What did the original Golden Gate Bridge look like?

The bridge's original design, produced by chief engineer Joseph Strauss in 1921, was a clunky hybrid of a cantilever and suspension bridge that according to one critic resembled “an upside-down rat trap.” It was functional, but far from elegant.



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The original Golden Gate Bridge collapsed during an earthquake in 1906, which was later determined to be caused by exposure to winds and long-term deterioration. The Golden Gate Bridge is about 9,000 feet long (nearly two miles) and is one of the most iconic bridges in the United States.

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5 Fun Facts About the Golden Gate Bridge
  • The bridge is actually not golden at all! It's a bright red-orange.
  • It was named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
  • It took four years to build.
  • There are approximately 600,000 rivets in each of the bridge's towers.
  • It's the most photographed bridge in the world.


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Want to swim over the deepest part of the bay? Maybe you've already done it and had no idea - you'll find the deepest water in our Golden Gate Bridge race just under the bridge at over 370 feet.

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According to the book The World Without Us by Alan Weisman, suspension and truss bridges would collapse after two or three centuries without maintenance. The cause would be rust eventually filling the expansion joints, causing damage during hot weather.

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The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District is a special-purpose district that owns and operates three regional transportation assets in the San Francisco Bay Area: the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, the Golden Gate Ferry system and the Golden Gate Transit system.

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It takes four seconds to fall the 220 feet from the Golden Gate Bridge to the waters of the San Francisco Bay below. In that brief instant, a falling body can reach speeds of 75 m.p.h. The impact is almost always fatal. Just three months after the bridge opened in 1937, a man jumped.

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The cost to construct a new Golden Gate Bridge would be approximately $1.64 billion in 2019 dollars. The total price depends on a many factors including the extent of the environmental reviews and the cost of labor and materials.

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Do you know why the Golden Gate Bridge has its iconic name? The answer might surprise you. Rather than being named for the area's association with the Gold Rush, it's actually named for the water that runs beneath it—The Golden Gate Strait.

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Average Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District Painter hourly pay in the United States is approximately $49.00, which is 166% above the national average.

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A person jumping from the highest point on the bridge will drop 245 feet before plunging into the frigid San Francisco Bay waters below. The impact from that fall kills 98 percent of all jumpers.

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