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

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 iconic monument it is known as today.

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

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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.

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

7. ●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.

8. 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.

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