Since 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge near San Francisco has symbolized the American dream and human willpower. Because when the USA was economically down, the construction of the mega bridge gave jobs to many people and gave hope back to the country. TRAVELBOOK tells of their construction and how sauerkraut juice has contributed to it.
Between the tech metropolis of San Francisco and neighboring Marin County, one of America’s most famous landmarks has stood above the Pacific Ocean since 1937: the Golden Gate Bridge, named after the strait it spans. Almost three kilometers long, its mighty towers stretch almost 230 meters into the sky. Like almost no other building, it symbolizes the American dream, because it was built when an entire country was down during the worst economic crisis to date. During what is now known as the “Great Depression,” it was this bridge that gave people hope again.
Second “Historyfrom the great California Gold Rush around 1849. However, it was another seventy years before these first started to take shape. In 1916, for example, journalist James Wilkins wrote in the San Francisco Bulletin that a 900-meter-long bridge should be built to connect San Francisco with its neighbors to the north. At the time, he estimated the project would cost up to $100 million. 21 years later, the Golden Gate Bridge was finally a reality. When opening day was celebrated on May 27, 1937, the bridge had actually cost only a little over a third, but it claimed 11 lives.
A bridge as a symbol of hope
But we are anticipating. First, in 1919, then San Francisco Mayor Michael M. O’Shaughnessy set out to find it. Namely after an engineer that he allegedly built the Golden Gate Bridge for less than $100 million. Obviously better for much less. He finds it in the engineer Joseph Strauss. He promises to build the technical marvel for 25-30 million dollars. Strauss presented the design to him in 1921, and in 1925, the city and all of the surrounding counties approved the design despite initial reservations. Everything therefore seems ready for the construction of the mega bridge. But then, from 1929, the “Great Depression” hit hard.
Millions of Americans are losing all of their livelihoods in this crisis, and even the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge is becoming a seemingly unattainable distance. Because to finance the construction they wanted to sell bonds to citizens, which no one can afford anymore. Then, in 1932, Bank of America stepped in to help get the local economy back on its feet. Because the construction of what was then the longest suspension bridge in the world promises not only prestige, but also many jobs. It is, in the truest sense of the word, high-stakes work.
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Sauerkraut juice for a hangover
Construction work begins on January 5, 1933 according to the Golden Gate Bridge’s official website. The inaugural ceremony is turning into a veritable popular festival attended by 100,000 people. A parade marches, Navy jets fly, President Herbert Hoover sends a congratulatory telegram. To begin with, more than three million tons of earth must be excavated to anchor the massive piers of the 12-story bridge. In the same year, however, two accidents occurred which delayed the work by several months.
First, in August 1933, a steamer rammed the building, then a storm devastated the yard in December. Engineer Strauss focuses even more on maximum safety for his workers. They wear specially reinforced safety helmets and respiratory masks, even their diet is tailored for them so that they can work optimally. Also located near the emerging Golden Gate Bridge structure is a military hospital with its own male-only doctors. Those who come to work with a hangover are given sauerkraut juice as a “cure”.
A modern wonder of the world
However, danger is always at work. As a general rule, at this point one person will die on a given construction site for every million dollars invested. Strauss then invests the whopping $130,000 in a net designed to keep the workers from falling. However, tragedy struck when a scaffolding accidentally cut the net in 1937 and ten men fell to their deaths. One man had already died in October 1936. But the tragic events took a back seat when the Golden Gate Bridge was finally opened in a ceremony in late May 1937. In the end, the bridge cost a whopping $35 million, but no one asks anymore. A masterpiece has been created, which the American Engineering Society recognized in 1994 as one of the seven architectural wonders of the world.
In 1937, people are no less excited about the Golden Gate Bridge. May 27 marks the first day people are allowed in. 18,000 onlookers are already waiting at 6 in the morning, and then about 15,000 people cross the bridge on foot every hour. Each of them pays 25 cents for the privilege, here they eat about 50,000 hot dogs in a single day. Some people also use their visit to set more or less bizarre records. Among other things, a man is the first to cross the bridge on stilts. Two sisters do the same on roller skates. Charles Connor and Charles McFarlane become the first postmen ever. In total, about 200,000 people arrive.
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Almost always open
The opening celebrations last for a week and the following day the Golden Gate Bridge is opened to cars for the first time. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt opened it by telegram. Since then, some 40 million vehicles have crossed the bridge each year. Until 1981 it was the longest suspension bridge of all and until 1993 it also held the world height record. In the first 75 years of operation, it was only impassable for three days due to weather conditions. It was also closed due to an earthquake in 1989.
Today, you can cross the Golden Gate Bridge in one of six lanes by car, foot, or bike. According to the official website, those who choose the first option currently have to pay a toll of at least six dollars. Of course, you also have a unique view of San Francisco Bay and the city itself. At the opening ceremony in 1937, engineer Strauss said in a poem he wrote himself: “At last the great task is done!” Maybe he already knew then that it wasn’t just a bridge built. Rather, he had restored the hopes and dreams of an entire country.
