Golden Gate Bridge

Ferries

San Francisco was the largest American city still served by ferries

A ferry service began as early as 1820. Many experts said a bridge could not be built across the 6,700-foot strait, which had strong, swirling tides and currents, with water 372 ft deep at the center.

Strauss

Joseph Strauss, who had built some 400 drawbridges, took on the project

Strauss, an ambitious engineer and poet, had completed some 400 drawbridges, most of them inland. His first design, two double cantilever spans joined by a suspension segment, was unacceptable from a visual standpoint.

400drawbridges Strauss had completed

Ellis

Charles Ellis did much of the design work but got no credit in his lifetime

Charles Alton Ellis, a Greek scholar and mathematician, was the principal engineer. In November 1931 Strauss fired him, and Ellis kept working 70 hours per week unpaid. In May 2007 the Golden Gate Bridge District gave him major credit.

The color

Irving Morrow chose International Orange over black and yellow stripes

Morrow, a relatively unknown residential architect, designed the shape of the towers, the lighting scheme and the Art Deco details. The Navy had suggested black and yellow stripes so that passing ships would see the bridge.

Opening

Eleven men were killed in falls before it opened on May 27, 1937

Strauss introduced movable safety netting beneath the workers. Ten of the eleven men were killed on February 17, 1937, when a scaffold fell through the net. The bridge opened on May 27, 1937, as the longest and tallest suspension bridge in the world.