A landmark anniversary

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This coming weekend 80 years ago, the Golden Gate Bridge opened, connecting San Francisco with Marin County, California. The famous bridge was constructed between 1933 and 1937 and was at the time of opening on May 27, 1937 the longest suspension bridge in the world. Not everyone liked it. Engineer Joseph Strauss thought it was a bridge too far and was quoted 80 years ago: “The bridge which could not and should not be built, which the War Department would not permit, which the rocky foundation of the pier base would not support, which would have no traffic to justify it, which would ruin the beauty of the Golden Gate, which could not be completed within my costs estimate of $27,165,000, stands before you in all its majestic splendor, in complete refutation of every attack made upon it.”

Nevertheless some 200,000 came over to watch the opening ceremony and by the end of that first day, more than 32,000 vehicles had paid tolls and crossed, with many more to follow. The bridge is of course, also a landmark for taking a picture. Just like today’s Friday Lady, back in 1964. The caption reads: “Stopping to pick flowers in San Francisco in 1964, with the Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop. The car is a 1964 Cadillac, and the trailer is an Airstream Land Yacht.”

(Words editor, picture 50campfires.com)

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