golden gate bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge was the largest suspension bridge in the world when it was completed in 1937 and has become an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco. It is currently the second longest suspension bridge in the United States after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City.

History

The crossing of the Golden Gate Strait was for many years accomplished by a ferry running between the Hyde Street Pier at the foot of Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco and Sausalito in Marin County. The idea of a bridge to span the Golden Gate Strait was brought up in an article by the engineer James Wilkins.^[2] The bridge later earned its name, Golden Gate Bridge, after a mention of it in 1917, by San Francisco city engineer M. M. O’Shaughnessy.^[3]

The bridge was the brainchild of Joseph Strauss, an engineer responsible for over 400 drawbridges, though they were far smaller than this project and mostly inland.^[1] Starting in 1921 with his first drawings that were far from approved^[2], Strauss spent over a decade drumming up support in Northern California. Strauss's initial design ^[4] comprised a massive cantilever on each side connected with a central suspension segment. Other key figures in the bridge's construction include architect Irving Morrow, responsible for the Art Deco touches and the choice of color, and engineer Charles Alton Ellis and bridge designer Leon Moisseiff, who collaborated on the complicated mathematics involved.

In May 1924, a hearing, through a petition, was heard by Colonel Herbert Deakyne for the Secretary of War in a request to use land for the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. Col. Deakyne, in the Secretary of War's name, approved to give the land needed for the bridge structure and leading roads to the "Bridging the Golden Gate Association" and both the San Francisco and the Marin counties pending further bridge plans by Mr. Strauss.^[5]

The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District was incorporated in 1928 as the official entity to design, construct, and finance the Golden Gate Bridge. The District includes not only the City & County of San Francisco, and Marin County, in whose boundaries the bridge sits, but also Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Del Norte counties. Representatives from each of the six counties sit on the District's Board of Directors. Voters within the District approved funding for the project in 1930 through a special bond issue that put their homes, farms and business properties up as collateral. This bond issue raised the initial $35 million to finance the building of the Bridge. Construction began on January 5, 1933.^[6] The last of the construction bonds were retired in 1971, with $35 million in principal and nearly $39 million in interest being financed entirely from tolls. Strauss, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, placed a brick from his alma mater's demolished McMicken Hall in the south anchorage before the concrete was poured.

The bridge was completed in April 1937 and opened to pedestrians on May 27 of that year. The next day, President Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington, DC signaling the official start of vehicle traffic over the Bridge at noon. A unique aspect of the bridge's construction was the safety net set up beneath it, significantly reducing the expected number of deaths for such a project. 11 men were killed from falls during construction, and approximately 19 men were saved by the safety net. 10 of the deaths occurred near completion, when the net itself failed under the stress of a scaffold fall. The 19 workers whose lives were saved by the safety nets became proud members of the (informal) Halfway to Hell Club.

Since its completion, the bridge was closed due to windy conditions only three times, in 1951, 1982 and 1983.^[7]

To commemorate Joseph Strauss for his part taken in the construction of the bridge, a statue of him was relocated in 1955 near the structure to remind people how important his work was in the building of the Golden Gate Bridge.^[2]

The center span was the longest among suspension bridges until 1964 when the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was erected between the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City. The Golden Gate Bridge also had the world's tallest suspension towers at the time of construction, and retained that record until more recently. In 1957, Michigan's Mackinac Bridge surpassed the Golden Gate Bridge's length to become the world's longest two tower suspension bridge in total length between anchorages. The longest center suspension span in the world and the longest two tower suspension bridge between anchorages is currently the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan.

