Spanning the one-mile strait between the Pacific Ocean and busy San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge is easily one of California’s most iconic landmarks, symbolizing the state’s innovative spirit and enduring beauty. Still, despite its ubiquity, many Californians aren’t familiar with the history of this famous structure.
What can the Golden Gate Bridge tell us about our past?
For many years, the thought of bridging the stormy Golden Gate Strait seemed laughable. Up until the 20th century, San Francisco and present-day Marin County were connected through schools of private water taxis and, later, an official ferry service. Still, as the city grew, boat travel became an obstacle to break-neck regional development. Despite the prevailing belief that the waterway’s treacherous currents and blinding fog would make construction impossible, ambitious engineers were unable to resist the challenge. In 1916, a student named James Wilkins published his proposal in the San Francisco Bulletin.
Though many industry professionals dismissed his idea out of hand, San Francisco officials disseminated a public request for bids. One of the many responders was young Joseph Strauss, who'd made a name for himself by designing a hypothetical railroad bridge across the Bering Strait in his graduate thesis. Over the following decade, Strauss devoted himself to drumming up support for the project. He faced significant pushback, including from the U.S. Navy — who raised potential security concerns — and the Southern Pacific Railroad who owned the ferry fleets that a bridge would make redundant. It wasn't until 1924 that his efforts paid off and construction was approved.
The proposal was finalized through Strauss' collaborative efforts with other top engineers and architects, including luminaries like Leon Moisseiff, Irving Morrow, and Charles Alton Ellis. Despite this network of talent, Strauss positioned himself as the project's undisputed leader. While cynical, his media strategy was effective. Strauss was upheld as the man who gave San Francisco its iconic bridge. Though his team is now credited as responsible for the final design, they were largely erased from history.
Construction began in 1933, in the thick of the Great Depression. Despite the dire economic times, the project was not part of any federal work programs. Strauss may have stolen the spotlight from his collaborators but he headed the project, championing innovations like the movable safety netting that would save countless lives. Despite precautions, eleven men lost their lives building the Golden Gate Bridge. Tragically, ten of these workers were killed just three months before the bridge opened in 1937 when a scaffold plunged through the net into the water below.
Whether you're a local or just visiting San Francisco, we all recognize the Golden Gate Bridge as one of the state's most iconic landmarks and views. While it's beautiful regardless, I believe we can appreciate this breathtaking structure even more when we're made aware of its complicated history: the ingenuity, determination, steely ambition, and human cost that were required to build the world's most photographed bridge.
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