Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge
May 27, 1937 was Pedestrian Day in San Francisco. This kicked off a week-long
celebration of the new Golden Gate Bridge. Pedestrian Day meant that the bridge was
open to foot traffic for 25 cents per person. About 200,000 people paid the fee and
crossed the 1.7-mile span in their walking shoes or on roller skates. For the first time, it
was possible to walk across the San Francisco Bay, from the northern tip of San
Francisco to the southern end of Marin County. Automobile traffic was permitted the
next day at noon.
Before the Golden Gate Bridge was constructed, San Francisco was a relatively isolated
city. It sat at the top of a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by water that was difficult
to cross. The Golden Gate itself is a narrow strip of water at the mouth of the San
Francisco Bay. With strong currents and a depth of 400 feet, the Golden Gate strait is
foreboding to sailors. On the other hand, circumnavigating the whole San Francisco Bay
has its drawbacks too: the trip is hundreds of miles long and involves crossing several
rivers, which can become shallow sand traps.
For these reasons, ferry service between San Francisco and Marin County began in 1820.
First the ferry was only for railroad passengers, but later on people could bring their
automobiles in tow. This became booming business.
When bridge proposals became serious, the ferry companies, including the Southern
Pacific Railroad Company, opposed any bridge as competition. The military also
objected to spanning the San Francisco Bay; they questioned whether the bridge would
interfere with war ships. People in general wondered about the sturdiness of a suspension
bridge, which is held by cables and strung between towers. Could such a bridge withstand
the Bays strong gusts of wind? How would the bridge remain rooted in the ocean floor?
Nonetheless, by the 1900s it was evident that ferries alone could not handle travel
demands. The citys growth would be restricted until it overcame obstacles to trading
with Northern California. In 1916 the Chicago-based engineer Joseph Strauss responded
to San Franciscos call for bridge submissions. Immediate local support mixed with
alleged bribery helped him secure support from the city council. Strauss personally
traveled north, too, to lobby Marin County council members and business people. He
assured them that once a bridge was built from San Francisco, their businesses and
property values would grow. He gained their support. By 1932, the founder of San
Francisco-based Bank of America agreed to finance the estimated $30 million project.
Work started in 1933.
The Golden Gate Bridge blueprints were improved upon since Strausss original
submission. Strauss had little experience with suspension style bridges, so he hired a
team of architects who made significant contributions. Today, the Purdue professor
Charles Ellis is widely recognized as being the main architect behind the bridge, while
Strauss is regarded as its organizer and promoter. A San Francisco architect named Irving
Morrow, who was part of Strausss team, also made important contributions. He
suggested painting the bridge a color he called international orange. This would
complement the surrounding blues and greens of nature, and simultaneously make the
bridge visible through fog. (If the bridge coloring had been left to the government or
Strauss, it would likely have been black.) Irving also designed the bridges arches to play
with light throughout the day, making the bridge especially pleasing to the eye. Electric
lighting along the cables adds to the visual appeal at night.
The project was completed within four years and under budget at $27 million. The final
project was built to withstand the Bays high winds; it can sway 27 feet and still safely
hold traffic. It has only been closed a few times since 1937 when winds reached 70 miles
per hour.
Today, ferry service continues between San Francisco and Marin County, but the Golden
Gate Bridge carries over 40 million passengers each year.
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Tag: architect
The White House
Sixteen-hundred Pennsylvania Avenue is among the most famous addresses in the United States. The 132-room home and workplace has also been known as the Presidents House and the Executive Mansion, but since 1902 its officially been called the White House.
When George Washington was President, government meetings were held in various cities. He and Martha Washington kept two homes in New York and one in Pennsylvania. Seeing the need for a federal city, the President and Congress agreed in 1790 to the Residence Act. This provided for a district not exceeding ten miles squareon the river Potomac. The new federal city would be designed by Pierre L’Enfant, and the city planner would hold a blueprints contest for the Presidents house.
James Hoban, an Irishman living in South Carolina, won the competition with a classic Georgian design. (Thomas Jefferson was also among the entrants; he competed under a pseudonym.) Hoban based the building on a dukes palace in Ireland.
Two states, Maryland and Virginia, ceded land for the new federal district. Both were slaveholding states, and slaves broke ground for the home. The work was completed by European immigrants. The new house wasnt built in time for the Washingtons to move in; John and Abigail Adams were the first to take up residence in 1800.
The building has undergone countless changes since the years of John and Abigail Adams. Interior redecorating and structural changes started with the next resident President, Thomas Jefferson. He ordered French furniture and French wallpaper, and he added space outdoors to conceal stables and storage. Other Presidents would make even larger additions: Theodore Roosevelt — who had six children and required more space contributed the West Wing; and FDR added the East Wing during World War II to conceal construction of an underground bunker.
Each Administrations time at the White House brought something new, but here are some of the more notable changes:
* British soldiers burnt the building in 1814 during James Madisons presidency. Most of the home and its contents were destroyed by fire. A thunderstorm saved outside walls, and Dolley Madison rescued a famous portrait of George Washington. The architect James Hoban was available for renovations.
* The White House needed an extensive washing after 20,000 muddy partiers celebrated Andrew Jacksons inauguration. Jackson soon installed running water. He also planted magnolia trees and made plans for later landscaping.
