Golden Gate Bridge Facts

Regarded as one of the engineering marvels in the era when it was constructed and still admired for its grandeur, the Golden Gate Bridge, a suspension bridge in California, USA, is by far, one of the most popular visiting sites for tourists in the US. Undoubtedly, a great boost to San Francisco tourism industry, Golden Gate Bridge has a rich history about its construction and making

History and Facts
The Golden Gate Bridge has a very interesting history. In the beginning of the 20th century, the only possible way to cross the San Francisco bay was by ferry and it caused problems when the route was clogged due to this mode of transportation. As a measure to overcome this problem, a German - American engineer, Joseph Strauss came up with the marvelous and challenging design of the Golden Gate Bridge. After some initial changes and modifications, Joseph along with some other pioneering engineers started to work on this mega project. The construction of Golden Gate Bridge started on 5th January, 1933 and it took four years for its completion. In April, 1937, when the bridge was completed, the project cost was declared to be US$ 35 million! Surprisingly, during this era, the US was hit by one of the worst ever economic crisis, the Great Depression and even the political and geographical situation in implementing the construction ideas were very difficult. Defying all odds however, the Golden Gate Bridge was successfully completed, standing a testimony to the stupendous achievement of engineers and the US government. The history of Golden Gate Bridge proves that determination, belief and vision can certainly accomplish the impossible!

Interesting Facts
Given the massive size of the Golden Gate Bridge, it is admired as a great sign of architectural prowess. Here are some facts on the Golden Gate Bridge.

• The length of the Golden Gate Bridge is 8,981 feet or 2,737 m.
• The Golden Gate Bridge is colored in the international orange color.
• Casualties during the construction was the death of 11 workers. This is a record for safety at work places when it comes to the construction of projects at such monumental scales.
• 75,293,000 kg of steel was used in the entire project.
• Since its construction, the bridge has been closed only thrice, due to poor weather conditions. December 1, 1951, December 23, 1982 and December 3, 1983 were the dates when the bridge was closed due to strong gusts of 65 mph to 75 mph.
• Until the construction of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York in 1964, the Golden Gate Bridge was the highest suspension bridge.
• The fog around the Golden Gate Bridge is called "advection fog" and due to the special construction of this bridge, these strong currents are directed in such a way that the fog is poured around the bridge.
• Nearly 40 million people cross the Golden Gate Bridge every year, from the north and south ends.

Besides the Golden Gate Bridge, the Golden Gate parks offers some of the amazing recreational facilities to people. The history of Golden Gate park dates back to the year 1860s, when rapid urbanization triggered the need of well established museums, wide tree-lined boulevards and monumental civic buildings and a great park. Spread in a sprawling area of 1,017 acres in San Francisco, with all facilities, the Golden Gate park is one of the most interesting places to visit. One of the great Golden Gate Park facts that this park is the 3rd most visited park in USA, with 13 millions visitors coming to this place every year.

Golden Gate Bridge is certainly one of the most watched historic structures of the 20th century. A summarized compilation of Golden Gate Bridge facts presented here must have given you a glimpse into the vast possibilities of dedicated human effort, of which the Golden Gate Bridge is a live example!