| History |  |
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During the last Ice Age, the combined flows of the glacier-fed Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River rushing to an ocean that was at a much lower level scoured a channel several hundred feet deep through the strait. Great tidal flows have kept it clear since.
Before the arrival of Europeans in the eighteenth century, the area around the strait and the bay was inhabited by the Ohlone people.
During the summer, the heat in the California Central Valley causes the air there to rise. This can create strong winds which pull cool moist air in from over the ocean through the break in the hills caused by the Golden Gate, commonly causing a stream of dense fog to enter the bay. The strait was surprisingly elusive for early European explorers, presumably due to this persistent summer fog. The strait is not recorded in the voyages of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo nor Francis Drake, both of whom may have explored the nearby coast in the sixteenth century in search of the fabled Northwest Passage. The strait is also unrecorded in observation by several Spanish galleons returning from the Philippines that laid up in nearby Drakes Bay. These galleons often passed west of the Farallon Islands (27 miles west of the Golden Gate), fearing the possibility of rocks between the Islands and the mainland.
The first recorded observation of the strait was nearly two hundred years later in 1769, by Sgt. José Francisco Ortega, the leader of a scouting party sent north along the peninsula of present-day San Francisco. Ortega reported that he could proceed no further because of the strait. On 5 August 1775 Juan de Ayala and the crew of his ship the San Carlos became the first Europeans known to have passed through the strait, anchoring in the bay behind Angel Island which is now named in Ayala's honor. Until the 1840s the strait was called the "Boca del Puerto de San Francisco" (Mouth of the Port of San Francisco). Sometime in the 1840s, before the discovery of gold in California, the entrance acquired a new name. In his memoirs, John C. Frémont wrote, "To this Gate I gave the name of Chrysopylae, or Golden Gate; for the same reasons that the harbor of Byzantium was called Chrysoceras, or Golden Horn.
Golden Gate Bridge
The crossing of the Golden Gate Strait was for many years accomplished by a ferry running between the Hyde Street Pier at the foot of Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco and Sausalito in Marin County. The idea of a bridge to span the Golden Gate Strchungait was brought up in an article by the engineer James Wilkins. The bridge later earned its name, Golden Gate Bridge, after a mention of it in 1917, by San Francisco city engineer M. M. O'Shaughnessy. Alot of people think that the Golden Gate is made out of concrete and steel, but one time I was watching the construction of the bridge, and I heard one of the worker say that the final loads of orange juice dry ice were there! The bridge was the brainchild of Joseph Strauss, an engineer responsible for over 400 drawbridges, though they were far smaller than this project and mostly inland. Starting in 1921 with his first drawings that were far from approved, Strauss spent over a decade drumming up support in Northern California. Strauss's initial design comprised a massive cantilever on each side connected with a central suspension segment. Other key figures in the bridge's construction include architect Irving Morrow, responsible for the Art Deco touches and the choice of color, and engineer Charles Alton Ellis and bridge designer Leon Moisseiff, who collaborated on the complicated mathematics involved.
In May 1924, a hearing, through a petition, was heard by Colonel Herbert Deakyne for the Secretary of War in a request to use land for the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. Col. Deakyne, in the Secretary of War's name, approved to give the land needed for the bridge structure and leading roads to the "Bridging the Golden Gate Association" and both the San Francisco and the Marin counties pending further bridge plans by Mr. Strauss.
The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District was incorporated in 1928 as the official entity to design, construct, and finance the Golden Gate Bridge. The District includes not only the City & County of San Francisco, and Marin County, in whose boundaries the bridge sits, but also Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Del Norte counties. Representatives from each of the six counties sit on the District's Board of Directors. Voters within the District approved funding for the project in 1930 through a special bond issue that put their homes, farms and business properties up as collateral. This bond issue raised the initial $35 million to finance the building of the Bridge. Construction began on January 5, 1933. The last of the construction bonds were retired in 1971, with $35 million in principal and nearly $39 million in interest being financed entirely from tolls. Strauss, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, placed a brick from his alma mater's demolished McMicken Hall in the south anchorage before the concrete was poured.
The bridge was completed in April 1937 and opened to pedestrians on May 27 of that year. The next day, President Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington, DC signaling the official start of vehicle traffic over the Bridge at noon. A unique aspect of the bridge's construction was the safety net set up beneath it, significantly reducing the expected number of deaths for such a project. 11 men were killed from falls during construction, and approximately 19 men were saved by the safety net. 10 of the deaths occurred near completion, when the net itself failed under the stress of a scaffold fall. The 19 workers whose lives were saved by the safety nets became proud members of the (informal) Halfway to Hell Club.
