The Golden Gate Bridge: Celebrating 75 Years!

Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco, view from the Marin Headlands

On April 19, 1937, four days after the paving of the deck was finished, the first ceremony celebrating the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge was held.  Two companies of soldiers from nearby Fort Scott and a group of officials, which included Joseph Strauss, Chief Engineer, and San Francisco’s Mayor Angelo Rossi, marched to the center of the bridge.  There, after listening to several speeches, they stood back to watch while a ceremonial gold rivet was driven into place by Edward Stanley, a bridge worker who had also driven the ceremonial first rivet.  His nickname was Iron Horse Stanley.
Unlike the steel rivets for the bridge, which were always heated to make them pliable, the gold rivet, being made of a softer metal, was thought to be sufficiently pliable to be driven cold.  However, much to the embarrassment of Stanley and everyone else, the gold rivet proved to be too difficult to drive, and after a great deal of effort, the attempt was abandoned.  Later, the gold rivet was successfully placed in a nearby panel.

Cutting the ceremonial chain on opening day for cars, May 28, 1937

There were two official opening days for the public–one on May 27 for pedestrians only, and one the following day for automobiles.  The morning of May 27, 1937 was cold and foggy, but this did not deter the crowd of 18,000 people, all eager to be among the first to cross the bridge.  Some, including a boy Scout named Walter Kronenberg, had been waiting since 7:00 pm the night before.  Kronenberg was identified as being the first in line to cross the bridge.  Like the others, he had paid the required five cents pedestrian toll. At noon on May 29th, in Washington, D.C., President Franklin Delano Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key announcing that the bridge was in public use.  More than one hundred ships were waiting in the water below the bridge to begin their salute.  Overhead, five hundred Navy airplanes flew in formation over the bridge and at the same time, throughout the Bay Area, every foghorn, ship’s whistle, church bell, automobile horn and siren bleated, honked, and blared in a noisy cheer for the new bridge.

Caroline's parents at the 50th Anniversary Celebration, 1987

Over the years, the bridge has witnessed numerous anniversary celebrations including the 25th, 40th and 45th anniversaries of its completion.  On January 5, 1983, the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the bridge construction was celebrated.  Many of the men who had worked on the bridge came together again and shared memories.  A garden plot commemorating the five year period of bridge construction was planted in nearby Golden Gate Park.  Then in March 1987, the bridge celebrated the 50th anniversary of its completion as 300,000 people crowded onto the bridge, testing the limits of its weight capacity.  The day began as "Bridgewalk 87", a reenactment of "Pedestrian Day 37".  By 11:00 a.m. the bridge was cleared for a motorcade of vintage automobiles.  As a token of appreciation to the thousands of motorists who use the bridge each day, the board of directors suspended toll collection for the day.
Now, in 2012, the Golden Gate Bridge celebrates its 75th anniversary with a year-long series of events which began with a festival on May 27th, culminating with glorious firework display.  Events and exhibits will continue through the year.

Until the Verrazano Narrows Bridge was built in 1964 to join Brooklyn and Staten Island in New York, the Golden Gate Bridge had the longest center span of any suspension bridge in the world.  It is still one of the most beautiful bridges in the world. To find out facts about the bridge's construction and answers to questions ranging from toll and traffic information, the formula for the distinctive orange paint for the bridge, and “When did the Golden Gate Bridge appear on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine? (February 26, 1976),  go to the website of the Golden Gate Bridge Organization.

I first crossed the Golden Gate Bridge in 1966 when I came to visit my parents, who had recently moved to San Francisco from their home in Minneapolis.  I have crossed the bridge many times since, in wind and rain, sun and fog.  The view is always spectacular.  In anticipation of the 50th anniversary celebration of the bridge, I wrote a book for children, The Golden Gate Bridge (Franklin Watts, 1986.)  It has long been out of print, although you might be able to find it in a library.
[The photograph above, from my book, is of the opening day for cars in 1937, and is courtesy of the archives of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.]