The Golden Gate Bridge Opened 79 Years Ago Today
May 27, 2016

- It cost $35 million, finished early, and came in under budget
- Up until 1964, it was the longest suspension bridge main span in the world until the opening of New York's Verrazano–Narrows Bridge
- Horrifying to think, but the U.S. Navy tried to get the bridge painted black with yellow stripes out of concern that ships would hit the bridge
- From 1937-1970, pedestrians had to pay to cross
- The color of the bridge is International Orange, a hue also once used by NASA astronauts
- Opening day was studded with flyovers from small airplanes, something we cannot imagine happening today
- The bridge has played host to many protests, with advocated climbing the cables to protest everything from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to the logging of redwood trees
- The Southern Pacific Railroad company protested the bridge's construction for fear it would ruin their successful ferry business
- In its review of the bridge, the Chronicle referred to it as "a thirty-five million dollar steel harp"
- High winds have thrice closed the bridge, per the Chronicle, "in Dec. 1, 1951 (69 mph),once on Dec. 23, 1982 (70 mph) and Dec. 3, 1983 (75 mph)."
- During construction, a net was placed under the bridge, which saved the lives of 19 men who became known as the "Halfway-to-Hell Club."
- It is always being painted. Always.