Must-see
Golden Gate Bridge
A bridge built in the Great Depression and painted International Orange
The story
Before you is the Golden Gate Bridge. The strait was named the Golden Gate by the American captain John C. Frémont in 1846, after the Golden Horn, the harbor of Constantinople. Construction began on the fifth of January 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression. The chief engineer was Joseph Strauss. The span between the towers is 4,200 feet. The towers rise 746 feet above the water. Each of the two main cables holds more than 27,500 steel wires. A safety net was hung under the roadway. It saved nineteen workers, who were nicknamed the Halfway to Hell Club. But eleven men died. The color was chosen by the architect Irving Morrow. The steel was coated with red primer, and Morrow, seeing it from the ferry, realized that a warm orange would blend with the hills and stand out against the sky and the sea. The color is called International Orange. On the twenty-seventh of May 1937 the bridge opened to people on foot; newspapers estimated up to two hundred thousand came. The next day President Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in the White House, and cars started across. Walk along the east sidewalk at least as far as the first tower. When the fog rolls in, the bridge vanishes into it before your eyes.
Visiting
The plaza at the south end of the bridge, in the Presidio. The Welcome Center is open daily 9:00–18:00. Pedestrians may use only the east sidewalk: early November to early March 5:00–18:30, early March to early November 5:00–21:00. Muni bus 28 stops at Golden Gate Bridge/Parking Lot.
Photos
Sources
- Golden Gate Bridge — Key Dates
- Golden Gate Bridge — Design & Construction Stats
- Golden Gate Bridge — Construction
- Golden Gate Bridge — Color & Art Deco Styling
- Golden Gate Bridge — What’s in a Name
- Golden Gate Bridge — Opening Fiesta Week
- Golden Gate Bridge — Visiting the Bridge
- Golden Gate Bridge — Bikes & Pedestrians
- SFMTA — 28 19th Avenue
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