Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco โ photo, description, interesting facts, map
Americans have always strived for excellence. They even have matching names. For example, the Golden Gate Strait, which is one of the most colorful places in San Francisco. It is to this fabulous place that we will go today. But the main purpose of our tourist visit is not at all to get acquainted with the delights of the North American continent. This time we are going to visit one of the most impressive architectural structures for practical purposes. This is a suspension bridge that connects both banks of the strait mentioned above, and has the same name.
Golden Gate
The bridge is considered one of the most recognizable structures in the world, which, like a giant guard, meets all those who enter the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. This is a kind of entrance to the New World. Despite all its scale, the bridge was built only four years โ from 1933 to 1937. At one time, its scale amazed even worldly-wise engineers, and the very idea of โโu200bu200bAmerican designers seemed so bold that it was hard to believe in the success of their adventure.
Despite all the contradictions and doubts, the bridge turned out to be surprisingly stable and became the largest suspension structure in the world. Soon the iron giant will celebrate its next anniversary, while thousands of cars pass through it every day. There are six traffic lanes here.
An interesting feature of the bridge is that only motorists who are moving in a northerly direction, that is, leaving the city, can move on it for free, but it will no longer be possible to travel in the opposite direction for free. The cost for using the bridge will be several dollars. You can also avoid paying on weekdays and provided that there are more than 3 people in your car.
Excursion into history
As mentioned above, the idea of โโbuilding a huge suspension bridge had many opponents. But still, the common sense and assertiveness of engineers led by Joseph Strauss outweighed the skepticism of some citizens and gave us a truly amazing building, which perfectly reveals all the possibilities of human nature.
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But the author of the project, Joseph Strauss, had to wait several years before his proposal was approved by the San Francisco city authorities. It is interesting that the bridge was originally supposed to be built on piers. That is why the project did not find support from the authorities. Therefore, the engineer had to ask for help from those who had at least some idea about the specifics of suspension bridges. And such a specialist turned out to be Leon Moiseev, who is considered one of the co-authors of the equally famous Manhattan Bridge in New York.
In addition to them, Charles Ellis (responsible for calculations) and Irving Morrow (engaged in architectural design) took an active part in the development. By the way, it was the latter who came up with the original idea to paint the bridge orange.
Among the opponents of the construction of the bridge there were many influential people, including military personnel. US Navy generals have repeatedly raised concerns about possible sabotage that would prevent warships from entering the Pacific Ocean. The railway companies, which, before the construction of the bridge, had monopolists in transporting citizens across the strait using ferries, also opposed. But the main test that fell to the lot of the โGolden Gateโ was the Great Depression, which almost ruined the grandiose architectural project. The US authorities decided to complete the construction by issuing loan bonds.
As a result, more than 200 thousand people came to the opening ceremony of the bridge, and today everyone can visit the unique building, which seems to be floating in the air a few tens of meters above the dark waters of the strait. The total length of the bridge is 2737 meters, and the length of its suspended part is 1966 m. The width of the bridge is 27 meters and accommodates six traffic lanes and two sidewalks. Well, the last figure that is worth focusing on is the thickness of the main cables, which is 92 cm in diameter.
Metal giant hails from Northern California
The bridge is considered not only one of the main highways of the state, but also its popular attraction, which has long been chosen by more than one generation of tourists and lovers of impressive architectural buildings.
The number of tourists who annually come to see this miracle of human creation with their own eyes reaches several million people. The picturesque scenery of these places, combined with the original orange color of the โiron giantโ puts this architectural masterpiece in the top three contenders for the title of โthe most photographed bridge in the world.โ
Even if you find yourself in San Francisco on a working visit or just passing through, find a couple of hours to visit the Golden Gate Bridge, plunge into the historical era and feel with your heart how creative a human thought can be, which is born in the hot heads of the bright minds of mankind.
After stopping the car in a specially designated place (Americans react very painfully to violations of law and order), take a walk along the bridge. Walk to the first support, and best of all to the middle of the bridge. Look down at the raging ocean waves, appreciate the scale of the structure and take a look at the evening city.
What else to look at?
After that, hurry to the coastal cliffs of Marin County. From there, simply breathtaking views of the city and the bay open. In addition, there are three more remarkable places worth visiting. The first is Battery Spencer โ the closest of a whole complex of batteries that were built back in 1897. and were intended to protect the harbor. You can view the structure from a special platform, which is located above the cliff. The battery consists of 16-inch guns, a volley of which is capable of turning the ship. Such guns were installed on military battleships during the Second World War.
The second place that cannot be deprived of its attention will be another symbol of the city โ the pyramid building of the Transamerica Corporation, which is better known as the โeye of the needleโ. The pyramid got its name due to the fact that the spire located at its top falls, as if into the โeye of a needleโ of the northern pillar of the Golden Gate Bridge. And you can capture such an amazing picture only in one place โ at the turn of the eucalyptus thickets. Hundreds of professional photographers already have pictures of this architectural action in their photo albums.
Well, the third stop for you should be the top of Falcon Hill. It is from here that the divine and immense landscapes of the valley, Cape Bonita, which adorns the lighthouse, will open before you. Further, the endless expanses of the Pacific Ocean appear before your eyes, which beckon you to plunge into their waters, burning your faces with sharp gusts of oceanic wind. This place is a favorite for all those who want to be alone with their thoughts and fully enjoy the grandiose view that opens up on the โfoggy city of Friscoโ.
Such trips should be planned taking into account one small feature of these places โ fogs. Usually this climatic phenomenon envelops the valley and the strait at night and completely dissipates closer to noon. The fog here is quite thick and is a significant obstacle to fully enjoying the breathtaking views.
Don't forget to take a look at the Golden Gate test pole, which is on display in the nearby tourist pavilion. This is a 3.5-meter copy of the bridge pier, which is completely made of stainless steel and was used in engineering calculations in 1933. Not far from the pavilion, another exhibit related to the history of the bridge is on display. This is a cut of the main rope, which is 92 cm in diameter (according to other sources โ 93 cm). To create it, it took more than 27 thousand small cables, a few millimeters in diameter.
The total length of the used cable on the bridge is 2331 meters, the total length of all cables is 128 km, and the weight of the cable is 24.5 tons!
Needless to say, the Golden Gate Bridge is a true masterpiece of architectural thought, a historical and engineering heritage of all mankind. To visit the strait, to see the scale and grandeur of the structure, is certainly worth it for everyone!