The pin for this Virtual Cache will take you to a side street where the bridge can be seen safely without dealing with Wilbur Avenue traffic. But feel free to explore the bridge and get a better look at things, as there are panels in both sides.
Welcome to the Wilbur Avenue Bridge, also known as the Snoopy Bridge. And it's easy to see why. It’s adorned with images of Snoopy and the rest the Peanuts gang, all of whom were created by Charles Schultz. More on him in a minute. First some bridge history.
In 1971, the 90-foot Wilbur Avenue Bridge was constructed as an easy way for children to cross this busy thoroughfare on their way to and from Tarzana Elementary School.
The bridge was a neighborhood landmark, but became even more so when the niece of Charles Schultz - who went to Tarzana Elementary - asked him if the school could decorate the bridge with a couple images of Snoopy and Charlie Brown.
Charles Schulz did his niece and Tarzana Elementary one better. He created 12 original drawings ranging between three and eight feet wide, donating them all. These are the images you see adorning the bridge structure.
In 1994, the Northridge Earthquake caused structural damage to the bridge. The city closed the bridge for a short time while it was repaired and when the bridge was reopened about a year later, the City of Tarzana celebrated by having a rededication ceremony, punctuated with a carnival.
Over the years since then, weather and the elements took their toll on the Peanuts drawings. In addition to this, rust and bullet holes riddled the drawings. And in late-2022 graffiti appeared on the panels.
Flash forward to early-2024 when Tarzana resident Kirk Donovan gets fed-up with the state of the panels. He and other community leaders call City Council who looks into the issue. Not long after, a plan to clean up and restore the images to their original state was put into motion. Graffiti was removed. Bullet holes were patched. And an anti-graffiti coating was administered to each panel.
On June 20, 2024, the restored 12 original panels featuring Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang were replaced to much celebration. And these restored panels are what you see here today.
To claim a find for this virtual cache please take a photo of yourself (or your GPSr and some part of your body if you don't want your face in the picture) with the Snoopy Bridge in the background and post the image to the cache page photo gallery as part of your log.
All logged Finds without a photo will be deleted.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.