Finding Minnesota: Vermillion River Love Locks
HASTINGS, Minn. (WCCO) -- The Vermillion River gorge crossing is a lookout to Hastings' most beautiful scenery.
"It's very popular, yeah, connects the two sides of the river," said Cory Likes, operations maintenance supervisor for the Hastings Parks and Recreation Department.
This particular overpass does more than just bridge two locations, it now represents lifelong connections.
"This one is Mason and Casey, I love you. 7/29/15," said Brenda Cole of Hastings while reading one lock on the bridge. "I noticed the locks about a year or so ago and I thought it was really cool."
Scattered along the chain link are dozens of different locks from couples following a tradition that started a half a world away.
"From my understanding, and what I know about it, it was kind of born in Paris," Likes said. "There's a lot of locks hanging on it and all the sudden, one day, we had locks hanging on this bridge here."
Likes is referring to the Pont Des Arts bridge in Paris, France, where tourists started attaching padlocks to the bridge, then throwing the key into the Seine river below, as a romantic gesture.
The first padlocks showed up in Hastings around the spring of 2015. Since then, it's grown to roughly 130.
"We're not opposed to people hanging locks by any means," Likes said. "If people want to do this in our community, we support it."
Likes is also aware that the weight could one day be an issue on the bridge and plans to keep an eye on the fencing.
In recent years, Paris officials have had to remove many of the locks on the Pont Des Arts bridge due to safety concerns over the weight.
"I don't see that happening anytime soon," Likes said.
Every lock on the bridge is unique. There are combination locks and padlocks of all sizes. Some locks are attached to two or three others. One particular padlock has six smaller locks attached, seeming to represent a couple and their children. Each one is inscribed or labeled with a date and names or initials to represent the people who attached it.
"Whether it's husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend or just two best friends, you don't know," Likes said.
"It's a symbol of love, they're showing they love each other," Cole said.
For those taking the time to look at the symbols of love attached to the fence, the intrigue isn't just in who locked in their love but if that lock still has value. There are times when a couple doesn't click.
"What happens when so and so breaks up? How do you remove the lock? If we understand and follow it, the key is in the river. Do they come back with a bolt cutter and cut it off," Like said.
Still, the promise of forever is worth locking in.
"I thought it would be a fun thing to do, right after our wedding, before our reception," said newlywed Alex Hagen.
Alex and his new wife, Brittany, added their padlock to the bridge on Oct. 22. Earlier in the day, they solidified their lifetime together in front of friends and family in a fleeting moment, but the lock is a lasting reminder of their special day.
"It means something to us because we grew up here and, for us, it's symbolic," Brittany said.
"It's brass and stainless steel, so, we should last quite awhile," Alex said.
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