The Golden Gate Bridge

No trip to San Francisco would be complete without a trip to visit the Golden Gate Bridge, a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate in California to link San Francisco with Marin county to the north. The bridge upon its completion in 1937, was the tallest and longest suspension bridge in the world. The Golden Gate Bridge set a precedent for suspension-bridge design around the world. Although other bridges have since been built that are bigger, it remains incomparable in the magnificence of its setting and is said to be the most photographed bridge in the world. It carries both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) across the strait and also features a pedestrian walkway. At night the bridge is floodlit and shines with a golden luminescence that reflects off the waters of the bay and creates nothing short of a magical effect, this effect best viewed from the Golden Gate Viewpoint on Conzelman Road.

The bridge opened to vehicles on May 28, 1937, under budget and ahead of schedule. The main span is 1,280 metres (4,200 feet) long and is suspended from two cables hung from towers 227 metres (746 feet) high. At its midpoint the roadway is 81 metres (265 feet) above the water. The Golden Gate Bridge remained the bridge with the longest main span in the world until 1964 when the Verrazzano-Narrows bridge was built in New York. There is plenty of parking at the South end of the bridge and when we visited we parked up there near the south toll stations and walked out onto the bridge with easy access.

The bridge itself is a mastery of engineering, you can not help but walk the distance of the span and admire the workmanship and construction skills that it took to create this masterpiece almost one hundred years ago. We walked across and then back again and also returned later to drive over the bridge.

Later on that evening we returned to the bridge, but drove over to the north side and parked up on the Golden Gater Viewpoint off Conzelmen Road. From the viewpoint here you can get some amazing photos, especially when the sun goes down and the lights come on on the bridge. We waited until after sunset and captured the bridge in all her beauty, moving along slightly to the Fort Barker site to vary the view.