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Coming Home Our Special Places Home Page

Itinerary:

We will begin by reading the book, “Pop’s Bridge” by Eve Bunting, and will discuss what makes the Golden Gate Bridge so important.

We will view photographs of before, during and after the bridge construction. Then we will discuss the human and physical characteristics of the Golden Gate Bridge.

We will do a “human bridge” activity, then read the poem “The Mighty Task is Done.”

We will view the live webcam of the Golden Gate Bridge. Once we have finished that, we will create a postcard from the Golden Gate Bridge and list three facts we learned today about the bridge, as well as one question we still have about the Golden Gate Bridge.

Where is the Golden Gate Bridge?

Links:

Photographs: Before, during and after

Creating a Human Bridge Activity

Live Webcam

PBS: The American Experience

Images of the bridge by section

Video of the Opening of the Bridge

Important Information about the Golden Gate Bridge:

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge.

It spans the opening into the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. It connects San Francisco and Sausalito.

The entire bridge spans 1.7 miles.

The distance between the towers is 4,200 feet.

The Golden Gate Bridge was the largest suspension bridge in the world from it’s opening in 1937 until 1964.

Before the bridge, the strait was crossed by ferry boat.

Irving Morrow chose the color for the bridge, which is known as “International Orange” or orange vermillion. It was chosen because it makes the bridge easier to see in fog and blends well with the surroundings.

A brick from a demolished building at the University of Cincinnati was placed in the south anchorage of the bridge, because the engineer in charge of the project was a graduate of the school.

During construction, 11 men were killed from falls, and 10 were right before the bridge opened. The safety net failed after a scaffold fell.

The bridge was completed in April 1937. It opened to pedestrians on May 27, and was opened the next day to cars by President Roosevelt from Washington, DC.

The bridge has only been closed three times since it opened, in 1951, 1982, and 1983. These were all due to windy conditions.

The bridge is the only road exit from San Francisco to the North. It is U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1.

There are six lanes of vehicle traffic, as well as pedestrian lanes. The median markers on the bridge are moved based on the traffic patterns.

The speed limit on the Golden Gate Bridge is only 45mph. It was changed from 55mph in 1983, before the moveable barrier.

The Golden Gate Bridge is a toll bridge, but only for traffic heading southbound. The toll is $5.00. Northbound travelers are free.

“The Mighty Task is Done”

Joseph Strauss

At last the might task is done;
Resplendent in the western sun;
The Bridge looms mountain high

On its broad decks in rightful pride,
The world in swift parade shall ride
Throughout all time to be.

Launched midst a thousand hopes and fears,
Damned by a thousand hostile sneers.
Yet ne’er its course was stayed.
But ask of those who met the foe,
Who stood alone when faith was low,
Ask them the price they paid.
High overhead its lights shall gleam,
Far, far below life’s restless stream,
Unceasingly shall flow....