NOVA MCGILL
Contributor
On January 5, 1933, workers kicked off the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge by digging out a staggering 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt for the massive anchorages. The Gold Rush boom of 1849 made land north of San Francisco Bay a hot commodity, pushing speculators to consider how accessibility to the city would drive up its value. Before long, plans were set in motion to build a bridge across the Golden Gate, a narrow strait that plunges 400 feet deep and marks the entrance to San Francisco Bay, linking the San Francisco Peninsula with southern Marin County.
While the concept dates back to 1869, it gained serious traction in 1916. James Wilkins, a former engineering student turned journalist at the San Francisco Bulletin, proposed a suspension bridge boasting a center span of 3,000 feet—almost double the length of any existing bridge at the time. This ambitious idea was estimated to cost $100 million. In light of this, San Francisco’s city engineer, Michael M. O’Shaughnessy (who also coined the name Golden Gate Bridge), began consulting with bridge engineers to see if it could be done for less.
Engineer and poet Joseph Strauss, a 5-foot-tall man from Cincinnati but based in Chicago, said he was up for the challenge. Eventually, O’Shaughnessy and Strauss figured they could create a pure suspension bridge for about $25-30 million, with a main span of at least 4,000 feet. However, they ran into several hurdles, including legal battles from different groups opposing the construction. By the time they cleared most of those issues, the Great Depression hit in 1929, making it a challenge to secure funding. To rally support, officials persuaded voters to back $35 million in bonds by highlighting the job opportunities the project would generate. But the bonds couldn’t be issued until 1932, when Bank of America stepped in to purchase the entire project to support the local economy.
The Golden Gate Bridge officially opened on May 27, 1937, boasting the longest span of any bridge in the world at the time. Just a day before, about 200,000 people had already crossed it on foot, whether running or even roller skating. With its towering structures and the distinctive “international orange” paint, the bridge quickly became an iconic landmark and a proud symbol of San Francisco.
AP Photo from The Mining Journal