Things You Should Know About Golden Gate Bridge: A Must Read!

Did you know that the Golden Gate Bridge is not at all golden?

Its color is reddish-orange and it is the most photographed bridge in the world located on the Golden Gate transit that spans the entrance to San Francisco Bay.

The famous Golden Gate Bridge is a suspended cable bridge traversing across the Golden Gate Strait, which is a 1 mi (1.6 km) wide strait where San Francisco Bay opens into the Pacific Ocean.

The magnificent Golden Gate Bridge connects San Francisco, a city in the United States of America, to the peak of the San Francisco peninsula that is situated in Marin County. Across the Golden Gate strait, this structure upholds two routes: the U.S. Route 101 as well as the California State Route 1.

The Golden Gate Bridge is officially a part of the Bicycle Route 95 of the United States. Trespassers walking on foot and people with bicycles can be seen on the bridge.

The famous international orange color of the bridge was an idea brought up by its architect Irving Morrow. The logic that he proposed regarding the color of the bridge was that it would be the perfect choice for two reasons.

Firstly, the antique color would beautifully fit into the aesthetic natural beauty that surrounds the bridge. Secondly, the color was almost like the safety orange color, hence, during foggy days, ships would be able to see the bridge vividly.

At night time, the bridge shines golden because of its floodlights, and the same beauty is reflected onto the waters of the San Francisco Bay. The complete view looks like magic.

The Golden Gate Bridge was strongly identified as an ideogram of power, positivity, and progression in the United States of America. The bridge is indeed an epitome of excellence and sets a high benchmark for cable bridges all around the world.

After reading about the most famous bridge in the world and its towers, also check out facts about Madagascar and facts about Israel.

What is so special about the Golden Gate Bridge?

The Golden Gate bridge of the San Francisco Bay area helps the people of San Francisco to easily travel to Marin County.

The Golden Gate bridge extends about 1.7 mi (2.7 km). When the structure was finally completed in 1937, the suspension bridge was regarded as a marvel in the field of engineering. Also, it was the longest main suspension bridge in the world at that time.

Hawk Hill is the perfect platform to get a full view of the California-situated bridge along with the beauty of San Francisco in the background. The glory of the Golden Gate Bridge can be clearly viewed and admired from the soaring height of Hawk Hill.

So, whenever you feel a need to give a treat to your eyes, climb up Hawk Hill.

Before the actual construction of this marvelous structure, the only way in which one could travel from San Francisco to Marin County was through the waters of San Francisco Bay with the help of a boat.

According to some stories, it is said that the naval forces of the United States wanted the color of the bridge to be black, along with yellow-colored stripes on it. They said that in this way, there would be perfect visibility to ships that crossed the area.

But, eventually, the color of the bridge was finalized as the international orange color. This color adds to the already beautiful surroundings of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The construction of such an enormous structure was a mighty task for both the engineers as well as the construction workers. The builders' prime concern was the safety of all the workers that were involved in the construction of the bridge.

To make sure that the workers were safe, a safety net was dangled under the bridge that could catch the people who fell off accidentally while doing their work.

Interesting Facts About The Golden Gate Bridge

Also called the San Francisco Bridge, the middle iconic arch of the Golden Gate Bridge is 4,200 ft (1280.2 m) in length. This structure is hung on two cables that dangle from 746 ft (227.4 m) towers.

Since the opening of the majestic bridge in 1937, it has been shut down thrice. The main reason behind the shutdowns was bad and dangerous weather conditions.

The longest suspension span when the bridge project was closed was in 1938 due to the Great Depression.

After 88 years of construction, the bridge demands high maintenance all through the year. There are around 200 employees maintaining the Golden Gate Bridge. These include painters, electricians, and also ironworkers. The chief task of these employees is to keep the bridge in good working condition and perfectly ready to please the eyes of the tourists in San Francisco.

Originally, the bridge was to be black with yellow stripes but finally, the orange color was finalized. The Golden Gate Bridge's color 'international orange' is actually a color that is used in industries associated with aerospace.

When did the Golden Gate Bridge collapse?

In 1906, the first structure of this marvelous bridge collapsed during the earthquake experienced by San Francisco that year. Later on, after a lot of studies and research, engineers stated that the collapse of the bridge was because of high-speed winds.

Information About The Golden Gate Bridge

The bridge is maintained by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. The project undertaken for the construction of the bridge was 35 million dollars and 11 workers died during its construction.

The Architect of the bridge was Irving Morrow and its engineering work and design were done by Joseph Strauss, Charles Ellis, and Leon Solomon Moisseiff.

The name Golden Gate was given to the bridge by the U.S. Captain of the army John C Fremont. The construction work of the bridge began from the month of January in 1933 and it was completed in 1937.

It was a long run of four years. The bridge opened in the month of May of the same year in which it was finished.

The bridge is made of steel. The steel arrived from three different parts of the world: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Engineers call the Golden Gate Bridge an outstanding masterpiece of steel engineering.

Movie About Golden Gate Bridge Jumpers

Eric Steel made a movie about the Golden Gate Bridge jumpers. The movie was named 'The Bridge'. They captured 23 of the total 24 suicides that took place on the bridge in 2004. It was almost 10,000 hours of captured videos.

'The Bridge' was released in 2006 as an official British-American documentary film. Eric Steel spent one entire year shooting at the Golden Gate Bridge. Filmmakers hid cameras in the Golden Gate Bridge to capture suicidal attempts of people.

The film has video clips of many suicides. It also features live interviews of real people who were somehow rescued and gave their consent to be a part of the movie. The film shows interviews with family members of the victims of suicide in that particular year.

The film 'The Bridge' took its inspiration from an article 'Jumpers' that was issued in 2003. The article was a part of the New Yorker magazine. It was written by Tad Friend.

The Golden Gate Bridge had witnessed about 1,200 suicides in 2003. Because of the huge number of people who gave up their lives on the bridge, the article was issued in the magazine. The article attracted filmmakers to make a film on the topic.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for about Golden Gate Bridge then why not take a look at facts about Thanksgiving or facts about Russia.