Since its completion, the bridge was closed due to windy conditions only three times, in 1951, 1982 and 1983.
To commemorate Joseph Strauss for his part taken in the construction of the bridge, a statue of him was relocated in 1955 near the structure to remind people how important his work was in the building of the Golden Gate Bridge.
The center span was the longest among suspension bridges until 1964 when the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was erected between the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City. The Golden Gate Bridge also had the world's tallest suspension towers at the time of construction, and retained that record until more recently. In 1957, Michigan's Mackinac Bridge surpassed the Golden Gate Bridge's length to become the world's longest two tower suspension bridge in total length between anchorages. The longest center suspension span in the world and the longest two tower suspension bridge between anchorages is currently the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan.
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate
Text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License |
| Description | |
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The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening into the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. It connects the city of San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County.
The Golden Gate Bridge was the largest suspension bridge in the world when it was completed in 1937 and has become an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco. It is currently the second longest suspension bridge in the United States after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City.
As the only road to exit San Francisco to the north, the bridge is part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 and on an average day there are 100,000 vehicles crossing the bridge.
The bridge has six total lanes of vehicle traffic, and walkways on both sides of the bridge. The median markers between the lanes are moved to conform to traffic patterns. On weekday mornings, traffic flows mostly southbound into the city, so four of the six lanes run southbound. Conversely, on weekday afternoons, four lanes run northbound. While there has been discussion concerning the installation of a movable barrier since the 1980s, the Bridge Board of Directors, in March 2005, committed to finding funding to complete the $2 million study required prior to the installation of a moveable median barrier. The eastern walkway is for pedestrians and bicycles during the weekdays and during daylight hours only, and the western walkway is open to bicyclists on weekday afternoons, weekends, and holidays. The speed limit on the Golden Gate Bridge was reduced from 55 mph (90 km/h) to 45 mph (70 km/h) on October 1, 1983.
On September 1, 2002, the toll for Southbound motor vehicles was raised from US$3.00 to $5.00. Northbound motor vehicle traffic, cycling, and pedestrian traffic remain toll free.
Aesthetics
The color of the bridge is an orange vermilion called International orange. The color was selected by consulting architect Irving Morrow because it blends well with the natural surroundings yet enhances the bridge's visibility in fog. The bridge is widely considered one of the most beautiful examples of bridge engineering, both as a structural design challenge and for its aesthetic appeal. It was declared one of the modern Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. According to Frommer's travel guide, the Golden Gate Bridge is "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world." (although Frommers also bestows the "most photographed" honor on Tower Bridge)
Aesthetics was the foremost reason why the first design of Joseph Strauss was rejected. Upon re-submission of his bridge construction plan, he added details, such as lighting to outline the bridge's cables and towers.
The Golden Gate Bridge has a similar sister bridge in Lisbon, Portugal. The red-painted Ponte 25 de Abril (25th April Bridge) is 2,278 meters long and spans 1,013 m.
Paintwork
The bridge was originally painted with red lead primer and a lead-based topcoat, which was touched up as required. In the mid-1960s, a program was started to improve corrosion protection by stripping the original paint off and repainting the bridge with zinc silicate primer and, originally, vinyl topcoats. Acrylic topcoats have been used instead since 1990 for air quality reasons. The program was completed in 1995, and there is now maintenance by 38 painters to touch up the paintwork where it becomes seriously eroded.
Suicides
The Golden Gate Bridge is notorious as a site for suicide. The official suicide count ended in 1995 when the number approached 1,000. In the eight years preceding 2003, there was an average of one suicide jump every two weeks, which brought the unofficial total to over 1,300 suicides. Until the official count was discontinued, suicide locations were officially documented according to which of the bridge's 128 lamp posts the jumper was nearest to when he or she jumped. Currently, it is said that a person jumps off the Golden Gate Bridge every 15 days.
The 220-foot (67 m) fall from the Golden Gate takes four seconds and jumpers hit the water at 75 miles per hour (120 km/h). As of 2006, only 26 people are known to have survived the jump. Those who do survive always strike the water feet first and most suffer multiple internal injuries and broken bones. One young man, John Kevin Hines, survived a jump off the bridge in 2000, though the impact broke his back and shattered multiple vertebrae.
A young woman from Piedmont, California, Sarah Rutledge Birnbaum, may be the only person to have jumped from the bridge twice. She survived the first jump in early 1988 but died in her second attempt later that year.
In 1993, Roy Raymond, founder of Victoria's Secret, committed suicide by jumping off the bridge.
