Golden Gate Bridge: Magnificent Architecture in San Francisco | CIO Women Magazine

CIOWomenMagazine 58 views 9 slides Jun 11, 2024
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About This Presentation

The famous suspension bridge connects the city of San Francisco to Marin County in California. Golden Gate Bridge carries both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait and is about one mile wide. In this article, we will explore the history and significance that have shaped the ...


Slide Content

GoldenGateBridge:TheMagnificent
ArchitectureStandinginSanFrancisco
Source–Pexels
AmidsttheheartofthebreathtakingcityofSanFranciscostandstheiconic
silhouetteoftheGoldenGateBridge,defyingthelimitsofimaginationand
engineering.Thismagnificentstructure,spanningtheGoldenGateStrait,has
becomeasymbolofarchitecturalexcellenceandalastingexampleofhuman
creativity.

ThefamoussuspensionbridgeconnectsthecityofSanFranciscotoMarin
CountyinCalifornia.
ItcarriesbothU.S.Route101andCaliforniaStateRoute1acrossthestrait
andisaboutonemilewide.Inthisarticle,wewillexplorethehistoryand
significancethathaveshapedtheiconicmonumentitisknownastoday.
TheRichHistory&Construction
TheideaofconstructingabridgeacrosstheGoldenGateStraitwasfirst
proposedinthelate19thcentury.Thetreacherouswatersandstrongcurrents
madeitachallengingtask,buttheneedforadirectlinkbetweenSan
FranciscoandMarinCountywasevident.Theprojectgainedmomentumin
the1920swhenthecity’spopulationstartedtogrowrapidly.
In1921,arenownedengineernamedJosephStrausspresentedaunique
designforthebridge.Hisplancalledforasuspensionbridgewithasingle
spanof4,200feet,makingitthelongestsuspensionbridgeintheworldatthat
time.Despiteinitialskepticism,Strauss’svisioneventuallywonoverthepublic
andtheprojectmovedforward.
ConstructionoftheGoldenGateBridgebeganonJanuary5,1933.The
bridgewascompletedandofficiallyopenedtothepubliconMay27,1937.It
wasaninstantsuccess,attractingthousandsofvisitorswhomarveledatits
stunningbeautyandgrandeur.TheGoldenGateBridgequicklybecamea
symbolofSanFranciscoandaniconicrepresentationofAmerican
engineeringprowess.

Inthe1980s,theoriginallead-basedpaintwasreplacedwithamore
environmentallyfriendlycoating.Inthe1990s,seismicretrofittingwascarried
outtostrengthenthebridgeagainstearthquakedamage.
WhyisitNamedGoldenGateBridge?
Source–Unsplash
Inthemid-1800s,asoldierandexplorernamedJohnFremontnamedthe
passage‘GoldenGate,’whichcomesfromtheGreekword‘Chrysoplae.’He
chosethisnamebecausehethoughtSanFranciscolookedsimilartoaport
towncalledtheGoldenHorninConstantinople,whichisnowIstanbul.John
sawawaterytrenchthatcutthroughthecoastalhillsonthewesternsideof
SanFranciscoBay,anditremindedhimoftheGoldenHorn.So,hedecided

tocallthispassagetheGoldenGate.TheGoldenGateBridgeisnamedafter
thispassage.
TheArtisticEyeBehindArchitecture
ThearchitecturaldesignerofthebridgewasIrvingMorrow,whoplayeda
significantroleintheaestheticsofthebridge.ThefirstdesignbyJoseph
Strausswasrejectedduetoaestheticreasons.Afterresubmission,Morrow
addeddetailssuchaslightingtooutlinethebridge’scablesandtowers.The
engineeringdesignofthebridgewasacollaborationbetweenJosephStrauss,
CharlesEllis,andLeonMoisseiff.
IrvingMorrowchosethefamousInternationalOrangecolorfortheGolden
GateBridge.Herejectedotheroptions,includingtheUSNavy’ssuggestionto
paintthebridgewithblackandyellowstripesforvisibilitybypassingships.
Instead,heselectedthedistinctiveInternationalOrangecolor,whichwasa
primerofburntredhue,becauseitblendedwellwiththenaturalsurroundings
ofthebridgeandstoodoutagainsttheskyandsea.Hebelievedthatthe
warmcolorofInternationalOrangewasvisuallypleasingandalsoprovided
enhancedvisibilityinfoggyconditionsforships.
ChallengesTheMonumentFaced
ThebeautyoftheGoldenGateBridgestandstalltothisdate,butithasgone
throughseveralchallenges,whetherclimaticorconstructional.

