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The Golden Gate is golden but not red. His strength, questioned by environmentalists of 50, has been demonstrated to survive few earthquakes have ravaged California. Joseph Strauss, an engineer visionary, dreamed in 1921 and, after ten years of struggle, he managed to make it happen. Its construction, an uphill battle against high winds and tides, was completed in just over four years. Workers and divers worked hard, and some life left there.
The Golden Gate was opened to traffic 75 years ago today, and the next day some 200,000 pedestrians attended his inauguration. Since then, the movement to resist unscathed condemns him strategically located between the peninsula on which it sits with the Marin district. The eternal queue of vehicles each year attests its six lanes, over 41 million cars, has been interrupted only three times because of the wind. Become an icon of the beautiful peninsula that shelters him, has emerged on the suspension bridge par excellence. Its uniqueness has made him a legend creditor, and has starred in movies, songs and novels.
But fame has its price, and the Golden Gate San Francisco exerts a strange fascination among suicides. Become a favorite destination for all candidates to take their lives, ranks first in number of suicides in the world. The authorities have been installed for general security gates but his perverse attraction persists.
What does the Golden Gate Bridge that makes it different? His legend has been forged over time. These are some of the milestones:
Her red-orange it was in the beginning, the original protective against rust, but its perfect fusion with the environment determined its preservation.
- The winds and tides which submitted its location is made of steel wires used for its construction they had an inordinate length, enough to circle the earth three times. The skepticism of engineers and ecologists of the time determined that these wires were five times stronger than necessary.
-Its striking design is the work of a couple of architects Irving and Gertrude Morrow, which simplified the pedestrian railings, separating them so as not to be obstructed the view.
Her 'looK' requires many efforts: his painting should be retouched almost daily. The salt content in the air corrodes steel components in it.
-The bridge has 'acted' in many movies among which View to a Kill, in which Grace Jones and 007 retain a fierce relentless struggle hung structure, and Vertigo, in which an inspired Hitchcock chooses its structure as a backdrop background for a courageous James Stewart Kim Novak saving wave of Fort Point.
-Joseph Strauss was also a pioneer of workplace safety. His foresight to introduce the use of helmet, goggles and safety belts, and the installation of a safety net under the bridge saved many lives.
- Despite security measures, victims who claimed the bridge's construction were numerous: at least ten workers drowned when dumping a cart pushed by strong wind. Also among the divers busy laying the foundations, which are more than sixty meters deep s, there were casualties.
- The Americans also charge tolls. The same May 28, 1937, only to be opened, we applied the payment of the same, 50 cents per round and an additional 5 more if the vehicle was occupied by more than 3 travelers.
It was fun travelling all across California including San Francisco and visiting the best of the travelling places. Public Transport system is not bad but I prefer hiring a personal car when i am on vacation and since we were 4 buddies so hiring a car was the best option.
In the end it was a very good experience visiting my dream engineering work.
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