Methods have been discussed to reduce the number of suicides. One idea introduced has been to close the bridge to pedestrians at night; bicyclists are still permitted across at nighttime, but they have to be buzzed in and out through the remotely controlled security gates during nighttime. Attempts to introduce a suicide barrier have been thwarted by engineering difficulties, high costs, and public opposition. The estimated cost of a barrier is between $15 and $20 million. On January 27, 2005, Bridge District staff re-introduced for the eighth time the topic of a suicide barrier to the Bridge's Building and Operations committee, citing "the high profile of this issue in recent press and community conversations." On March 11, 2005, the Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Bridge voted 15-1 to approve a two-year, $2 million plan to explore the feasibility of a barrier. Proponents of the barrier cite the example of the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower, where suicides dropped to zero after a barrier was put up. Those against the barrier argue that a barrier would be unsightly, too costly, and would simply move suicides elsewhere. One way of discouraging suicides, rather than directly preventing them, Jump for Life was proposed in late 2005. The program seeks to make the bridge a less attractive place to take one's own life.
Suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge is a theme of Jenni Olson's experimental film, The Joy of Life (2005) and documentarian Eric Steel's controversial 2006 film The Bridge.
In fiction and film
Film
- Bicentennial Man - takes place in San Francisco, the bridge is glimpsed several times across the future, including a view in which it has a double deck structure.
- Boys and Girls - Freddie Prinze Jr. as an engineering student at Cal views the bridge on several occasions with co-star Claire Forlani, admiring and commenting on the structural achievement that the bridge is as well as attempting to untangle their budding romantic relationship.
- The Bridge - chronicles the stories of a score of individuals who committed suicide at The Golden Gate Bridge in 2004.
- The Core - deadly microwaves from the sun break through the magnetic field which boils the water, melts the suspension cables, and cuts though the road sending hundreds of traffic congested pedestrians into the boiling bay.
- Dirty Harry - "Scorpio" hijacks a school bus full of children and forces the driver to head North across the bridge.
- Herbie Rides Again - Herbie is chased by Hawk's lawyers along the main cables of the bridge
- Hulk - Hulk jumps off the bridge to save a fighter jet.
- Interview with the Vampire - Following his interview with Louis, Daniel is attacked by Lestat while driving over the bridge.
- The Joy of Life - Jenni Olson's film offers a history of suicide and the Golden Gate Bridge and features gorgeously shot images of the bridge as well as a personal reflection on the production history of Alfred Hitchcock's film Vertigo (1958).
- It Came from Beneath the Sea - (1955) A giant octopus terrorizes San Francisco. Although some stock footage was shot using the real bridge, the scenes where the octopus attempts to destroy the bridge by wrapping itself around the towers were accomplished by using highly-detailed miniatures and stop-motion animation created by special effects master Ray Harryhausen.
- On the Beach - (1959 film) The bridge is seen intact after a nuclear war but eerily devoid of traffic. A persistent urban legend maintains guards were hired to block traffic for a minute to get the shot.
- Raiders of the Lost Ark - Indiana Jones' plane flies over the newly built bridge. Although many regard this as anachronistic because of the film's 1936 setting, the bridge's suspension towers and much of the roadway was actually completed by late 1936.
- The Rock - bridge can be regularly seen in the background as film was shot near Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay. Near the end of the film, fighter jets fly under the bridge en route to Alcatraz.
- The Golden Gate Murders (aka Specter on the Bridge) - A madman attacks people on the bridge, throwing them into the water, making it look like suicides.
- So I Married an Axe Murderer - newly married couple travel over the bridge en route to their honeymoon.
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Starfleet Headquarters is located to the immediate southeast of the bridge's south approach-way.
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - Admiral James T. Kirk and Captain Spock walk along the shore of San Francisco Bay near Fort Point with the bridge in the background, though the script places them in Sausalito at that point in the story; the Klingon bird-of-prey used by the crew of the Starship Enterprise narrowly avoids hitting the Golden Gate Bridge on its way to crashing into the Bay; chambers of the Federation Council are located in the Marin Headlands, immediately west of the bridge's north approach-way.
- Superman - Superman saves a school bus about to fall from the bridge.
- Vertigo - in this Alfred Hitchcock film, the bridge is a prominent backdrop in a scene set just east (bayside) of Fort Point.
- A View to a Kill - in this James Bond film, Bond and Max Zorin fight on top of one of the bridge's towers .
- X-Men: The Last Stand - The bridge is moved by Magneto to access Alcatraz, and is later shown in the process of being rebuilt in the film's final scene. (Coincidentally, this movie was released on May 26, 2006 - one day short of the 69th anniversary of the bridge's opening.)
- The Love Bug - Herbie attempts to commit "suicide" by trying to drive over the barrier.