* James Garfield installed the first elevator.
* Harry Truman extensively renovated the whole house and added a second porch. He also added basements for wartime safety.
* The White House was made more wheelchair-accessible during FDRs service. A pool was also added in consideration of his physical challenges.
* Richard Nixon cemented over the FDR pool to create a Press Briefing Room.
* Jacquelyn Kennedy directed the most extensive and historically accurate White House restoration. She also planted a flower garden.
* Rosalynn Carter contributed an Office of the First Lady.
Today the White House Complex consists of six stories and 55,000 square feet of space. The Executive Residence spans several floors. Two basement levels also provide storage, service areas, and a bomb shelter for the Presidents family. The West Wing holds executive offices including the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, and the Situation Room. The East Wing is home to offices for the First Lady, White House correspondence staff, and other White House staff members.
Some of the interior is visible to the public, but tours must be pre-arranged by a member of Congress. Visitors might tour the State Floor, where several rooms are simply named by color: the Green Room, Red Room, and Blue Room. The Green Room is named for the moss green silk that lines its walls. Its used for informal meetings and photo opportunities with foreign political leaders. Famous Green Room paintings depict Benjamin Franklin, John Quincy Adams, and Abigail Adams. The Red Room is decorated like an early-1800s parlor with a marble mantel. The Blue Room is the White Houses most formal setting. Its shaped like an oval and is furnished with gilded furniture. This is where the White House Christmas tree is traditionally placed. Visitors might also see the Map Room, the State Dining Room, or the famous Lincoln Bedroom.
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TopThe Massachusetts State House
On July 4, 1798, surviving fathers of the American Revolution met in Boston for the
dedication of the Massachusetts State House. Governor Samuel Adams and patriot Paul
Revere placed the cornerstone, and Revere would later roll copper sheeting for the
capitols dome. With pomp and circumstance, stone for the building was drawn by fifteen
white horses one for each state in the Union. The State House would come to be known
as one of the greatest works of neoclassical architecture in the United States. It also
boasts a prime location, sitting on Beacon Hill and overlooking the prosperous Back Bay
and Boston Commons.
When the architect Charles Bulfinch designed this graceful seat of government, he was
inspired by the neoclassical Somerset House that rose above Londons River Thames.
Architectural buffs describe the State House design as intermediate between Georgian
and Federal styles. It is chiefly red brick with white accents. It has delicate Corinthian
columns, gently arching windows, and a vast golden dome.
The golden dome has been through a few important changes. The mound was originally
covered in wooden shingles. After Paul Revere laid copper sheeting, the dome was
finished with gold plating. It was painted gray during World War II to reduce its
vulnerability to potential Axis bombers; if there had been a blackout, the governments
dome wouldve shone conspicuously in the moonlight.
The State House dome is capped with a pinecone. This symbolizes the states
appreciation for the pine tree. Early Boston architecture, including the State House itself,
relied upon pinewood from surrounding forests.
As state government grew, Massachusetts built additions to Bulfinchs work. In 1895, a
yellow brick Brigham Annex was erected for new bureaucrats offices. Two marbled
stone wings were added in the early 1900s to provide fireproofing and additional office
space. Inside the State House today are the Governors office, the chambers of the House
and Senate, and three halls.
Doric Hall is named for the ten Doric columns that line its interior. These were originally
carved trunks from pine trees, but today the columns are made of plaster and iron. Doric
Hall is home to many statues and portraits, including an 1826 statue of George
Washington. In the marble corridor just outside Doric, the Hear Us display honors the
contributions of several influential women from Massachusetts history, including
Dorothea Dix and Lucy Stone.
The Hall of Flags honors Massachusetts residents who served in battles. It displays copies
of battle flags from all of the wars in which Massachusetts regiments have participated.
(The original textile flags are being preserved elsewhere.) These include flags from the
Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, Berlin, and Vietnam. The
Hall of Flags is also decorated with murals, such as The Return of the Colors, which
depicts the return of flags after Civil War combat in 1865.
The Great Hall, completed in1990, is the newest architectural addition to the State House.
This impressive, airy hall is made of tri-colored marble topped with a glass dome.
Circular patterns on the floor were installed to create a clock motif; a few years earlier,
the state legislature had acquired an extravagant $100,000 clock made in modernist style.
The room is also decorated with 351 flags from Massachusetts localities. The expansive
room is used for large state events. A statue of President John F. Kennedy depicts him
striding across the Hall perhaps to meet up with a nearby figure of Horace Mann or
Daniel Webster.
Two statues of Colonial American women stand on the State House lawn. One is of Anne
Hutchinson, whose religious teachings led to her excommunication from Massachusetts
Bay Colony in 1638. She then co-founded Rhode Island on the principle of religious
freedom. The second statue is of Mary Dyer. In 1660, Bostonians hanged her for
violating a ban against Quakers traveling in their colony. Dyers statue eerily overlooks
the site of her execution: the gallows on Boston Common. She is one of four people
known as the Boston Martyrs. Along with the spirits of Anne Hutchinson, Sam Adams,
John Hancock, and other influential Americans, Mary Dyers spirit lives on at the State
House.
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