WEBVTT - How Was the Golden Gate Bridge Designed?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Volke bomb here. San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate Bridge

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<v Speaker 1>had to start somewhere, and that start was in eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy two, when railroad entrepreneur Charles Crocker called for a

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<v Speaker 1>bridge to span the Golden Gate straight, the three mile

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<v Speaker 1>or five kilometer stretch of water that connects the San

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<v Speaker 1>Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. But it wasn't until

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen sixteen that the project gained traction as the area's

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<v Speaker 1>population grew and traffic congestion at the ferry docks was

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<v Speaker 1>becoming a serious issue. That's when James H. Wilkins, a

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<v Speaker 1>structural engineer and newspaper editor for the San Francisco Call Bulletin,

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<v Speaker 1>connected with San Francisco city engineer Michael M. O'Shaughnessy and

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<v Speaker 1>started talking about what would really take to make a

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<v Speaker 1>bridge connecting the city to the Marin Headlands a reality.

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<v Speaker 1>Three years later, San Francisco officials formally requested that O'Shaughnessy

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<v Speaker 1>explore the possibility of building a straight spanning bridge, and

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<v Speaker 1>the engineer began consulting with colleagues around the country. Sure,

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<v Speaker 1>the idea of connecting San Francisco to the North Bay

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<v Speaker 1>was nice, but was it financially feasible? Most industry insiders

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<v Speaker 1>speculated that such an undertaking would cost over a hundred

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<v Speaker 1>million dollars that's something like one and a half billion

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<v Speaker 1>in today's money, and perhaps more importantly, maybe it just

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't be built one. Joseph Barriman Strauss, however, begged to differ. Strauss,

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<v Speaker 1>a Chicago based engineer, presented a plan that not only

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<v Speaker 1>made a bridge seem possible, but downright affordable. Strauss's plan

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<v Speaker 1>estimated that the construction could be done for thirty million.

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<v Speaker 1>Strauss submitted his preliminary sketches to O'Shaughnessy and Edward Rainey,

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<v Speaker 1>a secretary to James Rolfe, then mayor of San Francisco,

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<v Speaker 1>in June of nine. While his original design, a seventeen

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<v Speaker 1>million dollars symmetrical cantilever suspension hyb in span, needed some

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<v Speaker 1>tweaking and didn't pan out. Shaughnessy made the design public

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<v Speaker 1>in December of and although the press described it as ugly,

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<v Speaker 1>there was surprisingly little public opposition to the ambitious endeavor.

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<v Speaker 1>But while citizens seemed relatively open to approving the massive undertaking,

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<v Speaker 1>there were more than a few snags along the way

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<v Speaker 1>to construction. First, Shaughnessy and Strauss had to assemble a

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<v Speaker 1>special district of the state of California to oversee the financing, design,

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<v Speaker 1>and construction of the bridge as a way to give

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<v Speaker 1>all counties involved a voice in the process, But ultimately

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<v Speaker 1>the fate of the bridge was in the hands of

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<v Speaker 1>the War Department, which legally ruled all harbor construction potentially

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<v Speaker 1>affecting shipping, traffic or military logistics. When the War Department

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<v Speaker 1>held a hearing in May of nineteen four to discuss

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<v Speaker 1>the bridge's potential impact on navigation and financial burden, things

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<v Speaker 1>got thorny. Plenty of people voiced their opposition, especially the

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<v Speaker 1>local ferry companies, who started a serious anti bridge campaign

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<v Speaker 1>in an effort to halt construction, and they succeeded for

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<v Speaker 1>eight years. But after nearly a decade of jurisdiction and uncertainty,

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<v Speaker 1>Strauss and os Shaughnessy were able to create the Golden

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<v Speaker 1>Gate Bridge and Highway District, composed of the area's six

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<v Speaker 1>member counties, incorporated by the California State Legislature in Night

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<v Speaker 1>as a sole entity responsible for the final design, construction,

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<v Speaker 1>and financing of the future bridge. Then Secretary of War

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<v Speaker 1>Patrick Hurley issued the construction permit in August of nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>thirty and the building process officially kicked off nearly three

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<v Speaker 1>years later in January of nineteen thirty three. By this time,

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<v Speaker 1>the vast majority of residents were stoked, and a groundbreaking

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<v Speaker 1>ceremony at nearby Chrissy Field helped hype the locals for

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<v Speaker 1>what was to be a somewhat lengthy but easier than

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<v Speaker 1>expected process. We spoke the email with Paolo coosalp Swartz,

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<v Speaker 1>whose name I hope I'm saying correctly and who is

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<v Speaker 1>the public affairs manager for the Golden gate Bridge Highway

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<v Speaker 1>and Transportation District. He said, an interesting fact about the

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<v Speaker 1>Golden Gate Bridge is that it was completed ahead of

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<v Speaker 1>schedule and under budget, a rarity in today's construction world.

