The Golden Gate Bridge Comes Alive

by Dewey Livingston

From the Marin County Historical Society Magazine, vol. XIV, no. 1, 1987, pp. 8-12.

"By our daring and endurance we are to drive a channel for the tides of uncounted generations, when the ocean of the resources of the North is to flow into the ocean of the treasures of the South, a canal not of water but of concrete and steel." —George Sterling

After almost a hundred years in man's dreams, and twenty years of serious planning, the great bridge was completed; that Spring of 1937 saw a graceful span, painted an attractive earthy red-orange to blend with the sea and hills and sky, suspended by noble towers between the Marin shore at Lime Point and the San Francisco shore at Fort Point: the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Golden Gate, the dramatic cleft that beckoned seafarers into the protection of San Francisco Bay, had been a site many had hoped to bridge. The city of San Francisco had quickly developed into the major port of the West Coast, but was at a disadvantage geographically because of its peninsular location. The transcontinental railroad, completed in 1869, used Oakland as its actual terminus; barges and ferries completed the route's last miles. And to the north, a rich land, Marin County and its northern neighbors Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino, beckoned and teased the entrepreneurs of the city, who stood separated by the wild mile-wide gap where the Pacific met the bay.

By bridging this gap the Golden Gate Bridge would "connect a hinterland rich in resources and opportunities with a city that can be justly proud of its achievements ... cover(ing) a territory that will soon be alive with a vast new flow of human activity, bridging the Golden Gate that once cut in two the heart of the State of California."

And so as the great bridge neared completion in early 1937, an opening festival was planned in the grand tradition of old Yerba Buena: "Fiesta minded from the days when that little huddle of shacks known as Yerba Buena was the nucleus of what became proud San Francisco, there runs through this city's history a golden thread strung with jewels of festivals."

The Golden Gate Bridge Fiesta was designed to match the grandeur of the bridge it was honoring. For a full week, May 27 to June 2, the schedule of events was brimming with everything from sports tournaments to parades. Marin County held an all-day open house with street dancing and entertainment, sponsored by Marvelous Marin. Pierre Monteux led the San Francisco Symphony in a Marin Music Chest concert at Forest Meadows, while fourteen local swimmers raced from Lime Point to Fort Point. A massive parade marched from Van Ness and Union to Crissy Field, where a great stage was set up for the "dazzling dramatic pageant," "The Span of Gold."

Here, flanked by huge redwood trees, a cast of 3,000 costumed volunteers portrayed the story of California's colorful history: the Indians, the Conquistadores, the Days of the Dons, the Russians, the Bear Flag revolt, the Gold Rush, and, in a sort of self-acclaim, the Builders.

Perhaps the most popular event was Pedestrian's Day, when the bridge was actually opened to the public. For years Bay Area residents had watched the bridge rise and would now have their chance to be the first ones across.

On that morning, the 27th, thousands of people streamed onto the bridge, after formal openings at either side. Many firsts were attempted: the first to roller skate across, the first twins across, etc. One record had been broken a number of days before the bridge opened: for a publicity photograph Robert Trumbull, Jr., son of the Vice President of the bridge board, walked with his wife across the empty span. In the middle she cleverly revealed to him that she was pregnant with their first child—the first unborn baby across the bridge!

One group set up a card table and had a game; kids sneaked into the safety net below for the thrill of their lives; most just enjoyed the grandeur and beauty of the bridge and its site. By noon 62,000 people had paid their nickel to make the walk. Early on the coin machines had jammed, and by the six o'clock closing 202,000 souls, young and old, had made history that day.

The next day was for the automobiles, representing the future of commerce. Again the bridge was jammed, as the motorists thrilled at their first drive across the incredible span. When it was all over, it was the beginning of business as usual on the bridge, as time watched the traffic increase, the fame of the bridge grow, and the increased development on either side of the Golden Gate.

Since the first Pedestrian's Day the bridge has rarely been closed; in one storm the span swayed dangerously but survived. The fifty-year anniversary closing will perhaps set a tradition, that of a grand celebration to pay our respects to this wondrous work, and to listen to the music of the wind in the cables and the roar of the sea below.

Dewey Livingston is Curator of the Jack Mason Museum of West Marin history at Inverness, and is a local history writer.