As the only road to exit San Francisco to the north, the bridge is part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 and on an average day there are 100,000 vehicles crossing the bridge.^[1] The bridge has six total lanes of vehicle traffic, and walkways on both sides of the bridge. The median markers between the lanes are moved to conform to traffic patterns. On weekday mornings, traffic flows mostly southbound into the city, so four of the six lanes run southbound. Conversely, on weekday afternoons, four lanes run northbound. While there has been discussion concerning the installation of a movable barrier since the 1980s, the Bridge Board of Directors, in March 2005, committed to finding funding to complete the $2 million study required prior to the installation of a moveable median barrier. The eastern walkway is for pedestrians and bicycles during the weekdays and during daylight hours only, and the western walkway is open to bicyclists on weekday afternoons, weekends, and holidays. The speed limit on the Golden Gate Bridge was reduced from 55 mph (90 km/h) to 45 mph (70 km/h) on October 1, 1983. With no moveable median barrier yet, a head-on collision at 55 mph (90 km/h) would create almost 1.5 times the force than at 45 mph (70 km/h).

On September 1, 2002, the toll for Southbound motor vehicles was raised from US$3.00 to $5.00. Northbound motor vehicle traffic, cycling, and pedestrian traffic remain toll free.^[8]

Aesthetics

The color of the bridge is an orange vermilion called International orange. The color was selected by consulting architect Irving Morrow because it blends well with the natural surroundings yet enhances the bridge's visibility in fog. The bridge is widely considered one of the most beautiful examples of bridge engineering, both as a structural design challenge and for its aesthetic appeal. It was declared one of the modern Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. According to Frommer's travel guide, the Golden Gate Bridge is "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world." ^[9] (although Frommers also bestows the "most photographed" honor on Tower Bridge ^[10])

Aesthetics was the foremost reason why the first design of Joseph Strauss was rejected. Upon re-submission of his bridge construction plan, he added details, such as lighting to outline the bridge's cables and towers. ^[11]

The Golden Gate Bridge has a similar sister bridge in Lisbon, Portugal. The red-painted Ponte 25 de Abril (25th April Bridge) is 2,278 meters long and spans 1,013 m.

Paintwork

The bridge was originally painted with red lead primer and a lead-based topcoat, which was touched up as required. In the mid-1960s, a program was started to improve corrosion protection by stripping the original paint off and repainting the bridge with zinc silicate primer and, originally, vinyl topcoats ^{[12] [13]}. Acrylic topcoats have been used instead since 1990 for air quality reasons. The program was completed in 1995, and there is now maintenance by 38 painters ^[14] to touch up the paintwork where it becomes seriously eroded.

Suicides

The Golden Gate Bridge is notorious as a site for suicide. The official suicide count ended in 1995 when the number approached 1,000.^{citation needed]} Through the eight years to 2003, on average there was one suicide jump every two weeks^{citation needed]}, which brought the unofficial total to over 1,300 suicides.^{citation needed]} The 220-foot (67 m) fall takes four seconds and jumpers hit the water at 75 miles per hour (120 km/h). As of 2006, only 26 people have survived the jump. The survivors all struck the water feet first and most suffered multiple internal injuries and broken bones. One young man, named Jon Hines, jumped off the bridge in 1979, swam ashore and walked up on the beach. His worst injury turned out to be several broken vertebrae. ^[15]

A young woman from Piedmont, California, Sarah Rutledge Birnbaum, may be the only person to have jumped from the bridge twice, in early 1988. She survived the first jump but did not survive the second.

Until the official suicide count was discontinued, suicide locations were officially documented by which of the bridge's 128 lamp-posts the suicidal jumper was nearest to when he or she jumped.

In 1993, Roy Raymond, founder of Victoria's Secret, committed suicide by jumping off the bridge.^{citation needed]}

Methods have been discussed to reduce the number of suicides. One idea introduced has been to close the bridge to pedestrians at night; bicyclists are still permitted across at nighttime, but they have to be buzzed in and out through the remotely controlled security gates during nighttime. ^[16] Attempts to introduce a suicide barrier have been thwarted by engineering difficulties, high costs, and public opposition. The estimated cost of a barrier is between $15 and $20 million ^[17]. On January 27, 2005, Bridge District staff re-introduced for the eighth time the topic of a suicide barrier to the Bridge’s Building and Operations committee, citing "the high profile of this issue in recent press and community conversations." On March 11, 2005, the Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Bridge voted 15-1 to approve a two-year, $2 million plan to explore the feasibility of a barrier. Proponents of the barrier cite the example of the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower, where suicides dropped to zero after a barrier was put up. Those against the barrier argue that a barrier would be unsightly, too costly, and would simply move suicides elsewhere. One way of discouraging suicides, rather than directly preventing them, Jump for Life was proposed in late 2005. The program seeks to make the bridge a less attractive place to take one's own life.

Suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge is a theme of Jenni Olson's experimental film, The Joy of Life (2005) and documentarian Eric Steel's controversial 2006 film The Bridge.

See also: suicide bridge.

In fiction and film

Film

• Bicentennial Man - takes place in San Francisco, the bridge is glimpsed several times across the future, including a view in which it has a double deck structure.
• Boys and Girls - Freddie Prinze Jr. as an engineering student at Cal views the bridge on several occasions with co-star Claire Forlani, admiring and commenting on the structural achievement that the bridge is as well as attempting to untangle their budding romantic relationship.
• The Bridge - chronicles the stories of a score of individuals who committed suicide at The Golden Gate Bridge in 2004.
• The Core - deadly microwaves from the sun break through the magnetic field which boils the water, melts the suspension cables, and cuts though the road sending hundreds of traffic congested pedestrians into the boiling bay.
• Dirty Harry - "Scorpio" hijacks a school bus full of children and forces the driver to head North across the bridge.
• Herbie Rides Again - Herbie is chased by Hawk's lawyers along the main cables of the bridge
• Hulk - Hulk jumps off the bridge to save a fighter jet.
• Interview with the Vampire - Following his interview with Louis, Daniel is attacked by Lestat while driving over the bridge.
• The Joy of Life - Jenni Olson's film offers a history of suicide and the Golden Gate Bridge and features gorgeously shot images of the bridge as well as a personal reflection on the production history of Alfred Hitchcock's film Vertigo (1958).
• It Came from Beneath the Sea - (1955) A giant octopus terrorizes San Francisco. Although some stock footage was shot using the real bridge, the scenes where the octopus attempts to destroy the bridge by wrapping itself around the towers were accomplished by using highly-detailed miniatures and stop-motion animation created by special effects master Ray Harryhausen.
• On the Beach - (1959 film) The bridge is seen intact after a nuclear war but eerily devoid of traffic. A persistent urban legend maintains guards were hired to block traffic for a minute to get the shot.
• Raiders of the Lost Ark - Indiana Jones' plane flies over the newly built bridge. Although many regard this as anachronistic because of the film's 1936 setting, the bridge's suspension towers and much of the roadway was actually completed by late 1936.
• The Rock - bridge can be regularly seen in the background as film was shot near Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay. Near the end of the film, fighter jets fly under the bridge en route to Alcatraz.
• The Golden Gate Murders (aka Specter on the Bridge) - A madman attacks people on the bridge, throwing them into the water, making it look like suicides.
• So I Married an Axe Murderer - newly married couple travel over the bridge en route to their honeymoon.
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Starfleet Headquarters is located to the immediate southeast of the bridge's south approach-way.
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - Admiral James T. Kirk and Captain Spock walk along the shore of San Francisco Bay near Fort Point with the bridge in the background, though the script places them in Sausalito at that point in the story; the Klingon bird-of-prey used by the crew of the Starship Enterprise narrowly avoids hitting the Golden Gate Bridge on its way to crashing into the Bay; chambers of the Federation Council are located in the Marin Headlands, immediately west of the bridge's north approach-way.
• Superman - Superman saves a school bus about to fall from the bridge.
• Vertigo - in this Alfred Hitchcock film, the bridge is a prominent backdrop in a scene set just east (bayside) of Fort Point.
• A View to a Kill - in this James Bond film, Bond and Max Zorin fight on top of one of the bridge's towers .
• X-Men: The Last Stand - The bridge is moved by Magneto to access Alcatraz, and is later shown in the process of being rebuilt in the film's final scene. (Coincidentally, this movie was released on May 26, 2006 - one day short of the 69th anniversary of the bridge's opening.)
• The Love Bug - Herbie attempts to commit "suicide" by trying to drive over the barrier.

