"From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., over 200,000 people walked the span. The next day, 500 planes flew over the bridge. At noon, President Franklin Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in Washington, D.C., letting the world know this architectural marvel had opened. This was followed by the sounding of every fog horn, siren, church bell and ship whistle across San Francisco and Marin counties and a weeklong extravaganza to commemorate the event."
"Flash forward to Aug. 31, 1956, when Pedestrian Day attracted a modest crowd of 4,500 to stroll on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge for the allotted five hours. At 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 1, 1956, the sound of flare guns fired by the Richmond and San Rafael mayors signaled the opening of the bridge, and the three-day celebration continued the folksy theme with a carnival, chuckwagon breakfast, parade, waterball contest and baseball game along with the Queens' Ball at the Bermuda Palms in San Rafael."
"Discussions linking Marin County and the East Bay provoked controversy since they first began in the 1920s. Decades later, the real motivation to link the two came after the Richmond-San Rafael Ferry Company went on strike in 1947 and 1949. From July 1 to mid-December 1949, thousands of commuters, as well as people being transported to San Quentin, were affected."
Massive celebrations marked the Golden Gate Bridge opening in 1937, with hundreds of thousands walking the span and a coordinated national fanfare. The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge opened in 1956 with a modest pedestrian day and community-focused festivities. Early controversies targeted the bridge’s appearance, with critics calling the aesthetics unappealing despite its global scale and importance. Ferry strikes in 1947 and 1949 created urgent demand for a reliable link between Marin County and the East Bay, pushing functional, frugal design choices over sleek aesthetics. The bridge endured decades of criticism and operational challenges, yet delivered essential regional connectivity and lasting practical value.
Read at SFGATE
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]