The Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary
Did you know?
Although the idea of a bridge spanning the Golden Gate was not new, the proposal that eventually took hold was made in a 1916 San Francisco Bulletin article by former engineering student James Wilkins.[12]San Francisco's City Engineer estimated the cost at $100 million, impractical for the time, and fielded the question to bridge engineers of whether it could be built for less. One who responded, Joseph Strauss, was an ambitious but dreamy engineer and poet who had, for his graduate thesis, designed a 55-mile (89 km) long railroad bridge across the Bering Strait, At the time, Strauss had completed some 400 drawbridges—most of which were inland—and nothing on the scale of the new project. Strauss's initial drawings were for a massive cantilever on each side of the strait, connected by a central suspension segment, which Strauss promised could be built for $17 million.
How are you going to celebrate?
You could…..
Share your Bridge painting, drawing, or other artistic masterpiece
Take a picture of you or your friends holding a “Happy Birthday Golden Gate
Bridge!” sign at your favorite local bridge—a drawbridge, a footbridge, or any bridge at all—and share it with GGB
Concoct a Golden Gate Bridge 75th cocktail and send us the recipe
Take a photo from the Bridge on your 2012 birthday and share it
Post a video of your best impersonation of a foghorn
Snap a quick pic when you see the Golden Gate Transit’s 75th Anniversary Bus, adorned with a Bridge image by Marin artist George Sumner
Bake a birthday cake in the shape of the Bridge and share the photos
Host a Golden Gate Bridge movie night (a quick Web search turns up lots of films!); debate the greatest movie scenes that feature the Bridge
