History of Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge in California, United States, which links San Francisco with Marin County. The bridge is built over the Golden Gate, a North American strait which connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean.

History of Golden Gate Bridge

Before the Golden Gate Bridge was constructed, ferries were the only means to go across the San Francisco Bay. Being less time consuming and financially viable, ferry services became an important mode of transport in this region. But when the water body began to get crowded with vessels, an idea to build a bridge across the strait, connecting San Francisco to Marin County, cropped up.

Initially experts were of the opinion that it was impossible to build a bridge across the 6,700 ft strait. The strong currents, swirling tides, depth of the water, strong winds and dense fog made the construction of this bridge nearly impossible. The engineers from San Francisco City estimated that the total cost of bridging the strait would be around a $100 million, a large sum of money at that time.

Joseph Strauss, a German - American engineer, came up with a design, wherein 2 massive cantilevers built on either side of the strait, were connected by a central suspension segment. The cost was estimated to be approximately $17 million. Though the local authorities accepted the proposal, Strauss had a hard time garnering support from departments, like, the Department of War and simultaneously fighting public interest litigations from organizations such as the Southern Pacific Railroad, which was more concerned about the damage to its flourishing ferry business. Finally, he was successful in convincing the authorities and the land required for constructing the structure was allotted to the "Bridging the Golden Gate Association" in May 1924.

Back in 1917, when the project was initially discussed between Strauss and M.H. O'Shaughnessy, an engineer from San Francisco, the name 'Golden Gate Bridge' was used for the first time, which went on to become its official name. The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District Act was introduced in 1923.

The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District, formed in 1928, was the official body assigned with the responsibility of designing, constructing and financing the Golden Gate Bridge. Strauss was appointed Chief Engineer of the project and given the responsibility of overall design and construction. Irving Morrow, an American architect, was assigned the responsibility of designing the shape of the bridge, its lighting scheme and Art Deco style elements, like walkways and railings. Charles Elton Ellis was appointed as the principal engineer and Leon Moisseiff created the basic structural design. Though Ellis did much of the technical and theoretical work on this project, he was always sidelined by Strauss. He finally received the credit due to him in May 2007, when a formal report on '70 years of stewardship of the Golden Gate Bridge' issued by the Golden Gate Bridge district gave major credit for the design of the bridge to him.

When the time for construction of the bridge came, the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District faced problems raising funds for the bridge because of the depression and Wall Street crash. Fortunately, bonds worth USD 35 million, issued by the district, were bought by Amadeo Giannini, the founder of the Bank of America, thus clearing the financial obstacles faced by the project.

The construction of the bridge began on 5th January, 1933 and went on for four years till its completion in April 1937. The cost of the project came upto $35 million. The week-long opening celebrations were kicked off on 27th May, 1937. Approximately, 200,000 people crossed the bridge, either walking or on roller skates, a day before the bridge was opened for vehicles. The Mayor, Angelo Rossi, and other officials crossed over to San Francisco in a motorcade on the day of the opening. The official start of vehicular traffic was signaled by President Roosevelt, from Washington D.C.

The Golden Gate Bridge was ranked 5th on the 'List of America's Favorite Architecture' compiled by the American Institute of Architects, in 2007. A poem written by Joseph Strauss "The Mighty Task is Done", is encrypted on the Golden Gate Bridge, as remembrance of the task done.