Golden Gate Bridge

What it is

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula—to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait. It also carries pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and is designated as part of U.S. Bicycle Route 95. Recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the Wonders of the Modern World, the bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco and California.

Key facts

What it is

suspension bridge, steel bridge, toll bridge source

Owned by

Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District source

Created

1937-05-27 source

Country

United States source

Located in

Marin County, San Francisco source

Architect

Joseph Strauss source

Made from

steel source

Length

8981 source

Height

746 source

In the maker's own words

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District is a special district of the State of California which operates and maintains the Golden Gate Bridge and two unified public transit systems - Golden Gate Transit and Golden Gate Ferry.

Origin and history

Construction began on January 5, 1933. The project cost more than $35 million ($630 million in 2024 dollars), and was completed ahead of schedule and $1.3 million under budget (equivalent to $30.5 million in 2024). The Golden Gate Bridge construction project was carried out by the McClintic-Marshall Construction Co., a subsidiary of Bethlehem Steel Corporation founded by Howard H. McClintic and Charles D. Marshall, both of Lehigh University.

How it is made

Strauss was the chief engineer in charge of the overall design and construction of the bridge project. However, because he had little understanding or experience with cable-suspension designs, responsibility for much of the engineering and architecture fell on other experts. Strauss's initial design proposal (two double cantilever spans linked by a central suspension segment) was unacceptable from a visual standpoint.