Television

• 10.5 - During a 9.5 Earthquake, the bridge collapses. The bridge collapses between the two towers throwing people and cars into the bay. The South Tower also collapses into the bay while the North Tower stays standing.
• Charmed - the series is set in San Francisco. The bridge can regularly be seen. Characters meet each other and spend time high atop one of the bridge towers.
• Futurama - the bridge is shown in one episode as a "Hover Bridge", meaning there is no longer a road base.
• Full House - the series is set in San Francisco. In the opening credits the bridge is being crossed by a car full of the program's main characters.
• Half & Half - the series is set in San Francisco. Various shots of the bridge, as well as other famous city landmarks, can be seen throughout the show.
• Knight Rider - the first Season 3 episode "Knight of the Drones" is set in San Francisco and shows KITT driven on the bridge.
• Love is a Many Splendored Thing - the bridge is seen prominently in the opening sequence of the soap opera , which was set in San Francisco.
• Monk - The series is set in San Francisco. The opening title is over the Golden Gate Bridge in Season 2-5.
• On the Beach - (2000 mini series) Twisted remains are shown left from the shock waves of a nuclear blast.
• Nash Bridges - the series is set in San Francisco. There are several shots of the bridge placed throughout the show.
• Sliders - the series is set in San Francisco. The main characters travel to alternate Earths, and in one of these Earths the bridge is called the Azure Gate Bridge and painted an electric blue.
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - the bridge is damaged during the Dominion War in an attack by the Breen.
• Star Trek: Enterprise - the original location of Starfleet Command is located north east of the bridge. Instead of a direct view of traffic lanes and whatever transportation technology is employed, there is an obscuring weatherproof glass arch cover.
• Star Trek: Voyager - Voyager is shown flying underneath the bridge upon finally returning to Earth
• The West Wing - Qumar's defense minister, Abdul ibn Shareef, plotted to destroy the bridge in a terrorist attack.

Books

• The Golden Gate - Alistair MacLean's novel is a kidnapping story set almost exclusively on the bridge.
• The Golden Gate (novel) - Vikram Seth's novel told in sonnets is the story of yuppies in California in the mid 1980s searching for love; the bridge is a source of inspiration for them.
• Earth Abides - following the decimation of humanity, the increasing disrepair of the bridge is noted. The protagonist interacts with the bridge at the end of the novel.
• Remnants - a tiny meteor causes a submarine to break into the bridge destroying it.

Games

• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - a model of this bridge (called Gant Bridge) is featured in the city San Fierro, San Andreas.
• Red Alert 2 : Yuri's Revenge - the bridge is destroyed in some of the first missions by Soviet invaders.
• Midtown Madness 2 - in San Francisco city
• Mario is Missing - one of the monuments Luigi must retrieve from the Koopas
• San Francisco Rush - racing game set around San Francisco, including a race across the bridge.
• Goldeneye: Rogue Agent - features the top of the bridge in multiplayer.
• Lupin III: Treasure of the Sorcerer King - Goemon Ishikawa sliced the bridge in half during the opening sequence.
• Sonic Adventure 2 - The Radical Highway and Mission Street levels represent the bridge.
• Driver: You are the Wheelman - included in the model of San Francisco.

Other

• Star Trek universe - in both the 23rd and 24th Centuries, Starfleet Headquarters, the Federation Council, and Starfleet Academy are all located near the bridge.
• Voyager Golden Record - the bridge appears as one of the pictures on the record.
• Disney's California Adventure - there is a smaller scale of the bridge at the entrance of Disney's California Adventure.
• Sleater-Kinney - the song "Jumpers" from their 2005 album The Woods details the story of a woman who decides to commit suicide by jumping from the bridge.
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - The song "Californication" from their 1999 album, Californication. Drummer Chad Smith can be seen snowboarding on the bridge.
• Robin Williams: Live on Broadway - Robin Williams mentions the bridge during the performance when describing the increase in security across the US after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, drawing a satyrical comparison between the Army National Guard soldiers guarding it and Elmer Fudd.

