# Love locks: Seen/heard of them, would you place one? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 3, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617 "2012-02-03T03:16:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/22 "2012-02-04T06:21:00Z")
I just saw them for the first time when I was on vacation on a bridge in Verona. I thought it was just something specific to that place - not a widespread thing. It seemed like a better option than tagging or graffiti or otherwise damaging public property. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/23 "2012-07-08T06:15:45Z")
There’s a collection [here](http://s16.postimage.org/p9lfxj8t1/The_lock_is_up.jpg), around the corner from our house, at Hollywood Blvd. and New Hampshire Ave., across the street from the Barnsdall Art Park. Today we were walking by, and decided to add our own. I remembered this thread, so I thought I’d check in with a photo. (Ours is the one with the…oh…never mind.) That fence is covering an underground street crossing that has been closed as long as I can remember, probably originally put up for Los Feliz ES (which is right next to it), back when the Red Line street cars were still running. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/24 "2012-07-09T05:28:15Z")
There is a small bridge in Prague with hundreds of love locks on the rails of the bridge. Many of the locks look very old to me. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/25 "2013-12-17T00:45:00Z")
I was on the Ha’Penny Bridge there lately and the amount of these locks kinda pissed me off. I’ll have to categorise it under “Things that annoy me for no particular reason” but it doesn’t seem that the council are keeping on top of keeping the bridge clear of them. It’d be nice if some structure was built nearby especially for lovers to hang their locks on it. Maybe some sort of metal sculpture nearby on the river bank. ETA: Hope it’s ok to bump my own zombie thread. ---
**Author:** ![SerafinaPekala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SerafinaPekala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SerafinaPekala)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/26 "2013-12-17T01:16:39Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > I just saw them for the first time when I was on vacation on a bridge in Verona. I thought it was just something specific to that place - not a widespread thing. > > It seemed like a better option than tagging or graffiti or otherwise damaging public property. Yes! Ive seen that too in Verona. Also in Florence. And I thought the tradition was to throw the keys into the water. The reason this thread caught my eye is that I just saw this movie: [http://lovelocksonline.com/lovelocks-in-now-you-see-me-movie/](http://lovelocksonline.com/lovelocks-in-now-you-see-me-movie/) ---
**Author:** ![SerafinaPekala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SerafinaPekala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SerafinaPekala)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/27 "2013-12-17T01:22:25Z")
^^ Ps the movie sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/28 "2013-12-17T02:00:42Z")
This is the first I’ve heard of it. It sounds rather stupid and pointless to me, so no I wouldn’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/29 "2013-12-17T13:50:40Z")
The [Umeda Sky Building](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umeda_Sky_Building) in Osaka, Japan has a publicly accessible observation deck on top; you can buy a lovelock on your way up and secure it to a mishmash of cables that are already adorned with thousands of other locks. Wife and I did not partake. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/30 "2013-12-17T14:01:10Z")
I first saw these stupid things when I was running on the bridge across the Missouri River. I had no idea what they were, my first thought was that somebody jumped off and maybe it was some kind of memorial. There were probably a couple hundred, but they were scattered enough that it wasn’t a huge eyesore. Then I saw some on another bridge, and it definitely looked messy. Scrath that, not messy, it looked horrible and amounts to downright vandalism. It should carry the same penalty as spray-painting your names on a support span. > [@even\_sven](#): > > You see them pretty often in China, where tourist attractions will often provide chains for them. It always seemed to me to be a sweet update on the old traditions of tying bits of cloth and ribbon around things for this and that for various religious/cultural reasons. Except that bits of ribbon and cloth will eventually rot away and don’t have to be removed by someone with bolt cutters. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > The [Umeda Sky Building](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umeda_Sky_Building) in Osaka, Japan has a publicly accessible observation deck on top; you can buy a lovelock on your way up and secure it to a mishmash of cables that are already adorned with thousands of other locks. > > Wife and I did not partake. If an attraction wants to provide cables for this, then it gets bumped down from vandalism to just tacky. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/31 "2013-12-17T14:14:53Z")
I had never heard of it but I swear I saw a scene in a movie or TV show recently that depicted this, but I can’t remember which one. I could also be making that up, I’m not sure. It seems like something that would lose its appeal after the age of about 17. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/32 "2013-12-17T14:21:03Z")
Last Fall we were in NYC. I can attest that the Brooklyn Bridge was almost fully encrusted with padlocks, and some entrepreneurs had set up engraving services in the area. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/33 "2013-12-17T15:18:16Z")
We were just walking across the Chicago River last weekend and there are a few padlocks on the bridge railing. I would say that if there were “hundreds of locks”, I think it would fall into the tacky category ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/34 "2013-12-17T15:49:25Z")
I read not too long ago that the [Pont des Arts](https://www.google.com/search?as_st=y&tbm=isch&hl=en&as_q=&as_epq=pont+des+arts&as_oq=&as_eq=&imgsz=&imgar=&imgc=&imgcolor=&imgtype=&cr=&as_sitesearch=&safe=images&as_filetype=&as_rights=) in Paris is so overloaded with padlocks that the authorities fear that it might collapse. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/35 "2013-12-17T17:50:59Z")
We have a lovely [pedestrian bridge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Bridge_at_Falls_Park_on_the_Reedy) in a nearby city, and it’s slowly being festooned with lovelocks. The river rapids immediately below are apparently also littered with the keys. I had heard a while back about the ones on the Paris bridge, but had forgotten all about it, so while we were walking along it, we were very curious about what they were for. A few weeks later we were driving to Thanksgiving, and there were locks all along the security fencing of the Lake Murray Dam as well. I think it’s a cute idea, but it’s really messy looking if there are more than a few dozen. If I were a city, and had to pay maintenance people to go out with bolt-cutters every few months to clear the fencing off, I’d be right pissed. The idea of delegating or creating a space specifically FOR lovelocks seems like it could be somewhat helpful, but I imagine most cities would rather try to cut the trend back rather than encourage it at all. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/36 "2013-12-17T21:36:31Z")
Ditto on the vandalism, eyesore thing. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/37 "2013-12-17T22:42:48Z")
Heard of them and seen them in person. Fucking vandalism, and just as romantic as tagging a building. I’d offer you some nice prison bars to hang your padlock on if I caught you doing it to a historic object, such as the Charles Bridge in Prague. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/38 "2013-12-17T23:19:21Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Heard of them and seen them in person. Fucking vandalism, and just as romantic as tagging a building. I’d offer you some nice prison bars to hang your padlock on if I caught you doing it to a historic object, such as the Charles Bridge in Prague. Jesus Christ.:rolleyes: Who put the freakin padlock on your heart? Next you’re going to say tossing a penny in a mall fountain is money laundering. If the cities didn’t want tourists putting love locks on their bridges, they’d have some sanitation guy out there removing them with boltcutters every morning and fining people who tries to put them there. My wife and I would do it, but apparently we are totally oblivious to them. Having been to Paris, Florence and a few other cities and not finding out about the love lock bridges until after we got back. Heck, we had engagement photos taken on the Brooklyn Bridge and didn’t realize there were locks there. ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/39 "2013-12-18T02:20:17Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > I’ve never heard of it, so it hasn’t made it to middle America yet. It sounds like something teenaged girls would find appealing, so I don’t think I’d participate. Teenaged girls and women in their 20’s who need to grow up. If a woman in her 30’s was doing this I’d give her a funny look. If it’s a couple over 70, meh, I’d cut them some slack. The lovelocks come from some movie, and you know, ‘monkey see monkey do’. They have to be removed since they can affect bridge maintenance and cleaning. Put me in the ‘mild vandalism’ corner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617.md?page=1)