Oddity Odysseys
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      • The Bridge to Nowhere
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      • The 2017 Total Solar Eclipse
    • 2016 Episodes >
      • The Laguna Beach Pirate Tower
      • The Great Wall of Los Angeles
      • Murphy's Ranch
      • The Chemosphere
      • The Los Feliz Murder Mansion
      • The Music Box Steps
      • Bronson Cave
      • The Shakespeare Bridge
      • The S.S. Dominator Shipwreck
      • The Last Bookstore
      • Picnic Table #29
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THE BAY BRIDGE TROLL

Location: San Francisco, CA
​Accessibility: Mild Hiking

​Created: 2013
In the Norwegian fairy tale, “Three Billy Goats Gruff”, a territorial troll guards his beloved bridge. The San Francisco Bay Bridge has its own protective troll...a well known secret..
​

In 1989, tragedy struck the city when an earthquake hit, damaging and distroying lots of property, including the Bay Bridge.
As repairs were underway, iron workers snuck a small metal figure under the bridge. And what was this figure? An 18-inch steel troll crafted by blacksmith Bill Roan.

Roan was known for his work at a Oakland ornamental iron shop. The troll stood guard of his post without the public knowing. Then in 1990, the San Fransisco Chronicle ran an article about the troll.  By that point, it was too late to have him removed.

The Bay Bridge troll guarded his post until 2013 when replacement of the bridge itself took place.  The troll found a home in the Oakland Museum of California, and a new troll was designed to protect the new bridge.  Today the original troll’s brother stands guard, hidden and out of sight from all motorists that pass over the bridge.  Since 1989 there have been no further incidents of destruction either span of the Bay Bridge.  Could this be thanks to a hidden, two-foot, troll protecting the structure?  You decide.

With a careful search and the right clues, a pedestrian passerby can spot the protector of the Bay Bridge.  Join us as we search for this mysterious, famous and ornery Bay Bridge Troll.
  • New Episodes
  • Episode Archive
    • 2020 Episodes >
      • The Lummis Castle
      • The Sky Slide
      • The Galleta Meadows Sculptures
      • Burro Schmidt Tunnel
      • The Global Angel Wings Project
      • The Topanga Time Tunnel
      • Solstice Canyon
      • The Kea Mill
      • Tankland
      • Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village
      • Cabot's Pueblo
    • 2019 Episodes >
      • The Shoemaker Tunnels
      • The Canned Heat Suicide House
      • Angels Flight
      • Echo Mountain
      • Amir's Garden
      • The Amboy Crater
      • Hazel's Volcanic Gardens
      • East Jesus
      • Rock-a-Hoola Waterpark
      • The Mojave Lava Tube
      • The Mosaic Tile House
      • The Krampus Run
    • 2018 Episodes >
      • Devil's Gate Dam
      • Salvation Mountain
      • The Cat House
      • The Sutro Bath Ruins
      • Bring Your Own Big Wheel
      • The Wave Organ
      • The Bay Bridge Troll
      • The Peephole Cinema
      • Nike Missile Site LA-88L
      • The High Tower Elevator
    • 2017 Episodes >
      • The Bridge to Nowhere
      • The Musical Road
      • The Old Los Angeles Zoo
      • The St. Francis Dam
      • Phantasma Gloria
      • The Sunken City
      • Nike Missile Site LA-96C
      • The Prohibition Tunnels
      • Vasquez Rocks
      • Big Horn Mine
      • The 2017 Total Solar Eclipse
    • 2016 Episodes >
      • The Laguna Beach Pirate Tower
      • The Great Wall of Los Angeles
      • Murphy's Ranch
      • The Chemosphere
      • The Los Feliz Murder Mansion
      • The Music Box Steps
      • Bronson Cave
      • The Shakespeare Bridge
      • The S.S. Dominator Shipwreck
      • The Last Bookstore
      • Picnic Table #29
  • Contact Us