1933 : Golden Gate Bridge is born
On January 5, 1933, construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge, as
workers began excavating 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt for the
structure's huge anchorages.
Following the Gold Rush boom that began in 1849, speculators realized
the land north of San Francisco Bay would increase in value in direct
proportion to its accessibility to the city. Soon, a plan was hatched
to build a bridge that would span the Golden Gate, a narrow, 400-foot
deep strait that serves as the mouth of the San Francisco Bay,
connecting the San Francisco Peninsula with the southern end of Marin
County.
Although the idea went back as far as 1869, the proposal took root in
1916. A former engineering student, James Wilkins, working as a
journalist with the San Francisco Bulletin, called for a suspension
bridge with a center span of 3,000 feet, nearly twice the length of
any in existence. Wilkins' idea was estimated to cost an astounding
$100 million. So, San Francisco's city engineer, Michael M.
O'Shaughnessy (he's also credited with coming up with the name Golden
Gate Bridge), began asking bridge engineers whether they could do it
for less.
Engineer and poet Joseph Strauss, a 5-foot tall Cincinnati-born
Chicagoan, said he could.
Eventually, O'Shaughnessy and Strauss concluded they could build a
pure suspension bridge within a practical range of $25-30 million with
a main span at least 4,000 feet. The construction plan still faced
opposition, including litigation, from many sources. By the time most
of the obstacles were cleared, the Great Depression of 1929 had begun,
limiting financing options, so officials convinced voters to support
$35 million in bonded indebtedness, citing the jobs that would be
created for the project. However, the bonds couldn't be sold until
1932, when San-Francisco based Bank of America agreed to buy the
entire project in order to help the local economy.
The Golden Gate Bridge officially opened on May 27, 1937, the longest
bridge span in the world at the time. The first public crossing had
taken place the day before, when 200,000 people walked, ran and even
roller skated over the new bridge.
With its tall towers and famous red paint job, the bridge quickly
became a famous American landmark, and a symbol of San Francisco.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1933 : Golden Gate Bridge is born
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=57652
1643 : First divorce in the colonies
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4647
1895 : Dreyfus Affair in France
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6767
1945 : Kamikaze pilots get first order
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=50402
1968 : Prague Spring begins in Czechoslovakia
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4648
1976 : Pol Pot renames Cambodia
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=52302
1994 : Former Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill dies
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4649
##########################################
On January 5, 1933, construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge, as
workers began excavating 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt for the
structure's huge anchorages.
Following the Gold Rush boom that began in 1849, speculators realized
the land north of San Francisco Bay would increase in value in direct
proportion to its accessibility to the city. Soon, a plan was hatched
to build a bridge that would span the Golden Gate, a narrow, 400-foot
deep strait that serves as the mouth of the San Francisco Bay,
connecting the San Francisco Peninsula with the southern end of Marin
County.
Although the idea went back as far as 1869, the proposal took root in
1916. A former engineering student, James Wilkins, working as a
journalist with the San Francisco Bulletin, called for a suspension
bridge with a center span of 3,000 feet, nearly twice the length of
any in existence. Wilkins' idea was estimated to cost an astounding
$100 million. So, San Francisco's city engineer, Michael M.
O'Shaughnessy (he's also credited with coming up with the name Golden
Gate Bridge), began asking bridge engineers whether they could do it
for less.
Engineer and poet Joseph Strauss, a 5-foot tall Cincinnati-born
Chicagoan, said he could.
Eventually, O'Shaughnessy and Strauss concluded they could build a
pure suspension bridge within a practical range of $25-30 million with
a main span at least 4,000 feet. The construction plan still faced
opposition, including litigation, from many sources. By the time most
of the obstacles were cleared, the Great Depression of 1929 had begun,
limiting financing options, so officials convinced voters to support
$35 million in bonded indebtedness, citing the jobs that would be
created for the project. However, the bonds couldn't be sold until
1932, when San-Francisco based Bank of America agreed to buy the
entire project in order to help the local economy.
The Golden Gate Bridge officially opened on May 27, 1937, the longest
bridge span in the world at the time. The first public crossing had
taken place the day before, when 200,000 people walked, ran and even
roller skated over the new bridge.
With its tall towers and famous red paint job, the bridge quickly
became a famous American landmark, and a symbol of San Francisco.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1933 : Golden Gate Bridge is born
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=57652
1643 : First divorce in the colonies
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4647
1895 : Dreyfus Affair in France
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6767
1945 : Kamikaze pilots get first order
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=50402
1968 : Prague Spring begins in Czechoslovakia
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4648
1976 : Pol Pot renames Cambodia
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=52302
1994 : Former Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill dies
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4649
##########################################
No comments:
Post a Comment