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N0KFQ > TODAY 27.05.12 19:06l 61 Lines 2906 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 22913_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - May 27
Path: IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<IK6ZDE<I0OJJ<VE3UIL<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 120527/1753Z 22913@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.50
May 27, 1937:
Golden Gate Bridge opens
San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, a stunning technological and
artistic achievement, opens to the public after five years of
construction. On opening day--"Pedestrian Day"--some 200,000
bridge walkers marveled at the 4,200-foot-long suspension bridge,
which spans the Golden Gate Strait at the entrance to San
Francisco Bay and connects San Francisco and Marin County. On May
28, the Golden Gate Bridge opened to vehicular traffic.
The concept of bridging the nearly mile-wide Golden Gate Strait
was proposed as early as 1872, but it was not until the early
1920s that public opinion in San Francisco began to favor such an
undertaking. In 1921, Cincinnati-born bridge engineer Joseph
Strauss submitted a preliminary proposal: a combination
suspension-cantilever that could be built for $27 million.
Although unsightly compared with the final result, his design was
affordable, and Strauss became the recognized leader of the
effort to bridge the Golden Gate Strait.
During the next few years, Strauss' design evolved rapidly,
thanks to the contributions of consulting engineer Leon S.
Moisseiff, architect Irving F. Morrow, and others. Moisseiff's
concept of a simple suspension bridge was accepted by Strauss,
and Morrow, along with his wife, Gertrude, developed the Golden
Gate Bridge's elegant Art Deco design. Morrow would later help
choose the bridge's trademark color: "international orange," a
brilliant vermilion color that resists rust and fading and suits
the natural beauty of San Francisco and its picturesque sunsets.
In 1929, Strauss was selected as chief engineer.
To finance the bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway
District was formed in 1928, consisting of San Francisco, Marin,
Sonoma, Del Norte, and parts of Mendocino and Napa counties.
These counties agreed to collectively take out a large bond,
which would then be paid back through bridge tolls. In November
1930, residents of the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District
voted 3-1 to put their homes, farms, and businesses up as
collateral to support a $35 million bond to build Strauss' Golden
Gate Bridge.
Construction began on January 5, 1933, at the height of the Great
Depression. Strauss and his workers overcame many difficulties:
strong tides, frequent storms and fogs, and the problem of
blasting rock 65 feet below the water to plant earthquake-proof
foundations. Eleven men died during construction. On May 27,
1937, the Golden Gate Bridge was opened to great acclaim, a
symbol of progress in the Bay Area during a time of economic
crisis. At 4,200 feet, it was the longest bridge in the world
until the completion of New York City's Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
in 1964. Today, the Golden Gate Bridge remains one of the world's
most recognizable architectural structures.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
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