Golden Gate Bridge celebrates 78th anniversary of its opening

[yuiyoshida]

Wednesday marks 78 years since San Francisco's most iconic landmark, the Golden Gate Bridge, opened to the public. And what an occasion it was.

By 6 AM, over 18,000 people were lined up in San Francisco and Marin to be the first to cross the bridge. By the day's end, over 200,000 eager pedestrians walked the beautiful new bridge. All over the city, schools, businesses and stores closed so men, women and children could partake in "Pedestrian Day."

The bridge was the culmination of an impossible dream. Many experts ruled out the possibility of a bridge due to the location's dangerous tides, thick fog and intense winds. The Department of War tried to block its construction on the grounds it would interfere with ship traffic. The Southern Pacific Railroad, which operated the ferries from Marin to San Francisco, even filed a lawsuit against the bridge.

But Joseph Strauss, the bridge's chief engineer, would not be deterred. He spent over a decade petitioning supporters until the 1923 Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District Act was passed by the state legislature. Construction began in 1933 and was finished early and under budget, a sentence which turns the new Bay Bridge folks green with envy.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Golden-Gate-Bridge-celebrates-78th-anniversary-of-6286949.php

[Brother Buzz]

1. I always enjoy the photos of the China Clippers flying over the bridge

The China Clipper passing over the partially completed Golden Gate Bridge, November 22, 1935
Courtesy of Pan American World Airways, Inc.