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<v Speaker 1>The bridge was completed in May of seven, six months

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<v Speaker 1>ahead of schedule. It cost about thirty nine million dollars

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<v Speaker 1>to build, which equals about five million into days dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>Not only did the bridge make a name for itself

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<v Speaker 1>as a relatively quick and painless project, as far as

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<v Speaker 1>massive constructions go It also made a mark on history

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<v Speaker 1>with its construction procedures and safety measures. Coustolic Shortz said

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<v Speaker 1>the Golden gate Bridge was a pioneering project for protecting

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<v Speaker 1>workers by requiring bridge builders to wear hard hats and

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<v Speaker 1>installing the first safety net for bridge workers. I'm proud

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<v Speaker 1>that the legacy of safety lives on at the Golden

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<v Speaker 1>gate Bridge today. Although eleven men did die during construction,

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<v Speaker 1>which was not unheard of in that risky era of building,

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<v Speaker 1>a safety net suspended under the floor of the bridge

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<v Speaker 1>during construction saved the lives of nineteen men who became

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<v Speaker 1>known as the Halfway to Hell Club. But remember Strauss's

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<v Speaker 1>original plans for a spetrical cantilever suspension hybrid bridge. While

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<v Speaker 1>his staff, led by Charles A. Ellis, found the idea

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<v Speaker 1>to be practical from an engineering standpoint, some experts started

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<v Speaker 1>to raise questions. Ellis brought on professor George F. Swain

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<v Speaker 1>of Harvard University and Leon Morzef, who designed New York's

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<v Speaker 1>Manhattan Bridge, to serve on a board of consultants for

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<v Speaker 1>the project, and more Zef was not sold on the design.

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<v Speaker 1>In August of nineteen twenty nine, the board appointed Morzeff

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<v Speaker 1>and a couple other engineers to serve alongside Strauss as

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<v Speaker 1>the Advisory Board of Engineers. At some point in their discussions,

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<v Speaker 1>the exact date being unknown, the board decided to shift

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<v Speaker 1>from Strauss's original proposal to a simple suspension bridge design

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<v Speaker 1>the Golden Gate Bridge. A report of the Chief Engineer,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Strauss in sept Number of nine seven doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>give details on the transition from his originally proposed design

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<v Speaker 1>to the more zeph inspired suspension span, but simply states,

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<v Speaker 1>in the interval which has elapsed, any advantages possessed by

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<v Speaker 1>the cantilever suspension type bridge had practically disappeared. An on

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<v Speaker 1>recommendation of the Chief Engineer, the cantilever suspension type was

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<v Speaker 1>abandoned in favor of the simple suspension type. There was

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<v Speaker 1>another mysterious drama during the design process as well. While

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<v Speaker 1>Ellis was responsible for directing the thousands of calculations required,

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<v Speaker 1>Strauss unceremoniously fired him in nineteen thirty one and handed

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<v Speaker 1>his job over to his assistant. To this day, Ellis

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<v Speaker 1>is rarely mentioned in discussions of the bridge, but back

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<v Speaker 1>to that design, perhaps the most recognizable feature of the

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<v Speaker 1>bridge is its eye popping hue, but please don't call

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<v Speaker 1>it red. Kosslick Schwartz said, International orange is the signature

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<v Speaker 1>color of the Golden gate Bridge. The color was chosen

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<v Speaker 1>as the primary color of the bridge by consulting architect

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<v Speaker 1>Irving Morrow, who noticed the red lead primer of the

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<v Speaker 1>steel arriving from mills on the East coast. He thought

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<v Speaker 1>the red primer would serve the dual purpose of making

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<v Speaker 1>the bridge stand out for ships and plains in the

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<v Speaker 1>dense fog while blending in with the natural beauty of

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<v Speaker 1>the areas surrounding the bridge. After much study and debate,

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<v Speaker 1>the color we so closely identify with the Golden gate

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<v Speaker 1>Bridge today was selected for the project, and we can

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<v Speaker 1>thank Irving Morrow for the Golden gate Bridges distinctive hue today.

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<v Speaker 1>The Golden Gate Bridge is a critical transportation link between

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<v Speaker 1>San Francisco and Marin County. The one point seven mile

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<v Speaker 1>or two point seven kilometer main span carries about a

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and twelve thousand vehicles every day, and not only

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<v Speaker 1>can the number of roadway lanes dedicated to the southbound

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<v Speaker 1>or northbound be modified throughout the day to accommodate shifting

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<v Speaker 1>traffic patterns, but visitors are welcome to walk and bike

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<v Speaker 1>the length of the landmark. Over two billion vehicles have

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<v Speaker 1>crossed the Golden gate Bridge, going both north and south

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<v Speaker 1>since opening to traffic one. Today's episode was written by

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<v Speaker 1>Michelle Konstantinovski, who has a tattoo of the Golden gate Bridge,

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<v Speaker 1>and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and

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<v Speaker 1>lots of other curious topics, visit how stuff works dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio. For more

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