The Golden Gate Bridge, which spans the San Francisco Bay and connects the city to its northern suburbs, is one of the world's most famous structures. Its construction 78 years ago over a deep, treacherous channel was a marvel of modern engineering. In this photo, pedestrians walk across the bridge on May 27, 1937 -- one day before it opened to vehicular traffic. Click through to see other photos of the bridge's construction and grand opening.
The Golden Gate Bridge, which spans the San Francisco Bay and connects the city to its northern suburbs, is one of the world's most famous structures. Its construction 78 years ago over a deep, treacherous channel was a marvel of modern engineering. In this photo, pedestrians walk across the bridge on May 27, 1937 -- one day before it opened to vehicular traffic. Click through to see other photos of the bridge's construction and grand opening.
San Francisco Chronicle/Corbis
This aerial image from 1934 shows downtown San Francisco and construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. The bridge's north Marin Tower is nearly completed, although the southern one had yet to be erected.
This aerial image from 1934 shows downtown San Francisco and construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. The bridge's north Marin Tower is nearly completed, although the southern one had yet to be erected.
Underwood Archives/Getty Images
Bridge workers build a catwalk that connects the towers at both sides of the strait so they can attach the suspension cables to hold up the bridge. Workers on the bridge were buffeted by high winds and faced constant fears of plummeting to their deaths.
Bridge workers build a catwalk that connects the towers at both sides of the strait so they can attach the suspension cables to hold up the bridge. Workers on the bridge were buffeted by high winds and faced constant fears of plummeting to their deaths.
Bettmann/CORBIS
Workers in 1935 install the first section of a huge safety net, at a cost of $98,000, that extended beneath the bridge from shore to shore. The netting was added to catch workers who tumbled off their precarious steel perches above.
Workers in 1935 install the first section of a huge safety net, at a cost of $98,000, that extended beneath the bridge from shore to shore. The netting was added to catch workers who tumbled off their precarious steel perches above.
AP
This portrait shows members of the bridge's "Halfway to Hell Club" -- workers who had tumbled off the bridge but were saved by the safety netting below. Despite the netting, 11 workers died during the bridge's construction. Ten of them perished when a section of scaffold fell through the netting.
This portrait shows members of the bridge's "Halfway to Hell Club" -- workers who had tumbled off the bridge but were saved by the safety netting below. Despite the netting, 11 workers died during the bridge's construction. Ten of them perished when a section of scaffold fell through the netting.
San Francisco Chronicle/Corbis
Fishermen on Baker Beach enjoy the view of the Golden Gate Bridge under construction. Work on the bridge began on January 5, 1933, and lasted four years and four months. The span is painted a distinctive color named "international orange."
Fishermen on Baker Beach enjoy the view of the Golden Gate Bridge under construction. Work on the bridge began on January 5, 1933, and lasted four years and four months. The span is painted a distinctive color named "international orange."
Underwood Archives/Getty Images
Two workmen add the last strands to one of the two enormous cables that run between the towers and support the six-lane highway below. Construction of the bridge cost $35 million; engineers estimate that if it was built today, the bridge would cost more than $1.3 billion.
Two workmen add the last strands to one of the two enormous cables that run between the towers and support the six-lane highway below. Construction of the bridge cost $35 million; engineers estimate that if it was built today, the bridge would cost more than $1.3 billion.
Peter Stackpole/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra soars over the Golden Gate Bridge on March 19, 1937, during her first, aborted attempt at a round-the-world flight. Almost four months later, Earhart disappeared over the Pacific on her second attempt and was never seen again. <a target="_blank">#tbt: Amelia Earhart crosses the Atlantic </a>
Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra soars over the Golden Gate Bridge on March 19, 1937, during her first, aborted attempt at a round-the-world flight. Almost four months later, Earhart disappeared over the Pacific on her second attempt and was never seen again. #tbt: Amelia Earhart crosses the Atlantic
Bettmann/CORBIS
Dignitaries cut a chain commemorating the opening of the bridge on May 27, 1937.
Dignitaries cut a chain commemorating the opening of the bridge on May 27, 1937.
San Francisco Chronicle/Corbis
Military biplanes fly between the towers of the bridge as pedestrians walk across the 4,200-foot span during opening ceremonies on May 27, 1937.
Military biplanes fly between the towers of the bridge as pedestrians walk across the 4,200-foot span during opening ceremonies on May 27, 1937.
AP
The first vehicles, led by a police escort, cross the bridge and head south into San Francisco on May 28, 1937. The structure was once the longest suspension bridge in the world, although it was surpassed in 1964 with the completion of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York.
The first vehicles, led by a police escort, cross the bridge and head south into San Francisco on May 28, 1937. The structure was once the longest suspension bridge in the world, although it was surpassed in 1964 with the completion of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York.
Frei/ullstein bild via Getty Images
A Matson Liner passes under the Golden Gate Bridge on its way out to sea in the late 1930s. The American Society of Civil Engineers named the bridge one of the "Wonders of the Modern World." Since its completion, the bridge has been crossed by more than 2 billion vehicles and closed because of weather conditions only three times.
A Matson Liner passes under the Golden Gate Bridge on its way out to sea in the late 1930s. The American Society of Civil Engineers named the bridge one of the "Wonders of the Modern World." Since its completion, the bridge has been crossed by more than 2 billion vehicles and closed because of weather conditions only three times.
Underwood Archives/Getty Images
The grand opening of the Golden Gate Bridge
CNN  — 

