Why is it called Golden Gate?

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.



People Also Ask

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.


MORE DETAILS

It's free to walk or bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. The pedestrian walkway is the east sidewalk that runs along the east (bay) side of the bridge. Bikes ride on either side, according to the daily schedule. Drivers pay a toll ($9.40) but only coming into San Francisco.

MORE DETAILS

It's free to walk or bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. The pedestrian walkway is the east sidewalk that runs along the east (bay) side of the bridge. Bikes ride on either side, according to the daily schedule. Drivers pay a toll ($9.40) but only coming into San Francisco.

MORE DETAILS

Underneath the Golden Gate Bridge lies the wreck of the City of Chester, a steamboat that sank on August 22, 1890 at 10 a.m. The boat was impaled on the steamer Oceanic, arriving from Asia, and sunk in six minutes.

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS