Golden Gate Bridge Opens to Pedestrians

Context

By the early twentieth century, San Francisco faced growing isolation from the communities north of the Golden Gate Strait. Ferries provided the only link, but they struggled with rising traffic volumes and frequent fog. Civic leaders and engineers had discussed a fixed crossing since the 1920s, yet the project faced skepticism over cost, seismic risk, and the strait’s powerful currents and deep waters.

The Great Depression shaped the timing. Federal and local financing became available through public-works programs, and voters approved a bond measure in 1930. Construction contracts went to a consortium under the newly formed Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District. Chief engineer Joseph Strauss, supported by consulting engineers Leon Moisseiff and Charles Ellis and architect Irving Morrow, refined a slender suspension design that reduced material needs while meeting strict wind and earthquake standards. Work began in January 1933 amid widespread unemployment, offering thousands of jobs.

What Happened

Pedestrian Day opened at dawn on May 27. By 6 a.m., an estimated 18,000 people stood in line at the toll plazas on both ends of the span. Turnstiles clicked as roughly 15,000 walkers per hour paid twenty-five cents to cross the 4,200-foot main span and the full 1.7-mile roadway. Hot-dog vendors lined the deck, and impromptu contests broke out—roller skaters, stilts walkers, and a Boy Scout troop carrying the first rope across competed for “first” honors.

Joseph Strauss arrived mid-morning and recited his own poem marking the end of construction. At Crissy Field on the San Francisco shore, marching bands and floats passed a reviewing stand while schools and many businesses closed for the day. Fireworks lit the sky that evening as part of the week-long Fiesta organized by city officials and the bridge district.

The festivities continued into the night, with an estimated total of 200,000 pedestrians using the bridge before dusk. No vehicles were allowed; the roadway belonged solely to walkers until the following morning.

Aftermath

The next day, May 28, the bridge opened to automobiles. President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key from the White House, and cars streamed across from both directions after a chain-cutting ceremony at the Marin tower. A naval fleet of forty-two ships arrived in the bay, and a flight of five hundred planes passed overhead. The official dedication included speeches by Governor Frank Merriam and Mayor Angelo Rossi.

The week of parades, pageants, and fireworks concluded on June 2. Tolls were set at fifty cents for cars, and traffic quickly became routine. The project finished four months ahead of schedule and roughly $1.5 million under its $35 million budget.

Legacy

The Golden Gate Bridge immediately improved regional commerce and daily travel between San Francisco and Marin County, replacing slow ferry service with a direct route. Its record main span of 4,200 feet held for decades and demonstrated that long suspension bridges could be built economically and safely in challenging marine environments.

Over time the structure became an international symbol of San Francisco and of American engineering ambition during the Depression. Its distinctive International Orange color and graceful lines influenced later bridge designs worldwide, while the project’s safety innovations, including the net that saved nineteen workers, set new standards for high-altitude construction.