Thestraitwheretheywerebuildinghadreallystrongtides,storms,andthick
fog,whichmadeithardtowork.DuringafogonAugust14,1933,abigship
crashedintothebridgeandcausedalotofdamage.Theworkersalsohada
toughtimebecausetheyhadtobreakapartrocksunderwatertoputstrong
foundationsinplace.Tokeeptheworkerssafe,Straussinventedaspecial
net.
Thisnetsaved19menfromfallinganddyingwhiletheywerebuilding.Buton
February17,1937,thenetdidn’tworkandcollapsedwhenaplatformfell.Out
ofthe13menontheplatform,onemanagedtojumpandgetoutsafely.Two
survivedthefallintothewater,butsadly,10werekilled.Therewasonemore
workerwhofellanddiedduringtheconstruction,sointotal,11workerslost
theirlivesinfouryears.

Source–Unsplash
OnMay24,1987,SanFranciscocelebratedthe50thanniversaryofthe
GoldenGateBridgebyorganizingabridgewalk.Therewereabout300,000
peopleonthebridge,anditbecamereallycrowded.Thebridgestarted
makinggroaningsoundsandmovingfromsidetoside.Themiddlepartofthe
bridgesankbysevenfeetbecausethereweresomanypeopleonit,andthe
famousarchlookedflat.
Theofficialsquicklyclosedthebridgetopreventanother600,000peoplefrom
crossingit.Afterward,theengineerssaidthatthebridgewasdesignedtoflex
andbend,soitwasneverindangerofcollapsing.
InterestingFactsAboutGoldenGateBridge

●ThetotalcostoftheconstructionoftheGoldenGateBridgewas$35
million.
●ThefamousnaturephotographerfromCalifornia,AnselAdams,was
worriedthatbuildingabridgeacrosstheGoldenGatewouldmake
theplacelooklessbeautiful.However,whenAdamssawthe
completedGoldenGateBridge,hechangedhisopinion.
●TheGoldenGateBridgeweighsatotalof887,700tons.However,
duringthe1980s,whentheroadwaydeckwasreplaced,about
12,300tonswereremovedfromthebridge’sweight.
●DuringtheconstructionoftheGoldenGateBridgeinJune1935,an
earthquakeoccurredwhileworkerswereontopofthebridge’s
unfinishedsouthtower.Oneworkerdescribedhowthetowerswayed
backandforth,about16feetineachdirection.
●TheGoldenGateBridgeusedtobethelongestsuspensionbridgein
theworlduntil1964.However,itisnowtheninth-longestsuspension
bridge.Themainspanofthebridge,whichisthepartsuspended
betweenthetowers,measures1,280meters(4,200feet)inlength.
●SincetheGoldenGateBridgewasbuilt,ithasbeenclosedonlythree
timesbecauseofbadweather.Eachtime,theclosurewasdueto
reallystrongwindsthatweregustingatorover70milesperhour.
●TheGoldenGateBridgehasalsobeenclosedonseveraloccasions
forspecialvisitsfromimportantguests.Twooftheseguestswere
PresidentFranklinD.RooseveltandPresidentCharlesdeGaulleof
France.
●TheGoldenGateBridgeisbelievedtobethemostphotographed
bridgeintheworld.Itisconsideredalandmarkandhasreceived
recognitionforitsengineeringexcellence.
●In1994,theAmericanSocietyofCivilEngineersnameditoneofthe
sevencivilengineeringwondersoftheUnitedStates.

Source–Unsplash
TipsforTravelers
●Apartfromwalkingacrossthebridgeforfree,youcanalsoexplore
theGoldenGateBridgeWelcomeCenter.Itoffersacolorfullookat
thebridge’shistory,aswellastheoriginal12-footstainless-steel“test
tower”usedin1933.Itisopensevendaysaweekfrom9AMto5
PM.
●Itcangetchillyandwindy,especiallywhenthefogrollsin,which
oftenhappensinsummer.Soit’sagoodideatodressinlayersoruse
ahoodtokeepwarm.
●TheidealtimetovisitSanFranciscoandtheGoldenGateBridgeis
betweenSeptembertoNovember,whenthefallseasonbegins.

Thereareseverallandmarksfromwhereyoucanenjoythebreathtakingview
oftheGoldenGateBridge.Apartfrombeingameansoftransportation,itis
alsoamonumentoftimelessbeauty.Itsignifiesthehumanwilltocreate
wonders.Makethisiconiclocationyournexttraveldestinationandmarkitoff
ofyourbucketlist.