Facts About The Golden Gate Bridge And How It Came To Be
The San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge Is Fascinating And An Amazing Creation. Learn About It In This Article.
“Golden Gate Bridge” by Curtis Fry is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
This article will tell you about the Golden Gate Bridge and how it came to be. I will also be informing you with a couple of fun facts about the amazing San Francisco bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge was built on January 5, 1933, but was completed on May 27, 1937. It’s engineering designer was Joseph Strauss. This bridge is 1.7 miles long and connects San Francisco to Marin County, California. From 1937 up until 1964, the Golden Gate Bridge was the longest main suspension bridge in the world.
One fact about the construction of the bridge is, 11 men died while it was being built. But 19 men’s lives were also saved because of a safety net that suspended under the floor of the bridge. This safety net was 10 feet wider than the bridge’s width and 15 feet longer than it’s length. In fact, those 19 men became known as members of the “Half-Way-To-Hell-Club.”
Another fact that happened during the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge is, an earthquake hit before the bridge was completed. This happened in June 1935 while men were working on the south tower of the bridge. The bridge was swinging back and forth towards the ocean and back to the bay.
Did you know that the Golden Gate Bridge was originally supposed to be painted in blue and yellow stripes? Today the bridge is an international orange, but the U.S Navy wanted it to be blue and yellow to increase it’s visibility. This happened when they received the steel parts, and found that it was painted in a burnt red hue as a primer. Luckily, the architect liked the color and found it both pleasing to the high and very visible. But later they learned that this primer was harmful to humans and the environment because it was a lead based primer. It took about 30 years to remove all of the lead based primer, starting from 1965 to 1995. In replacement, the bridge is covered in zinc based primer instead.
When the Golden Gate Bridge was finally finished, you had to pay 50 cents each time you crossed the bridge. Today, that might not seem like a lot but back then it was a lot of money especially during the Great Depression. Today 50 cents each way would be equal to about 18 dollars both ways put together. But now you only have to pay for on direction when your heading southbound into San Francisco.
Did you also know that the Golden Gate Bridge has foghorns? Because the San Francisco Bay is often foggy, they use foghorns to help guide the ships through the dense fog. Also at different times throughout the day the foghorns tone changes.
The Golden Gate Bridge is a fascinating and amazing creation that took lots of hard work to build. Hopefully someday you can visit this wonderful bridge with your family, friends or even by yourself!
For more information on the Golden Gate Bridge click these links:
https://www.history.com/news/golden-gate-bridge-surprising-facts
