Interesting Facts About GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

Golden Gate Bridge  – Ranked #1 in any travel-list for California – This beauty first caught my attention in a song ‘Chunari Chunari’ from a 1999 Hindi Movie – Biwi No.1. I was hardly 10 years old back then and couldn’t quite look beyond the vivacious Sushmita Sen and the handsome Salman Khan. But amidst all this innocence, that image of a bright orange suspension bridge in the background, remained in my memories. However cheesy this might sound, but this was my first impression on the Golden Gate Bridge. I simply had no idea about what its name was or where it was. Nevertheless, that gigantic bridge at its vibrant orange best, formed a permanent image in my memory.

It was only after a couple of years later – when the Golden Gate Bridge started making its way to many popular movies and my Geography lessons became more intense – I realised that this bridge is the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco and marked as the No.1 landmark to visit in California. 

Today, as I stand right before this beautiful bridge and imbibe its splendid architecture and grandeur, I can safely say that “Sometimes, destiny makes your dreams come true.” Who could ever fathom that a little girl from a small town called Cuttack, would one day stand facing that same bridge which was a part of her celluloid fantasy. Yes, it felt like I was right inside the television. I was at the same spot where Sushmita Sen was grooving to the tunes of ‘Chunari Chunari’. And it was magical!

Here, I have collated all the interesting facts I have ever known about the Golden Gate Bridge, on my journey from 1999 to 2017.

Interesting Facts About Golden Gate Bridge

• This magnificent span, perhaps San Francisco’s most famous landmark, opened in 1937 after a four-year struggle against relentless winds, fog, rock and treacherous tides.
• The colour of the bridge is officially an orange vermilion called “International Orange”. The colour was selected by consulting architect Irving Morrow because it complements the natural surroundings and enhances the visibility of the bridge during fog.

• The cables of the Golden Gate Bridge were made by the same company that built the Brooklyn  Bridge (almost 52 years earlier) – Roebling’s Sons Co.
• There was an earthquake, before the construction of the bridge completed. Albert Gales, a construction worker, was on top of the south tower when the quake hit in June 1935. “[The tower] was so limber the tower swayed 16 feet each way,” he later said. “There were 12 or 13 guys on top with no way to get down. The elevator wouldn’t run. The whole thing would sway toward the ocean, guys would say, ‘here we go!’ Then it would sway back, toward the Bay.”
• The opening of the Golden Gate Bridge was celebrated for a week in San Francisco. It took a little over four years to build the bridge, and the total cost of the project was $35 million.

• The bridge is named after the Golden Gate Strait, which is the entrance to the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. The Golden Gate Bridge was christened by John Fremont.
• The Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world until 1964. That honour now belongs to Japan’s “Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge”, which has a span of 6500 feet. But, the Golden Gate Bridge still remains as the most photographed bridge on the planet.
• The Golden Gate Bridge has lost 7,500 tons (in weight) since it opened in 1937.
• It is estimated that 5,000 – 10,000 gallons of paint are used to repaint the Golden Gate Bridge each year.
• Three babies have been born on the Golden Gate Bridge. All of them have been boys.
• The Golden Gate Bridge is the second-most used suicide site/suicide bridge in the world, after the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.

• The bridge has only been closed three times due to weather ever since it was built; all three times due to high winds gusting close to or over 70 miles per hour.
• The bridge has also been closed on few other occasions – visits from dignitaries, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and President Charles de Gaulle of France, commemorating 50th and 75th Anniversaries of Golden Gate Bridge.
• There’s a zipper truck on the Golden Gate Bridge that shifts the median from one lane to another to increase traffic flow in either direction.
• The one billionth driver crossed the Golden Gate Bridge on February 22, 1985. Dr. Arthur Molinari – a dentist, was the lucky driver. He was presented with a hardhat and a case of champagne.

Popular Movies that have included the Golden Gate Bridge

• • Ant-Man (2015)

• • Big Hero 6 (2014)

• • Happy Ending (2014)

• • Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

• • Anjaana Anjaani (2010)

• • Love Aaj Kal (2009)

• • Monsters Vs. Aliens (2009)

• • Milk (2008)

• • X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

• • The Pursuit of Happiness (2006)

• • Hulk (2003)

• • The Core (2003)

• • Biwi No.1 (1999)

• • The Rock (1996)

• • Interview with a Vampire (1994)

• • Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) 

• • The Abyss (1989)

• • Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

• • Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

• • A View to a Kill (1985)

• • Basic Instinct (1982)

• • Superman (1978)

• • Dirty Harry (1971)

• • The Birds (1963)

• • Vertigo (1958)

• The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Once called as “the bridge that couldn’t be built,” Golden Gate Bridge is one of the seven wonders of the modern world today.