1. It is not red. It has never been red.
The color is called International Orange. The same shade is used on NASA rocket fuel tanks for visibility. When the steel arrived from Pennsylvania, it came coated in a red-lead primer. People assumed that was the color. It was not. The architect Irving Morrow saw the primer against the sky and the water and kept the tone — but specified a richer, more orange version. The exact formula is still mixed for the bridge today.
Source: Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District.
2. The US Navy wanted it painted like a zebra.
The Navy's concern was visibility in fog. Their proposal: black and yellow stripes so ships could see the bridge from miles away. The Army Air Corps wanted a red-and-white candy-stripe pattern for visibility from above. Morrow argued that the orange harmonized with the landscape, and won. Our audio guide has the full back-and-forth.
3. 11 workers died during construction. Ten of them died on the same day.
February 17, 1937 — a 5-ton scaffold section fell through the safety net, which had been holding. The net had saved 19 men previously. The 10 who died that day were the only men the net ever failed. The net was Joseph Strauss's innovation — his predecessor bridges had no safety net and death rates of one worker per million dollars spent.
Source: Strauss Engineering records, GGBHTD archives.
4. The safety net saved 19 men — they called themselves the Halfway-to-Hell Club.
Falling into the net was terrifying but typically non-fatal. The 19 men who were caught by it formed an informal club. They were the only members, and they had no desire to grow it.
5. The bridge cost $35 million — and paid itself off in tolls by 1971.
Construction bonds were issued by the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District. The last bond was retired 34 years after the bridge opened. Today, tolls of $9.75 (southbound only) fund the bridge's maintenance, bus service, and ferry operations across the region.
6. The original design was ugly. Joseph Strauss wanted a cantilever bridge.
Strauss's first proposal was a hybrid cantilever-suspension design — heavy, clunky, and universally hated by the architects who reviewed it. Leon Moisseiff (the engineer who later designed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which collapsed) proposed the elegant suspension design. Charles Ellis did the actual math. Morrow made it beautiful. Strauss got the credit.
7. The bridge is painted continuously — from end to end, then back again.
A team of 34 painters works year-round. They start at one end, work their way to the other, and by the time they finish, the far end needs repainting. It is a permanent job. The paint protects the steel from the ocean salt, not just for aesthetics.
8. The two main cables contain 80,000 miles of wire — enough to circle the Earth three times.
Each cable is 36.5 inches in diameter and contains 27,572 individual wires. The wire was spun in place over six months. Each cable supports 61,500 tons of load.
Source: American Society of Civil Engineers, Historical Landmark designation.
9. The bridge has only been closed three times for weather since 1937.
Once in 1951 (wind gusts over 70 mph), once in 1982 (similar), and once in 1983 (winds over 75 mph). Considering it spans the Golden Gate — one of the windiest straits in the world — this is remarkable.
10. Fort Point was deliberately preserved. The bridge arches over it.
The Civil War-era brick fortress at the bridge's southern base was slated for demolition. Strauss and Morrow insisted on preserving it. The bridge's southern approach was redesigned to arch over the fort. Today, Fort Point is a National Historic Site, open Friday through Sunday, free.
Hear the full story while you walk it
Our 2-minute Golden Gate Bridge audio guide covers these facts and more. Free 60-second preview.