Today in History: Golden Gate Bridge opens in 1937

Today in History: Golden Gate Bridge opens in 1937
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is a spectacular technological and artistic achievement. 78 years ago, on opening day, some 200,000 pedestrians crossed the bay between San Francisco and Marin County. The following day, the bridge opened to vehicular traffic. Construction began in January of 1933 and was completed in under 4 ½ years. With a total length of 8,981 ft. (2,737 m), the Golden Gate Bridge remained the largest suspension bridge in the world until 1964. First ideas and drafts of the project started circulating at the end of the 19th century but no one thought the project financially and technically feasible. Today, the bridge is considered to be one of the Wonders of the Modern World. Frommers travel guide called it “possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world.”