The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the greatest engineering feats of the 20th century is an art deco-style landmark. Marking 88 years in 2025, the bridge is a working symbol of San Francisco, California, the West Coast, and the USA that attracts millions of visitors each year.
The iconic bridge opened to pedestrians on May 27, 1937 before opening to cars the following day. Replacing ferry boats as the only means to get across San Francisco Bay, the bridge was crucial is transforming the entire region.
A Wild Idea Takes Off
The unprecedented idea of constructing a massive suspension bridge was proposed by a structural engineer, James H. Wilkins, in 1916. Renderings were created a few years later by Joseph B. Strauss, chief engineer.
Steel for the bridge was manufactured by Bethlehem Steel at plants in New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. It was transported by rail cars to Philadelphia, then shipped to San Francisco through the Panama Canal.
Credit: The Bancroft Library, UCBerkeley, Construction Photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge collection
Construction began more than a decade later in 1933, providing much-needed jobs at the height of the Great Depression. Immigrant workers, many of Chinese descent, braved dangerous conditions to complete the bridge, with 11 men losing their lives during the 42 months of construction.
The bridge runs for 1.7 miles and spans 4,200 feet, which made it the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time construction was completed in 1937.
A Popular Attraction
Painted in a color known as International Orange, the 746-foot tall structure receives about 10 million people annually. Year after year, the Golden Gate Bridge is one of the nation’s top attractions chosen by thousands of readers on Tripadvisor. About 40,000 cars and 6,000 bicycles cross it daily and runners cross it twice during the San Francisco Marathon. Since the bridge first opened, more than two billion people have crossed the bridge.
Visiting the Golden Gate Bridge
Start at the Welcome Center on the San Francisco (south) side of the bridge, open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. to provide orientation and information services, exhibits, and commemorative and interpretive merchandise. Learn more about the bridge and see the original 12-foot stainless steel bridge “test tower” used in 1933.
On Thursdays and Sundays, free walking bridge tours starting here are offered by San Francisco City Guides, a non-profit organization associated with the San Francisco Public Library. For more information and a schedule of walks, visit San Francisco City Guides website.
Both ends of the Bridge touch the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Enjoy picturesque trails and vista points in one of the world’s largest national parks in an urban area. Visit the Parks Conservancy website or National Park Service-GGNRA website to begin your adventure and don’t miss the new Golden Gate and Pacific Overlooks adjacent to the Golden Gate Bridge.