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Spanning the Golden Gate

 J.M. Syken

Course Outline

In this course, we will examine the background and events leading up to the design, construction and completion of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. To fully understand and appreciate the bridge, we’ll examine the social, economic, political, technical etc. events/requirements that would ultimately create the great edifice.

Furthermore, we will examine in-depth and detail the engineering and architecture involved in designing the bridge, in particular the substructure and superstructure as well as the aerial spinning of the wire cables. Also, we’ll focus on the construction methods, materials and systems utilized. We will examine the calamity that cost ten bridge workers their lives and the on-going maintenance and repair/replacement operations at the bridge.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

Intended Audience

This course is intended for architects, engineers, contractors and other design/construction professionals.

Benefit to Attendees

The attendee/s will gain an intimate knowledge and insight into the creation of one of the world’s greatest engineering achievements: The Golden Gate Bridge.

Course Introduction

In the post-WWI era, San Francisco was suffering negative growth. The 1920 census confirmed this when it revealed that Los Angeles had replaced San Francisco as the Golden State’s most populous city. Situated on the tip of a peninsula, without bridges San Francisco would remain isolated from its neighboring communities to the east and north. With San Francisco native (and engineer) Herbert Hoover in the oval office (ensuring War Dept. support/cooperation), generous state and federal financing and the overwhelming support of the public and press, the link to the east – the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, was a certainty. Not so for the link to the north. To span the Golden Gate with a suspension bridge a span of 2,400-feet would be required with one tower pier built “in the wet” under open ocean conditions. Public funding of the project was scared away by exaggerated claims of unstable ground which left it to the citizens of six surrounding counties to put their homes and businesses up as collateral to pass a bond issue that would provide the necessary funds. The Southern Pacific Railroad – owners of the lucrative Golden Gate Ferry Service, would be the main opponents of the bridge but there were others including naturalists, environmentalists, shipping interests and even the U.S. Navy. Begun in January 1933 and completed in May 1937, the natural forces opposing the bridge were more easily overcome than the human obstacles placed in its path starting in 1917. However, with Joseph B. Strauss in command, the outcome was never really in doubt.

Course Content

In this course, you are required to view/study the following slideshow and the materials contained in the web pages:

Spanning the Golden Gate (printable handout in PDF, 9 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)
Spanning the Golden Gate (non-printable slideshow for screen-viewing only, 38 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)

MegaStructures - Golden Gate Bridge (Video)
Building the Golden Gate Bridge (Video)

Note A: Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader from your computer.

Because this course is offered as a "live" course, you are required to attend the webinar at the scheduled time and date. Please check the Webinar Schedule under course description on our website for currently scheduled meeting date and time. We will send you an invitation to the webinar through email approximately 24 hours before the webinar (confirmation of the receipt of the invitation is required). The certificate of completion will not be issued unless you attend the webinar and pass a quiz. Thank you for your cooperation.

Course Summary

Perhaps Joseph Strauss summed it up best in his May 1937 poem entitled: The Mighty Task is Done:

At last the mighty task is done;
Resplendent in the western sun…

…Launched midst a thousand hopes and fears,
Damned by a thousand hostile sneers....

…An Honored cause and nobly fought
And that which they so bravely wrought…

In April 2012, the last surviving Golden Gate Bridge worker passed away. With that passing, the generation who “bravely wrought” the great edifice from concrete and steel at dizzying heights and great depths with their bare hands and raw courage was gone, but not forgotten. Eleven men paid with their lives so that the bridge could live and serve a grateful posterity.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites:

Golden Gate Bridge - Report of Building Committee
As Golden Gate Bridge Turns 75, Its History Is Revised
The Bridge Builders

Quiz

Before you attend the webinar, you need to print the quiz questions from your browser for your study during the webinar. At the end of the webinar, you need to complete the quiz and submit your answers to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.