Here’s a look at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It is a suspension bridge that crosses the Golden Gate, a strait that leads to the San Francisco Bay.

Characteristics

The bridge is 8,981 feet long (1.7 miles) and contains about 83,000 tons of steel.

The total weight of the bridge is 887,000 tons.

There are two towers that hold up the two steel cables anchoring the bridge. Also, there are approximately 80,000 miles of wire inside each of the two steel cables.

The towers stand 746 feet above the water and 500 feet above street level. They weigh 44,000 tons each and are 4,200 feet apart from each other.

The bridge is 90 feet wide. There are six driving lanes and two sidewalks. The width of the driving lanes is 62 feet between curbs and the sidewalks are 10 feet each. Street level is about 220 feet above the water.

The color is called “International Orange.”

The bridge has an advanced security system with motion detectors and security cameras.

Timeline

1848 - Captain John C. Fremont names the cleft in the Coastal Mountain Range opening onto San Francisco Bay the Golden Gate. The bridge derives its name from the land feature and not its color.

1916 - James H. Wilkins comes up with the idea to connect northern California to the San Francisco peninsula.

December 1924 - The United States War Department, the government entity responsible for the entire area surrounding the strait, approves the project.

1928 - The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District is formed and Joseph B. Strauss is appointed as architect/designer.

January 5, 1933 - Construction begins.

May 27, 1937 - The bridge is completed and opens to pedestrians. The bridge is built at a cost of approximately $35.5 million and comes in under budget and ahead of schedule.

May 28, 1937 - The bridge is opened to vehicles.

August 7, 1937 - World War I veteran Harold Wobber, the first bridge suicide, purportedly says, “This is where I get off,’ and then jumps to his death.

1939 - A safety railing to prevent suicides is installed. The original bridge design by Strauss called for fencing over five feet as to be “practically suicide-proof.” Architect Irving Morrow changed that and lowered the railing.

August 9, 2002 - California’s Office of Homeland Security alerts the FBI after receiving an anonymous tip that terrorists plan to crash a U.S. military plane into the bridge.

May 8, 2012 - Opening of the Golden Gate Bridge Pavilion.

June 27, 2014 - San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge Board of Directors unanimously approves a funding package totaling $76 million to erect and fund a suicide deterrent net on the bridge.

January 12, 2015 - The bridge re-opens after the two day installation of a Road Zipper System. The “moveable median barrier system” is designed for traffic management and to protect riders from cross-over accidents.

April 2017 - Two Wisconsin teens climb the north tower without being noticed by security. Officials are unaware of the events until weeks later when the teens uploaded a video of their climb to YouTube.

August 2018 - Construction begins on a suicide deterrent system. The net is completed in January 2024.

July 1, 2019 - District tolls and fares increase for drivers crossing into San Francisco. Toll increases will continue through 2023 in order to help reduce the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District’s $75 million budget shortfall.

June 2020 - The bridge begins making sounds that can be heard as far as three miles away. The “musical tones” coming from the bridge are a result of a project “designed to make the bridge more aerodynamic under high wind conditions and is necessary to ensure the safety and structural integrity of the bridge for generations to come,” a Golden Gate Bridge district spokesperson tells CNN.

July 7, 2023 - The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District faces a $423 million operating shortfall through 2028 due to a significant decrease in traffic driving across the bridge and paying the toll following the Covid-19 pandemic.