Photos

See also

• 49-Mile Scenic Drive
• Sarah Rutledge Birnbaum

External links

• Video of the 1936 opening day of Golden Gate Bridge
• The official website of the Golden Gate Bridge
• The New Yorker: Fatal Grandeur of the Golden Gate Bridge
• The Museum of San Francisco's Story Behind the Construction of the Span
• PBS American Experience
• Golden Gate Bridge Design and Construction Statistics
• VRML and Google Earth 3D Models of the Golden Gate Bridge (Click on 'CIS/2 Models in Google Earth' in the What's New section)
  • WikiSatellite view at WikiMapia
  • Close-up color aerial from TerraServer-USA or Google Local
  • Surrounding area map from the United States Census Bureau

References

• 1. ^ ^a b c d Denton, Harry et al. (2004) "Lonely Planet San Francisco" Lonely Planet, United States. 352 pp. ISBN 1-74104-154-6

• ^ ^a b c Owens, T. O. (2001) "The Golden Gate Bridge" The Rosen Publishing Group. 24 pp. ISBN 0-8239-5016-6
• ^ Gudde, Erwin G. "California Place Names" (2004) University of California Press, London, England. 467 pp. ISBN 0-520-24217-3.
• ^ Bridging the Bay: Bridges That Never Were. UC Berkeley Library (1999). Retrieved on 2006-04-13.
• ^ Miller, John B. (2002) "Case Studies in Infrastructure Delivery" Springer. 296 pp. ISBN 0-7923-7652-8.
• ^ Jackson, Donald C. (1995) "Great American Bridges and Dams" John Wiley and Sons. 360 pp. ISBN 0-471-14385-5
• ^ Cheever, David (1999) "Daytrips San Francisco & Northern California" Hastingshouse / Daytrips Publ. 352 pp. ISBN 0-8038-9441-4.
• ^ Schulte-Peevers, Andrea (2003) "Lonely Planet California" Lonely Planet, United States. 737 pp. ISBN 1-86450-331-9
• ^ Golden Gate Bridge - Museum/Attraction View - San Francisco - Frommers.com. Frommers (2006). Retrieved on 2006-04-13.
• ^ Tower Bridge - Museum/Attraction View - London - Frommers.com. Frommers (2006). Retrieved on 2006-04-13.
• ^ Rodriguez, Joseph A. (2000) Planning and Urban Rivalry in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1930s. Journal of Planning Education and Research v. 20 pp. 66-76.
• ^ Golden Gate Bridge: Research Library: How Often is the Golden Gate Bridge Repainted?. Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District (2006). Retrieved on 2006-04-13.
• ^ Golden Gate Bridge: Construction Data: Painting The Golden Gate Bridge. Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District (2006). Retrieved on 2006-04-13.
• ^ Golden Gate Bridge: Construction Data: How Many Ironworkers and Painters Maintain the Golden Gate Bridge?. Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District (2006). Retrieved on 2006-04-13.
• ^ Could you jump off a bridge or a tall building and survive the fall?. The Straight Dope. Cecil Adams (2005). Retrieved on 2006-04-12.
• ^ Golden Gate Bridge: Bikes and Pedestrians. Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District (2006). Retrieved on 2006-04-13.
• ^ Deadly Beauty. The Economist (2006). Retrieved on 2006-06-10, 2006.

• Tad Friend: Jumpers: The fatal grandeur of the Golden Gate Bridge, The New Yorker, Oct 13, 2003 v79 i30 page 48
• "Golden Gate Bridge Natural Frequencies", Vibrationdata.com, Apr 5, 2006

Coordinates: 37°49′3″N, 122°28′42″W