Conception and construction Before the bridge was built, several squirrels were killed while crossing busy streets that separated large trees in R. A. Long Park from an area with plentiful nuts. Several tenants at a nearby office building proposed the construction of a dedicated bridge for squirrels as early as 1960 and received approval from the Longview City Council on February 28, 1963. The bridge was named the "Nutty Narrows" by councilwoman Bess LaRivere, likely as a reference to the
Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The proposal brought international attention to Longview, as it was republished in newspapers, magazines, and reported on by radio stations. The bridge was designed by local architects Robert Newhall and LeRoy Dahl, and structural engineer Donald Kramer. Contractor Amos Peters, who worked in a nearby office and was a member of the Sandbaggers civic fraternity, Despite several attempts to lure squirrels to use the bridge, including bait peanuts attached to the bridge, no squirrels appeared during the morning ceremony. The Nutty Narrows Bridge was planned to be formally dedicated on March 30, 1963, as part of a citywide parade and the
Miss Longview beauty pageant, but the event was cancelled due to inclement weather. An abbreviated ceremony took place on March 31 with
Washington State Patrol chief
Roy Betlach cutting a
miniature ribbon on the bridge after being hoisted into the air on a
cherry picker.
Repairs and relocations The bridge was removed by Peters on May 20, 1983, for repairs after the aluminum tubing had begun to noticeably tilt. It was reinstalled on June 8 at its original location; one squirrel had been found dead at the site, having presumably been killed while crossing the road. The bridge's crosspieces were replaced with material donated by the
fire departments of Longview and
Kelso and its faded sign was repainted. The Nutty Narrows Bridge was officially rededicated on July 2 as part of Longview's
Fourth of July celebrations, which included special guests
Chip 'n' Dale and
Mickey Mouse from
Disneyland; it was attended by 300 children and local dignitaries. One of the two oak trees that served as the anchors for the bridge fell onto Olympia Way on August 9, 1989, leaving the bridge hanging but unusable. Roger Peters, son of original constructor Amos Peters, repainted the bridge's sign and replaced the fire hoses with new material donated by the Longview fire department. The Nutty Narrows Bridge was reinstalled on November 15 using one of the original trees and a new tree nearby. The bridge was quietly removed by the city government for refurbishment in March 1999, prompting local residents to fear that it had been stolen or vandalized. It reopened on April 9. The city government discovered evidence of
termite damage in one of the oak trees that held up the Nutty Narrows Bridge in 2003, prompting fears of a potential collapse. Further termite damage was found in both oak trees two years later and the bridge was removed on May 10, 2003, so that the trees could be safely cut down. The Nutty Narrows was moved southeast later that week, crossing the Civic Circle adjacent to the city's
public library instead of Olympia Way. The bridge was removed again on the morning of November 4, 2010, after it was deemed to be a traffic hazard due to its new location distracting motorists navigating the three-lane
traffic circle around R. A. Long Park. The removal came hours before the arrival of Takehiro Matsumoto, mayor of
Wakō, Japan, who had planned to visit the bridge as part of a
sister city exchange. The bridge was cleaned and restored by the Sandbaggers, who presided over a reopening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 29. The Nutty Narrows was relocated to a section of Olympia Way near 18th Avenue, described as being "three trees away" from the original location.
Preservation and related bridges The Nutty Narrows Bridge remains a tourist attraction for Longview and is considered the "world's narrowest bridge". It inspired the name of Squirrel Fest, an annual local festival founded in 2011, as well as a commemorative
belt buckle, local sports tournaments, a children's book, and a
serial published in
The Daily News. It is also decorated annually with a
Christmas tree and
lights by city maintenance workers. A year after Peters' death in 1984, a wooden squirrel sculpture was placed near the bridge in his memory. It was later replaced by the Sandbaggers, a local service fraternity and
boosters club charged with oversight of the bridge, in 2001 after it had deteriorated over time. The Salem city council later rejected the offer, stating that the proposed design was not attractive and would have an advertisement for Longview. The offer came amid a disappearance of squirrels following a severe winter; several cities, including Salem, offered to relocate their squirrels to Longview in response to a request from Peters. They were installed as part of the annual Squirrel Fest, which includes a design contest for the bridges. , Longview has ten squirrel bridges, several of which feature designs inspired by other bridges; these include the nearby
Lewis and Clark Bridge, the
cable-stayed Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge in
Boston, and the
Fremont Bridge in
Portland, Oregon. On July 25, 2013, the Longview City Council voted to place the Nutty Narrows Bridge on the Longview Register of Historic Places. As part of the nomination process to add the bridge to the
National Register of Historic Places, the bridge was officially sold by Roger Peters to the City of Longview in June 2013 for a
nominal fee of $1. It is also listed on the
Washington Heritage Register, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. ==Design==