It’s a world famous landmark, #1 on Trip Advisor’s list of “Things to do in San Francisco,” and it’s the undisputed symbol of SF. The Golden Gate Bridge is special for so many reasons! But did you know these facts about the most famous bridge on the West Coast?
5 Golden Gate Bridge Facts
- It’s been functioning since 1937 . . . but was first proposed in 1872. Initially, it seemed impossible to construct a bridge of that size in this location. It wasn’t seriously considered again until 1919 and construction began in 1933.
- The original bridge design was MUCH different. When the plans were released to the public in 1920, the people spoke, and the plans were changed. Thank goodness! To see the original plans, click here.
- The official color of the bridge is “International Orange.” The steel for the bridge arrived painted this color, and the architect Irving Morrow decided that the color worked well with the natural landscape.
- The U.S. Navy wanted the bridge to be striped. Can you imagine the bridge any other color (or pattern)? To help ships see the bridge on foggy days, the Navy recommended that the bridge be painted with black and yellow stripes. The Army suggested that it be red and white striped.
- It’s famous in movies. According to Mental Floss, “The bridge has appeared in many films, including The Maltese Falcon (1941), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Interview with the Vampire (1994), and The Rock (1998). Movie directors love to destroy it, too. The bridge has even been featured on the cover of the February 26, 1976 issue of Rolling Stone.
Idioms with “bridge”
In honor of this iconic bridge, we are looking at some idioms with the word BRIDGE. How many do you know?
Building bridges
- Definition: creating and promoting friendly relationships between people or groups
- Example: Our company bought its competitor, so now we have to build bridges with them to form a new organization.
- Example: We have to build some bridges between the different political parties in order to do what’s best for the community.
Burning brides
- Definition: destroying relationships, connections, or reputations (often intentionally)
- Example: If he keeps burning bridges in this company, he will get fired.
- Example: Don’t burn any bridges when you leave this company. You never know when you will need these connections in the future.
Water under the bridge
- Definition: events in the past that are no longer important
- Example: We had some problems working together, but that’s water under the bridge now.
- Example: Stop worrying that you forgot my birthday. It’s water under the bridge! You already apologized!
We will cross that bridge when we come to it/when we get there
- Definition: not worrying about a potential problem until it is an actual problem
- Example: We only have 1 hour between our flights, and if we miss our connection, I might miss the first conference event. But we will cross that bridge when we get there.
- Example: Another company might start selling the same product, which could be a big problem for us. But we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
Photos from Shutterstock.