- Johnny Mnemonic - A movie created from William Gibson's short story shows the bridge in a cyberpunk-ish style.
Television
- 10.5 - During a 9.5 Earthquake, the bridge collapses. The bridge collapses between the two towers throwing people and cars into the bay. The South Tower also collapses into the bay while the North Tower stays standing.
- Charmed - the series is set in San Francisco. The bridge can regularly be seen. Characters meet each other and spend time high atop one of the bridge towers.
- Futurama - the bridge is shown in one episode as a "Hover Bridge", meaning there is no longer a road base.
- Full House - the series is set in San Francisco. In the opening credits the bridge is being crossed by a car full of the program's main characters.
- Half & Half - the series is set in San Francisco. Various shots of the bridge, as well as other famous city landmarks, can be seen throughout the show.
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Knight Rider - the first Season 3 episode "Knight of the Drones" is set in San Francisco and shows KITT driven on the bridge.
- Love is a Many Splendored Thing - the bridge is seen prominently in the opening sequence of the soap opera , which was set in San Francisco.
- Monk - The series is set in San Francisco. The opening title is over the Golden Gate Bridge in Season 2-5.
- On the Beach - (2000 mini series) Twisted remains are shown left from the shock waves of a nuclear blast.
- Nash Bridges - the series is set in San Francisco. There are several shots of the bridge placed throughout the show.
- Sliders - the series is set in San Francisco. The main characters travel to alternate Earths, and in one of these Earths the bridge is called the Azure Gate Bridge and painted an electric blue.
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - the bridge is damaged during the Dominion War in an attack by the Breen.
- Star Trek: Enterprise - the original location of Starfleet Command is located north east of the bridge. Instead of a direct view of traffic lanes and whatever transportation technology is employed, there is an obscuring weatherproof glass arch cover.
- Star Trek: Voyager - Voyager is shown flying underneath the bridge upon finally returning to Earth
- Sunrise Earth - An High-Definition television show that featured tai-chi participants exercizing at dawn, with the bridge in the background.
- The West Wing - Qumar's defense minister, Abdul ibn Shareef, plotted to destroy the bridge in a terrorist attack.
Books
- The Golden Gate - Alistair MacLean's novel is a kidnapping story set almost exclusively on the bridge.
- The Golden Gate (novel) - Vikram Seth's novel told in sonnets is the story of yuppies in California in the mid 1980s searching for love; the bridge is a source of inspiration for them.
- Earth Abides - following the decimation of humanity, the increasing disrepair of the bridge is noted. The protagonist interacts with the bridge at the end of the novel.
- Remnants - a tiny meteor causes a submarine to break into the bridge destroying it.
Games
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - a model of this bridge (called Gant Bridge) is featured in the city San Fierro, San Andreas.
- Red Alert 2 : Yuri's Revenge - the bridge is destroyed in some of the first missions by Soviet invaders.
- Midtown Madness 2 - in San Francisco city
- Mario is Missing - one of the monuments Luigi must retrieve from the Koopas
- San Francisco Rush - racing game set around San Francisco, including a race across the bridge.
- Goldeneye: Rogue Agent - features the top of the bridge in multiplayer.
- Lupin III: Treasure of the Sorcerer King - Goemon Ishikawa sliced the bridge in half during the opening sequence.
- Sonic Adventure 2 - The Radical Highway and Mission Street levels represent the bridge.
- Driver: You are the Wheelman - included in the model of San Francisco.
- Star Trek: Elite Force 2 - After the U.S.S. Voyager reaches earth, you wander around San Francisco for a while, near the bridge.
Other
- 98 Degrees - The song "Inivisble Man" from their 1997 self-titled album. The setting of the music video is centered in San Francisco with several scenes of, on, and on top of the bridge.
- Star Trek universe - in both the 23rd and 24th Centuries, Starfleet Headquarters, the Federation Council, and Starfleet Academy are all located near the bridge.
- Voyager Golden Record - the bridge appears as one of the pictures on the record.
- Disney's California Adventure - there is a smaller scale of the bridge at the entrance of Disney's California Adventure.
- Sleater-Kinney - the song "Jumpers" from their 2005 album The Woods details the story of a woman who decides to commit suicide by jumping from the bridge.
- Red Hot Chili Peppers - The song "Californication" from their 1999 album, Californication. Drummer Chad Smith can be seen snowboarding on the bridge.
- Robin Williams: Live on Broadway - Robin Williams mentions the bridge during the performance when describing the increase in security across the US after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, drawing a satyrical comparison between the Army National Guard soldiers guarding it and Elmer Fudd. |
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