The Golden Gate Bridge Essay - 3030 Words

The Golden Gate Bridge Since the dawn of time, man has had an inherent need to get to the other side. Rivers, canyons, and impassable trails have always hindered the migration of man, leaving him the choice to continue no further, or to â€Å"build a bridge and get over it.† The earliest bridges were made of simple materials such as stone, or even a fallen log. Regardless of the material, natural bridges allowed man to explore the â€Å"other side.† However, man has never been satisfied with what nature gives him. Over time, man developed the ability to construct his own bridges in order to create a shortcut across an otherwise impassable obstacle. The first man-made bridges consisted of wooden beams or stone arches. With each†¦show more content†¦The Golden Gate Bridge broke span records and set new safety standards in the bridge building community. Although architects and engineers designed a safe structure, various improvements such as a lighter deck and reinforced steel t russes have been added over the years. The Golden Gate Bridge, in all its glory, is a true structural wonder for both its size and artistic design. Although actual construction began in January of 1933, the idea for the Golden Gate Bridge began back in 1872. At that time, railroad entrepreneur Charles Crocker envisioned bridging the gap across the entrance to San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. The idea was deemed unfeasible at the time and was put to rest until 1916, when James Wilkins, a newspaper editor, began to heavily promote the idea of building a bridge across the Golden Gate Strait. This time the proposal caught the attention of various bridge engineers in the area. The initial response was that the bridge would be difficult to build and cost in excess of 100 million dollars. Joseph Baermann Strauss stepped in with his proposal that, not only could the bridge be built, but construction would cost less than thirty million dollars. He even believed that tolls would soon pay for the expenses. On June 28, 1921 Strauss submitted his plan to build the Golden Gate Bridge for twenty seven million dollars. While th e City of San Francisco needed the bridge to accommodate the rapid population boom, it lacked the funds toShow MoreRelatedThe Golden Gate Bridge: An Overview672 Words   |  3 PagesThe Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge; it is one of the longest bridges in the world, an influential and graceful human structure in an evenly gorgeous natural site, built between the city of San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula and Sausalito on the south-facing Marin County headlands. The construction of the bridge started on January 5, 1933 under the support of the Works Projects Administration (WPA), a program commenced by Franklin DelanoRead MoreThe Golden Gate Bridge Essay1221 Words   |  5 PagesThe Golden Gate Bridge is â€Å"considered to be one of the best and most beautiful examples of bridge design† (Poel and Royakkers 110). Unfortunately, this bridge is also the USs most popular place to commit suicide (110). Due to this fact, bridge designers decided that they needed to consider the option of installing some sort of suicide prevention system. Before any decision was made, the ramifications of both implementing a system and not implementing one had to be considered. Deciding whetherRead MoreThe History of the Golden Gate Bridge Essay1420 Words   |  6 Pagesacross the San Francisco Bay stands the world famous Golden Gate Bridge. 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It was a few days in San Francisco last summer that gave me a love for somewhere other than home. BeingRead MoreAn Engineered Wonder of the World800 Words   |  4 PagesEngineered Wonder of the World This bridge needs neither praise, eulogy nor encomium. It speaks for itself. We who have labored long are grateful. What Nature rent asunder long ago, man has joined today. This is a quote from Joseph Strauss, the engineer that designed the Golden Gate Bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge is truly a piece of engineering excellence. It stretches for almost 9,000 feet over the San Francisco Bay, in San Francisco, California. The bridge has faced many problems during the designingRead MoreSuicide Is An Issue Among The Human Species1389 Words   |  6 Pageshave been recorded on some landmarks; one, in particular, is the Golden Gate Bridge. Some choose this bridge to do the unthinkable and jump off to end their lives. 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There are people that are desperate in life and choose this picturesque setting; the beauty of protruding boulders stippled within the grass covered hills; the silhouette of San Francisco pasted againstRead MoreAnthropology : An Intimate Ethnography733 Words   |  3 Pagesover to babysit the Larson’s children, she would no longer see him. When we had dinner at the Larson’s, he would no longer be there. It wasn’t until I was older, that I had learned that Dean Larson had committed suicide off the Golden Gate Bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge is magnificent and iconic, but also belies the fact that â€Å"one person every three days,† jumps to their death from this world renowned landmark (O’Conner). As a citizen of San Francisco it’s hard to see people from all over theRead MoreTaking a Look at the Suspension Bridge663 Words   |  3 PagesThe suspension bridge is a very popular type of bridge all over the world. It’s hard to build but can be built in a lot more places than an arch or beam bridge. Scientists do not know when it was invented. They believe it was near the 15th century. Whom it was invented by is also unknown. A suspension bridge can span distances from 2,000 to 7,000 feet, longer than any other type of bridge in the world. It is a very unique bridge. A suspension bridge is a bridge with the weight of the deck supportedRead MorePursuit of Happyness: Narrative Essay835 Words   |  4 Pagesclearly. As from the start it shows where the setting of the movie because its has a caption from the start; San Francisco 1981. To this caption I know that the setting was from San Francisco. Also, I saw the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge from the background. I saw the bridge from the scene when Chris and his son was taking question at each other. One of Chris questions to his son was, Who is the king of the jungle? Then, his son answered gorilla, but Chris said its a lion. Then, afterwards his