Argumentative Essay: The Golden Gate Bridge

Before 1937 the public believed it impossible to build a bridge across the mile-wide Golden Gate strait that connects San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco to Marin county. Someone thought it was possible though, Joseph B. Strauss, a team of engineers, and many dedicated workers and professionals, oversaw the creation of a structure that has become world-renowned. Now, “The Golden Gate Bridge has earned the reputation as the world’s most spectacular Bridge and is one of the most visited sites in the world.”

“Efforts to begin the construction on the bridge, began as early as 1928. The process would entail the efforts of six counties in Northern California. In 1928, the counties formed a Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District.

“Linking San Francisco with Marin County the 1.7 mile-long suspension bridge can be crossed by car, on bicycles or on foot. The GGB opened to vehicular traffic on May 8, 17 at twelve oclock noon, ahead of schedule and under budget, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in the White House announcing the event.” “Today, pedestrians and bicyclists are still allowed to cross the bridge on pathways with breathtaking views of the city, Alcatraz, and the Marin Headlands. The bridge toll for vehicles is $ when entering San Francisco. The best way to view the bridge is to walk across. This usually takes about an

“During the initial building of the bridge no safety devices were used and sadly several men fell to their deaths. However, during the last part of the project, the construction company stretched a large safety net under the bridge at a cost of $100,000.” “The most famous of the original construction workers became known as the Half-Way-to-Hell Club when the safety net suspended beneath the floor of the Bridge saved the lives of nineteen men. Until February 17, 1937, there had been only one fatality during the construction of the Bridge. This was a new record in a field where the norm had been that one man was killed for every million dollars spent. On that sad day in February, ten men lost their lives when a section of scaffold carrying twelve men fell through the safety net.”

Modern day art themes were considered when this was built. “The design of the Golden Gate Bridge echoes an Art Deco Theme. Wide, vertical ribbing on the horizontal tower bracing accents the suns light on the bridge. The towers that support the Golden Gate Bridges suspension cables are smaller at the top than at the base, emphasizing the tower height of 500 feet above the roadway. Coit tower is another San Francisco landmark with an art deco