Sunday Globe Special: Nevada Divorce Bridge to be Demolished

"Reno is bidding a bittersweet farewell to an iconic 110-year-old bridge made famous by newly divorced women — and a Marilyn Monroe character — who walked from the courthouse to cast their wedding rings into the river. The ‘‘Wedding Ring Bridge,’’ also known as the ‘‘Bridge of Sighs,’’ became a symbol of Reno as the ‘‘Divorce Capital of the World.’’ The legend of divorced women walking a block from the Washoe County courthouse to the bridge over the Truckee River dates to the 1920s. Photographs, postcards, and Hollywood movies depict the scenes — the most famous with Monroe in the 1961 film ‘‘The Misfits.’’ Major demolition work is scheduled for the bridge."