View from Coit Tower
The Golden Gate Bridge spans 8,981 feet across the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean, connecting San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County. Designed by engineer Joseph Strauss and architect Irving Morrow, it was the longest suspension bridge span in the world when it opened on May 27, 1937.
California Historical Landmark No. 974, San Francisco Landmark No. 222 (5/21/1999)
Tags: telegraph hill San Francisco SF San Francisco Bay Area Bay Area California CA aerial coit tower golden gate bridge bridge view from coit tower Golden Gate AIA150 suspension bridge Irving Morrow charles alton ellis leon moisseiff art deco streamline moderne National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark California Historic Civil Engineering Landmark russian hill the marina California Historical Landmark CHL landmark San Francisco Landmark
View from Coit Tower
The Golden Gate Bridge spans 8,981 feet across the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean, connecting San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County. Designed by engineer Joseph Strauss and architect Irving Morrow, it was the longest suspension bridge span in the world when it opened on May 27, 1937.
California Historical Landmark No. 974, San Francisco Landmark No. 222 (5/21/1999)
Tags: telegraph hill San Francisco SF San Francisco Bay Area Bay Area California CA aerial coit tower golden gate bridge bridge view from coit tower Golden Gate AIA150 suspension bridge Irving Morrow charles alton ellis leon moisseiff art deco streamline moderne National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark California Historic Civil Engineering Landmark the marina California Historical Landmark CHL landmark San Francisco Landmark
Joseph Strauss dreamed of a golden bridge spanning San Francisco Bay. But people opposed it fearing it would never survive the strong tides, it would lower property values, it would ruin the view. More than 2,000 lawsuits were filed to stop the project. Strauss persevered and, in 1930, at last won approval for a bond issue. But then the Great Depression settled over America and no one dared buy the first six million dollars in bonds to start construction. Finally Strauss came to A.P. Giannini, founder of Bank of America. Giannini also had a vision -- of serving fully California's growth. Giannini asked one question: "How long will this bridge last?" Struass replied, "Forever!" If cared for, it should have "life without end." Giannini said, "California needs that bridge! We'll buy the bonds." In 1933, the Golden Gate Bridge was begun.
This plaque, entitled Men of Vision, pays tribute to Joseph Strauss, Chief Engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge, and A.P. Gianni, founder of the Bank of Italy and Bank of America, who in large part financed its construction. It can be found located at the San Francisco-side Visitation Center of Golden Gate Bridge.
California Historical Landmark No. 974, San Francisco Landmark No. 222 (5/21/1999)
Tags: A.P. Giannini Joseph Strauss plaque historical marker Visitation Center Golden Gate Bridge bridge Golden Gate San Francisco SF San Francisco-Bay Area Bay Area California CA Golden Gate National Recreation Area GGNRA National Park Service NPS National Recreation Area NRA California Historical Landmark CHL landmark San Francisco Landmark
The Joseph B. Strauss Memorial, located at the San Francisco-side Visitation Center of Golden Gate Bridge, was executed by sculptor Frederick William Schweigardt in 1941. Commissioned by the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District, the 8-foot bronze portrait of Strauss was originally patinated brown with red-brown undertones. Joseph B. Strauss (1870-1938) was the chief engineer and biggest promotor of the Golden Gate Bridge.
California Historical Landmark No. 974, San Francisco Landmark No. 222 (5/21/1999)
Tags: Joseph B. Strauss Memorial Joseph Strauss Memorial Joseph B. Strauss Joseph Strauss statue memorial sculpture Visitation Center Frederick William Schweigardt Golden Gate Bridge Golden Gate San Francisco SF San Francisco-Bay Area Bay Area California CA Golden Gate National Recreation Area GGNRA National Park Service NPS National Recreation Area NRA California Historical Landmark CHL landmark San Francisco Landmark
Length of one cable....7650 ft. (2331.7 m)
Diameter of one cable....
36 3/8 in. (92.4 cm)
Wires in each cable....27,572
Total wire used...80,000 miles (128,748 km)
Weight of cable suspenders & Accessories)...24,500 tons (22.226 m.tons)
Cable Contractor: John A. Roebling's Sons Co, Trenton & Roebling, New Jersey
The Golden Gate Bridge spans 8,981 feet across the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean, connecting San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County. Designed by engineer Joseph Strauss and architect Irving Morrow, it was the longest suspension bridge span in the world when it opened on May 27, 1937. It has since been surpassed by eight other bridges, but still has the second longest suspension bridge main span in the United States after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York.
Before the bridge was built, the only practical route across the Golden Gate was by boat, which held San Francisco's growth rate below the national average. However, many experts believed that the 6,700-foot strait could not be bridged. It had strong swirling tides, strong winds, and reached depths of 500-feet at its center.
In 1916, former engineering student James Wilkins wrote an article with a proposed design for a crossing in the San Francisco Bulletin. The City Engineer estimated the cost at an impractical $100 million and challenged bridge engineers to reduce costs. Joseph Strauss, an ambitious but modestly accomplished engineer, responded with a plan for bookend cantilevers connected by a central suspension segment, which he promised could be built for $17 million. Strauss spent the better part of the next decade drumming up support and construction began on January 5, 1933.
As chief engineer in charge, Strauss, with an eye towards self promotion downplayed the contributions of his collaborators who were largely responsible for the bridge's final form Architect Irving Morrow designed the overall shape of the bridge towers, the lighting scheme and Art Deco elements, and used the International Orange color as a sealant. And Charles Alton Ellis, collaborating remotely with Leon Moisseiff, was the principal engineer, producing the basic structural design, introducing Moisseiff's "deflection theory" by which a thin, flexible roadway would flex in the wind, greatly reducing stress by transmitting forces via suspension cables to the bridge towers
In 2007, the Golden Gate Bridge was ranked #5 on the AIA 150 America's Favorite Architecture list.
California Historical Landmark No. 974, San Francisco Landmark No. 222 (5/21/1999)
Tags: cable Visitation Center Golden Gate Bridge bridge Golden Gate San Francisco SF San Francisco-Bay Area Bay Area California CA Golden Gate National Recreation Area GGNRA National Park Service NPS National Recreation Area NRA California Historical Landmark CHL landmark San Francisco Landmark