a photo of a ton of padlocks on a Parisian bridge in a Weekly Photo Challenge from WordPress: LOVE (click to see photo of Paris Bridge)
and if you want to read the list of locations around the world and see more photos of love locks, click here.
If you look at bridges around the world sporting Love Padlocks, Pittsburgh is going to have to go some to catch up!
