The Golden Gate Bridge
An icon spanning the strait since 1937
“The bridge that couldn’t be built”
Before the bridge, ferries were the only way across the strait, and by the 1920s demand was outgrowing them.
Critics argued the site was simply too hostile for a bridge. The engineers had to solve four problems at once.
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Fierce currents
Strong tides surge through a deep, narrow channel.
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Fog and wind
Frequent dense fog and high winds off the Pacific.
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Earthquakes
The site lies near the San Andreas Fault.
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Shipping lane
Ships needed a high, wide path into the bay.
From proposal to opening day
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1921
Joseph Strauss submits his first bridge proposal.
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1930
Voters approve $35 million in bonds.
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1933
Construction begins on January 5.
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1935–36
Crews spin the two main cables.
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1937
Opens May 27 to about 200,000 pedestrians; cars cross the next day.
The minds behind the bridge
Joseph Strauss
Chief engineerPromoted the project for over a decade and drove it to completion.
Charles Ellis
Structural engineerDid much of the structural math; his role went largely uncredited until 2007.
Leon Moisseiff
Consulting engineerSuspension-bridge expert whose deflection theory shaped the slender design.
Irving Morrow
ArchitectDesigned the Art Deco details, the lighting and the famous color.
Engineering firsts and safety innovations
individual wires bundled into each main cable — about 80,000 miles of wire in total, enough to circle the Earth three times.
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Hard hats required
One of the first big construction projects to make head protection mandatory.
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A safety net
A net strung under the deck caught 19 workers, who became known as the “Halfway to Hell Club.”
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A human cost
Eleven workers died, ten of them in a single scaffold collapse in February 1937.
Why “International Orange”?
The bridge was never meant to stay orange. The steel arrived coated in a reddish primer, and architect Irving Morrow liked how it looked against the hills, sea and sky.
He argued the warm tone would blend with the landscape yet stand out in fog. The U.S. Navy had reportedly pushed for black and yellow stripes for visibility.
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International OrangeThe bridge
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Fog grayIts frequent backdrop
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Pacific blueThe water below
The bridge today
Daily workhorse
Carries roughly 100,000 vehicles on a typical day, plus walkers and cyclists.
Cashless tolls
Tolls are collected southbound only, all-electronic since 2013.
Seismic retrofit
A multi-phase strengthening program has been under way since 1997.
Deterrent net
A steel net along both sides of the span was completed in 2024.
50th anniversary
In 1987, about 300,000 people crowded onto the deck, briefly flattening its arch.
Global icon
One of the most photographed bridges in the world, and a year-round paint job to keep it that way.
Built against the odds
And loved ever since.
The Golden Gate Bridge links San Francisco and Marin County across the Golden Gate strait.