Golden Gate Bridge: San Francisco's signature sight
Opened in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge is among the best known and most photographed bridges in the world and is often called the most popular tourist destination in the United States.
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the “Golden Gate,” or the aperture of San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. Part of U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, it unites the city of San Francisco to Marin County.
The 1.7 mile-long structure was the longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed. Today it’s still considered the second longest suspension bridge main span in the United States, second only to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City. With its famous luminescent red color, the American Institute of Architects has listed the bridge among its top five favorite structures.
Bridge designer Leon Moisseiff produced the basic structural design, introducing his "deflection theory" by which a thin, flexible roadway would bend in the wind, greatly reducing stress by transferring energy via suspension cables to the bridge towers. While his plan for the Golden Gate Bridge was determined structurally sound, his original Tacoma Narrows Bridge suffered a famous catastrophic collapse in 1940.
Two primary cables are each made of 27,572 strands of wire. There are 80,000 miles of wire in the main cables. The bridge has approximately 1,200,000 total rivets.
Walking across the bridge is available most days from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., although hours are later during the months of daylight savings time. Bicyclists can cross 24/7. Bike rentals are available throughout Fisherman's Wharf for around $8/hour or $32 per day.
A Golden Gate Bridge Gift Center is located in the historic "Roundhouse" on the southeast side, behind the Strauss Statue. Designed in 1938, the Roundhouse was originally a restaurant for passing motorists. Now it is open daily, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. during the summer and 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. during the winter. You can look through a “virtual” gift center on line at the official Golden Gate Bridge web site.
- by Jim Brown , San Francisco Reporter for HelloMetro
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Jim Brown Jim Brown is a longtime freelance aviation, travel and destination writer and communications professional. A former reporter for Aviation Daily, Air Safety Week and World Airline News, Jim served for more than 15 years as a senior public relations executive for American Airlines, TWA and AirTran Airways.
