Building the Golden Gate Bridge, by Lane Dooling

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Members of Marin's Ra Ravas club pictured on the Golden Gate Bridge on May 27, 1937.
(Courtesy of San Francisco Chronicle)

Although suggested as early as the late 1800s, the Golden Gate Bridge was not seriously considered until the 1920s. In 1921, Joseph Strauss was the lead architect for the bridge, with contributions from Irving F. Morrow and Leon S. Moisseiff. A bond was taken out by the surrounding counties, including Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino, to be paid back through bridge tolls. When the Great Depression hit, residents of these counties decided to put up their belongings as collateral to support the construction of the bridge. Other challenges included heavy winds, strong ocean tides and fog. Sadly, 11 workers died during the construction of the bridge. In June 1935, an earthquake struck as men worked atop the bridge’s unfinished south tower.

Despite all the conditions and hurdles, construction still finished under budget and ahead of schedule. Work began in 1933 and ended in 1937, concluding the immense project in only four years. The bridge came in exactly on budget: $35 million.

The U.S. Navy lobbied that the bridge be painted in blue and yellow stripes to increase its visibility. When the steel arrived in San Francisco painted in a burnt red hue as primer, the consulting architect decided the color was both highly visible and more pleasing to the eye. The bridge’s color is officially called “international orange.”

Opening day on May 27, 1937, was “Pedestrian Day,” with 15,000 people an hour going through the turnstiles, paying 25 cents to cross. The day was capped off by a fireworks display in the evening. We can’t forget about the lucky nine Ra Ravas service club members that made history that day as they were captured in a photograph dashing arm-in-arm across the Golden Gate Bridge on opening day. Some of them stayed up all night to catch a special bus from San Rafael to be close to the front of the line. Ra Ravas was an active club at San Rafael High School. It was started in 1927 by Wylma “Cookie” Cunningham. Cunningham was the faculty advisor and home economics teacher for many years. The spirit of this club combined service, goodwill, friendship and a special kinship.

Flash forward 20 years later, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story with the original picture of the young women with the headline “What happened to these girls?” Wouldn’t you know it, Cunningham still had the article when it ran in the paper in 1937. Long story short, the women were invited as the Chronicle’s guests at the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge held at Bimbo’s 365 Club. It was the first time the eight women had gotten together since high school. (Sadly, Jeannette Hayter died in 1938 of appendicitis.) And, of course, they gathered at the Golden Gate Bridge to re-enact their famous bridge dash.


Former members of Marin's Ra Ravas service club recreate their iconic photo from the Golden Gate Bridge's opening day. (Courtesy of San Francisco Chronicle)

On to some pop culture: The Golden Gate Bridge has been featured in a number of popular films, including “Interview with the Vampire” (1994); “The Maltese Falcon” (1941); “A View to a Kill” (1985); “Superman” (1978); “Dirty Harry” (1971); “The Princess Diaries” (2001); “The Room” (2003); “Vertigo” (1958); and “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (2011).

Eighty-eight years later, it’s not surprising that the Golden Gate Bridge is still considered one of the seven wonders of the world — an “engineering marvel” — and is one of the most photographed bridges in the world.

 (Originally published as a History Watch article in the Marin Independent Journal)