May 27, 1937 - the Golden Gate Bridge Officially Opened
“Just Thinking"
On May 27, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge officially opened for a pedestrian day, which was unlike anything the city had ever seen. Thousands of people stepped onto the newly finished span, eager to celebrate the much-anticipated opening and to take advantage of a chance to stroll high above the churning waters of the Golden Gate. By the end of the day, more than 200,000 people had crossed the bridge. There was no single “first walker”, just a surge of humanity claiming the moment together. One person of note was Donald Bryan, a college sprinter who made his mark by becoming the first person to cross the entire span, running the full distance.
The following day, the bridge opened to automobiles, transforming it from an engineering marvel into a vital artery connecting San Francisco to Marin County and beyond. Frank Pierce Doyle, the Santa Rosa banker often called the “father of the Golden Gate Bridge,” is credited with being the first to ride across, while his chauffeur, Inocencio Asuelo, holds the distinction of being the first to actually drive across the bridge. The excitement carried over into traffic almost immediately, within the first hours, around 1,800 cars had crossed, celebrating the beginning of this Northern California mainstay.
That original pedestrian day reminds me of a very different moment in the bridge’s history, one that unfolded during the bridge’s 50th anniversary celebration in 1987. Organizers once again closed the bridge to cars and invited the public to walk its 1.7‑mile span, expecting a healthy but manageable crowd of 50,000 to 80,000 people. Instead, the turnout overwhelmed all expectations. Hundreds of thousands showed up, possibly as many as 800,000, turning the celebration into something far larger, and far more dangerous, than anyone had planned.
The bridge quickly became a sea of humanity, packed shoulder to shoulder. Movement slowed, then stopped entirely, especially near the center where crowds from both directions met and resulted in a dense gridlock. Under the sheer weight, the roadway, normally built with a gentle arch, flattened and sagged several feet, an eerie sight for those on it and below. The structure swayed noticeably, and loudspeakers urged people to clear the span as concern spread. For a moment, it felt like the celebration might turn into disaster.
Thankfully, it didn’t. Engineers later confirmed that the Golden Gate Bridge performed exactly as it was designed to, flexing under stress and safely withstanding the massive load. Still, for those who were there, it was a scary reminder that even one of the world’s greatest engineering achievements has its limits.
I’ve had a few random thoughts about what life must have been like before the Golden Gate Bridge:
Joe DiMaggio was born in Martinez, and his family were fishermen. When they moved to San Francisco, did they move their belongings by loading everything onto their fishing boats, or did they take a ferry across the bay?
If you needed to get to Oakland but didn’t want to take a boat, how long would it actually take to drive all the way around the bay, before the Bay Bridge, Highway 101 or I‑80 existed?
How did the Christian Brothers move barrels of wine from Napa to San Francisco in those days? What route did they take, and how long did a trip like that even take?
And here’s one I keep coming back to: if the Golden Gate Bridge had been painted in its originally proposed black-and-yellow color scheme instead of International Orange, would it still have become the icon we all recognize today?
When Sir Francis Drake saw the Golden Gate Strait, did he think this would be a great place for a bridge.
Did You Know? Golden Gate Bridge Facts;
When it opened in 1937, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, a title it held for over 25 years.
The bridge stretches about 1.7 miles across the Golden Gate Strait, connecting San Francisco to Marin County.
The two main cables contain enough steel wire, about 80,000 miles, to wrap around the Earth more than three times.
During construction, a safety net saved 19 workers’ lives. They later formed a group known as the “Halfway to Hell Club.”
The bridge was built to move with the wind, not against it. On especially windy days, it can sway and flex several feet without damage.
The Golden Gate Bridge is often called the most photographed bridge in the world.
The water below isn’t golden either, the name “Golden Gate” comes from the strait the bridge spans, not its color.
Let me know what you think.
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