The Golden Gate Bridge, an iconic red suspension bridge connecting San Francisco and Marin County, was opened in 1937 and remains a symbol of American engineering. Designed by Irving Morrow, it incorporates Art Deco elements and rises 746 feet above the bay water. The bridge employs full-time painters and iron workers for maintenance. It has been closed three times due to dangerous weather conditions and carries 40 million vehicles annually.
The Golden Gate Bridge is a distinctive bright red landmark on the San Francisco skyline and is one of the most recognizable architectural features in the United States. The Golden Gate Bridge connects Marin County in the north with the city and county of San Francisco in the south. It was opened in 1937 as the longest suspension bridge in the world. Several bridges around the world have since usurped the title, but the Golden Gates Bridge remains an iconic figure in American engineering. The suspension bridge incorporates an elegant Art Deco design that blends well with the surrounding topography and is painted and maintained in a hue known as International Orange.
The Golden Gate Bridge was the brainchild of Joseph Strauss, who also pushed for the use of a red paint on the bridge because he felt it would blend in better with the surrounding landscape. In addition to being a resourceful engineer, Strauss was also very committed to worker safety. Only 11 people were killed during construction of the bridge, an outstanding safety record for a five-year construction project of that size. One of the safety innovations used during construction was a mesh under the bridge deck, which has since become common construction practice.
The Golden Gate Bridge was made possible by a joint effort of six California counties: San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Napa and Del Norte. The counties formed the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District, which raised funds and voted on the final bridge design. The final design chosen for the Golden Gate Bridge, by Irving Morrow, integrates Art Deco elements with functionality and has two towers that rise 746 feet (227 meters) above the bay water. This allows large cargo and container ships to access the ports of San Francisco and Oakland.
The Golden Gate Bridge employs 38 full-time painters who touch up the paint on the bridge as needed and 17 iron workers responsible for replacing worn and corroded rivets. In 1965, the original paint on the deck was removed due to corrosion and replaced with a zinc silicate primer and acrylic finish. This process took thirty years from one end of the 1.7-mile (2,737-meter) bridge to the other.
In extreme weather conditions, the Golden Gate Bridge can be dangerous. It has been closed three times since 1937 due to dangerous conditions. About 40 million vehicles cross the Golden Gate Bridge each year, with San Francisco-bound cars paying a toll. The bridge has five lanes of two-way traffic separated by a row of movable rungs, which adjust according to traffic flow. Increasing traffic conditions on the Golden Gate Bridge have led to debate about renovating the bridge to accommodate additional traffic in the early twenty-first century, but no resolution has been reached.
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