ACROSS THE GOLDEN GATE On many summer days in San Francisco California a thick fog blankets the bay Two orange towers rise above the fog like ladders leading to the sky They are the only clues to the marvel of engineering hidden in the fog below The towers anchor the city’s Golden Gate Bridge Since the bridge opened in 1937 more than 2 billion cars have driven across it But the bridge is more than just a way to get Morning and evening fog from the Pacific Ocean rolls into San Francisco Bay through the Golden Gate most days from June to August
across the Golden Gate Strait Its graceful lines bright orange color and beautiful setting make it a work of SUSPENSION BRIDGES The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge This type of bridge uses towers at each end The bridge deck is suspended from cables attached to the towers The deck has no supports underneath it as many other types of bridges do Suspension bridges are most useful over large spans art Its distinct profile has become a symbol of the United States It is also a feat of modern engineering THE BRIDGE THAT COULDN’T BE BUILT The quest to build the bridge began in an unlikely way It started when a powerful earthquake shook San Francisco on April 18 1906 The earthquake lasted less than one minute As the ground shook candles and gas lamps tipped over They ignited fires that burned across the city for three days More than 28,000 buildings were destroyed 6
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 broke open gas and water mains leaving no way to stop fires from destroying nearly 500 city blocks The city lay in ruins Its residents needed new homes offices and public buildings The city also needed new roads and bridges Mayor James Rolph appointed a city engineer to oversee this work His name was Michael O’Shaughnessy As part of the rebuilding effort O’Shaughnessy dreamed of building a bridge across the Golden Gate Strait For years nothing happened The project was too difficult A bridge across the strait would need to be nearly two miles 3 km long No one had ever made a suspension bridge that long before The bridge would also need to be incredibly strong It would have to 7
