RON HENGGELER

May 26, 2012
Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary: The World's Most Iconic Bridge Celebrates Historic Milestone

"The Golden Gate Bridge--nine thousand feet long, seven hundred and fifty feet tall, weighing 887,000 tons and coated in millions of gallons of International Orange paint--links the urbanity of San Francisco with the wild headlands of Marin County, as if to suggest the paradox of California and America itself," wrote California State Librarian Emeritus Kevin Starr in his new book "Golden Gate: The Life and Times of America's Greatest Bridge."

The most recognizable bridge in the world, the Golden Gate remains a bit of an engineering marvel. The longest bridge before its construction was 700 feet shorter, and gapping the 1.7-mile stretch of Pacific was called an impossibility at the time of its conception. The Sierra Club (and reportedly The Commonwealth Club!) opposed the construction for environmental concerns, the military worried about exposing the city and old-time San Franciscans were against it because "they opposed anything that wasn't there already," joked Starr.

The span was completed in less than five years--ahead of schedule and under budget--without the use of computers or calculators. This fun fact serves as an especially sore reminder to a certain bridge on the other side of the city, whose current single span construction is nearly six years behind schedule and $5 billion over budget.

The astronomical cost of maintenance forces a continuous rise in tolls. At the 50th anniversary in 1987, bridge workers held their breath as the suspension stretched nearly to its limits to hold 300,000 pedestrians just one year after the roadway was reinforced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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