By the time you read this, the historic Sixth Street viaduct bridge shown in these photos -- a landmark of Los Angeles' booming 1930s and the art deco architecture that defined the growing city for a time -- will be no more. It seems the concrete used in the bridge has a sort of cancer, a high alkali content that caused a chemical reaction over the years, cracking its structure, and rendering it likely to collapse should another major earthquake hit Los Angeles -- an eventual certainty. In its place will be a new bridge, styled with elements of the original but free of the concrete blight that sealed its predecessor's fate.
Jonathan Ward, founder and CEO of Icon, stands underneath this bridge next to the FJ44 Petersen Edition, an homage to the Toyota FJ Cruiser. Like the new bridge, this vehicle was also given life through death. Each FJ that Icon builds begins as an original Toyota FJ -- Toyota's legendary go-anywhere, do-anything vehicle -- that has been rusted, damaged, or simply driven to the point where a factory-correct restoration would make little sense. From this "end of life" FJ, as Ward calls it, some structural parts are saved, along with other bits and pieces. Roughly 13 months later, a new Icon FJ is complete -- a vehicle that builds and improves on the original's concept without losing any of its charm. And it doesn't look too threatened by any earthquake. |
