Golden Gate Bridge

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Golden Gate Bridge, suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate strait in California to link San Francisco with Marin county to the north. On its completion in 1937, it was the tallest and longest suspension bridge in the world. The Golden Gate Bridge came to be recognized as a symbol of the progress of the United States, and it set a precedent for suspension-bridge design around the world. Although other bridges have since surpassed it in size, it is said to be the most photographed bridge in the world, thanks to its picturesque setting. It carries both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) across the strait and features a pedestrian walkway.

Conceptualization

The need for a bridge across the Golden Gate arose from the rapid growth of San Francisco in the years following the California Gold Rush of the late 1840s. The city’s population expanded dramatically over time, while communities north of the Golden Gate also developed. The lack of a direct land connection between San Francisco and Marin county, which was across the strait from the city, meant people and goods had to cross the strait by ferry. In 1920 San Francisco was the largest American city still relying primarily on ferry transportation, which limited the city’s economic growth.

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Railway entrepreneur Charles Crocker suggested building a bridge across the Golden Gate as early as 1872. The idea gained traction much later, in 1916, and city engineer Michael M. O’Shaughnessy began to assess its feasibility in 1919. Most of the engineers he spoke with in the United States about the project were skeptical, pointing out that the rocky terrain on either side of the strait, among other factors, would drive the costs for the project to about $100 million. Civil engineer Joseph B. Strauss, however, proposed a design that he said could be built for about a quarter of that estimate. Strauss came to lead the project, working with a team of engineers that included Leon Moisseiff, who designed the Manhattan Bridge in New York City, and Charles Ellis, a professor who was responsible for much of the mathematical computations required for the bridge’s structural design.

Funding

The bridge was initially estimated to cost about $25 million to build, and city officials approached Pres. Herbert Hoover’s administration to fund the project. But in October 1929 the United States was starting to experience its worst economic downturn in the form of the Great Depression, and the proposition for federal funding was rejected, prompting Strauss to look for local investors.

In 1930 residents from the counties of San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Del Norte, and parts of Napa and Mendocino voted for a $35 million bond issue, but the Depression made it difficult to find investors. Amadeo P. Giannini, founder of the Bank of America, helped secure financing for the project when he authorized the bank to purchase the bonds, allowing construction to begin in early 1933.

Construction

Its construction, under the supervision of Strauss, began in January 1933 and involved many challenges. The strait has rapidly running tides, frequent storms, and fogs that made construction difficult. During one such fog on August 14, 1933, a cargo vessel collided with the access trestle, causing serious damage. Workers also had to contend with the problem of blasting rock under deep water to plant earthquake-proof foundations. A movable safety net, innovated by Strauss, saved a total of 19 men from falling to their deaths during construction. However, the safety net failed on February 17, 1937, when it gave way under the weight of a scaffolding collapse; of the 13 men who were on the scaffolding, one jumped clear, two survived the fall into the water, and 10 were killed. One other worker fell to his death during the construction, for a total of 11 worker deaths over four years.

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The bridge’s orange vermilion color, suggested by consulting architect Irving Morrow, has a dual function, both fitting in with the surrounding natural scenery and being clearly visible to ships in fog. At night the bridge is floodlit and shines with a golden luminescence that reflects off the waters of the bay and creates a magical effect.

The bridge opened to vehicular traffic on May 28, 1937, under budget and ahead of schedule. The main span, 4,200 feet (1,280 meters) long, is suspended from two cables hung from towers 746 feet (227 meters) high; at midpoint the roadway is 256 feet (81 meters) above mean high water. Until the completion of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York City in 1964, it had the longest main span in the world.