Golden Gate, Golden State Trivia Quiz

Answer: The strait between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean

The Golden Gate is a strait on the US West Coast that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. On either side are the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula. The whole shoreline with commensurate waters in the bay and bounded by the strait are managed by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It seems incredible that early explorers missed the entrance to one of the US busiest ports precincts but the foggy area and the dangerous boiling waters of the strait may have made this a daunting process.

The Golden Gate Park is also named after the Strait not the bridge and indeed precedes the bridge by 56 years.

Answer: To connect San Francisco with Marin County

The growth of San Francisco was below the US growth rates for urban areas. It was America's largest city to be connected to nearby towns only by ferry boat. Firm plans for a bridge proposal date back to 1916. Many people thought a bridge spanning the strait would be impossible as the strait had strong, swirling tides and currents and deep water up to 372 ft (113 m) deep in the the centre of the channel. Experts said that ferocious winds and dense, blinding fogs would preclude any form of bridge being built.

Answer: True

The main architect and engineer was a man called Joseph Strauss, who convinced authorities that a bridge across the strait was feasible. The bridge's original design was an awkward hybrid of a cantilever and suspension bridge. Mr Strauss applied for a patent on the hybrid cantilever-suspension bridge plan with the US Patent Office.

The patent (#1,453,084) was granted on April 24, 1923. However it was labelled "an upside-down rat trap." by one critic. Mr Strauss agreed to discard the design, and he later brought in rival engineers to produce a more elegant suspension bridge design. Mr Strauss was given approval to undertake the project before the final design itself was approved in 1930.

Answer: 1933

Construction commenced in January 1933 with the two central towers.

The Golden Gate Bridge has two main towers that support the two main cables.
Each tower above water is 746 ft (227 m) high and 500 feet (152m) taller than the deck. The south tower (the one built over water) foundation depth below mean low water mark is 110 ft (34 m). The load on each tower from main cables is 61,500 tons (56,000,000 kg). The weight of both main towers is 44,000 tons (40,200,000 kg).

Answer: 1936

In November 1936, the two sections of the Golden Gate Bridge's main span were joined. The bridge opened less than a year later on May 27, 1937.

The weight of both main cables, suspender cables, and accessories was 24,500 tons (22,200,000 kg). The length of one main cable is 7,650 ft (2,332 m).The number of galvanized steel wires in one main cable (that are 0.192 inches in diameter) is 27,572. Total length of galvanized steel wire used in both main cables is 80,000 mi (129,000 km).

Answer: True

"Only" 11 construction workers died in the building of this bridge. In comparison, 28 workers died building the neighboring San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, which opened six months before the Golden Gate. Joseph Strauss, the principal architect, made safety a high priority which was unusual in the day - this was the first construction site in America which required workers to wear hard hats. Strauss spent $130,000 on a safety net that was suspended under the bridge deck, which saved the lives of 19 workers. These people then belonged to the "Halfway to Hell Club" because they survived what otherwise would have been a fatal fall.

Ten of the 11 fatalities occurred in one accident on February 17, 1937, when a 5-ton work scaffold broke apart from the bridge and was heavy enough to break through the safety net. However the net still saved two men on this occasion.

Answer: There was a fireworks show on the bridge on opening night

The opening festivities began on May 27, 1937, and lasted a week. The first 200,000 people crossed on foot. A day later, Mayor Angelo Rossi caught the ferry to Marin, then crossed the bridge from north to south in a motorcade before he and Joseph Strauss, the principal architect. presented the bridge to the Highway District "There's a Silver Moon on the Golden Gate", was chosen to commemorate the event and Mr Strauss, also a noted poet, wrote a poem that is now pasted on the Golden Gate Bridge and called "The Mighty Task is Done".

The day after, President Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington, D.C., which allowed vehicle traffic to cross the bridge from noon that day.

Answer: International Orange

The steel that arrived in San Francisco to build the Golden Gate Bridge from Pittsburgh (via the Panama Canal!) was primer-coated in a burnt red and orange shade to protect it from corrosion. The architects preferred the hue of the primer to more contemporary paint colours such as carbon black and steel gray. The "international orange" color was visible in the fog, and complemented the natural setting of the nearby and contrasted well with bay and sky blues

The military objected to the bridge itself as it thought navy ships would crash into it with its heavy fog days but eventually gave its approval, and pushed for a black and yellow stripes colour scheme. The Army Air Corps wanted a combination of red and white stripes.

The Golden Gate Bridge website states that they do not own the colour scheme and it is available for anyone to use. CMYK colors are: C= Cyan: 0%, M =Magenta: 69%, Y =Yellow: 100%, K = Black: 6%.

Question by Leith90 and 1nn1

Answer: True

The key word there is "some" and there are numerous lists out there that claim all manner of sights as superior to others. The view that the Golden Gate Bridge should be seen as one of the "Seven Wonders of the Modern World" has been expressed by the Museum of Unnatural Mystery and, more importantly, by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Consider this. The bridge was completed in 1937 and it had to negotiate the following;
- It had to negotiate the strait that connects San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean, a distance of some 6,700 feet and a depth in the middle of some 500 feet.
- With its strong currents and constantly moving tides, along with heavy winds that move between the high hills on either side, this becomes a demon of a stretch of water to negotiate.
- And when the wind goes away there's a good chance the area will be shrouded in heavy fog.

In short, this is a bridge that many said could not be built. The fact that it's there is a testament to the engineering genius that created it.

Question by Pollucci19.

Answer: Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

The length of a suspension bridge is measured by its distance between the two pylons (Deck length) the cable between the pylons support the entire weight of the deck. The deck of the Golden Gate is suspended by cables three feet in diameter that would encircle the earth at the equator if laid end to end.

It was the world's longest suspension bridge from 1937 to 1964 when the Verrazano-Narrows bridge that connects the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. This bridge span is 60 feet longer than the Golden Gate at 4260 feet.