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| Golden Gate Bridge |
The Golden
Gate Bridge, originally completed on May 27, 1937, is one of the city's
most popular and most photographed landmarks. It is named for the strait
leading from the Pacific Ocean to the San Francisco Bay,
Spanning 6,450 feet, the single-span suspension bridge will
mark its 75th anniversary this year with a public celebration to be held May
27, 2012 along the waterfront between Pier 39 to the foot of the bridge at Fort
Point.
Visitors and locals can enjoy dramatic views of the bridge
from several points throughout the city. Viewing spots listed below are all
free and open to the public. Note for out-of-towners: San Francisco can be very windy, particularly
in the summer. Remember to wear layers, sunglasses and sunscreen.
Crissy Field
Crissy Field, a former
military airfield located south of the Golden Gate Bridge
in the Presidio,
was restored in 2001 and offers wide, fully-accessible walking and cycling
trails between the Marina Green and Fort Point. Offering stunning views of the
bridge, Crissy Field offers picnic areas and a small beachfront popular among
families. Along Crissy Field, visitors can stop for lunch at the Warming
Hut near Fort Point, the Beach Hut Cafe near the Marina Green, or check out the
House of Air, a trampoline center in one of the repurposed buildings. Map
Distance from Golden
Gate Bridge:
2.4 miles from the Marina Green
Fort Point
For an up-close view of the bridge, visit Fort
Point, a Civil War-era brick fort accessible via the Marine Drive lot at Crissy Field.
Although Fort Point never had any military action, the Golden Gate Bridge's
chief engineer Joseph Strauss redesigned the bridge to preserve the fortress as
a "fine example of the mason’s art." Map
Distance from Golden
Gate Bridge:
1.2 miles
Baker
Beach
Stretching a half mile below the rugged cliffs along the Presidio’s
western shoreline, Baker
Beach offers spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Accessible by public transportation (Muni 29-line), the beach offers a picnic
area with tables and grills, lots of parking and restroom facilities.
Note: the northernmost end of Baker
Beach is frequented by
clothing-optional sunbathers. Map
Distance from Golden
Gate Bridge:
1.2 miles
China
Beach
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| Golden Gate Bridge |
Located in the Seacliff neighborhood, China
Beach is a tiny, sheltered pocket of sand with a picnic area, a sunbathing
deck, restrooms, cold showers and unobstructed views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Note: the beach is only accessible by a steep, paved drive or natural
stairway of approximately 100 steps.
Distance from Golden Gate Bridge: 2.0 miles
Distance from Golden Gate Bridge: 2.0 miles
Lands End
The Eagle's Point trailhead of Lands End
near Lincoln Park offers jaw-dropping views of
the Golden Gate Bridge. Near the popular hiking
trail, which is also a short walking distance to the Legion of Honor, visitors
can walk along a paved sidewalk near the 17th hole of the Lincoln Park
Municipal Golf Course. Here, there are several benches and photo
opportunities to reflect and capture the beauty of the bridge. Map
Distance from Golden
Gate Bridge:
3.0 miles
Glimpses of the Golden
Gate Bridge
For slightly obstructed, but nonetheless dramatic views of
the Golden Gate Bridge, visitors can enjoy views from
several, unexpected vantage points.
Lover's Lane, the Presidio
As the oldest foot trail in the Presidio, Lover's
Lane ,a half-mile, pedestrian friendly, paved trail, begins at the Presidio
Gate at the corner of Presidio and Pacific Avenues in Presidio Heights.
As you stroll down the trail, protected by majestic eucalyptus groves, you'll
get a Hollywood-esque glimpse of the Golden
Gate Bridge
which will eventually disappear as you continue down the trail toward the
Presidio's Main Post. Map
Distance from the Golden
Gate Bridge:
2.2 miles
De Young Museum, Golden
Gate Park
Located in the east end of Golden
Gate Park, the Hamon Education Tower
Observation Deck at the de Young Museum offers dramatic views of the Golden Gate Bridge,
as well as spectacular panoramic views of the city and Pacific
Ocean. Touring the museum requires admission, but visiting the
observation deck, open daily until 4:30 p.m., is free and open to the public. Map
Distance from Golden
Gate Bridge:
2.9 miles
Library at the University California, San Francisco – Inner Sunset
Keep quiet here. Located at 530 Parnassus Avenue in the Inner Sunset,
the library at the University of California, San Francisco,
offers stunning views of the Golden
Gate Bridge
from its main reading room. Map
Distance from Golden
Gate Bridge:
4.1 miles
Coit
Tower, Telegraph Hill
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| Golden Gate Bridge |
Coit Tower, a slender white concrete column rising from
the top of Telegraph Hill, provides 360-degree views of the city and bay,
including the Golden Gate
Bridge. The
most-spectacular views can be seen from the observation deck, which is reached
by elevator and requires tickets ($7). Map
Distance from Golden
Gate Bridge:
4.9 miles
Golden Gate
Bridge through the Waldo
Tunnel
As San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge are hidden from
the northern approach of U.S. Route 101 by the Marin Headlands, drivers
going through the Waldo tunnel, the unofficial name of the tunnel on U.S. Route
101 between the Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito, can enjoy the first view of
the city and the bridge upon exiting the tunnel's southbound bore. This view
may be one of the most dramatic views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Map
Distance from Golden
Gate Bridge:
3.1 miles
Suite Tributes to the Golden Gate Bridge
To celebrate the Golden Gate
Bridge's history with San Francisco, hotels throughout the city
have created specialty suites for visitors to immerse themselves in the
Bridge's history.
To honor the Golden
Gate Bridge's
75th anniversary, Kimpton’s Hotel
Palomar San Francisco has created a "Golden Gate Suite,"
which includes several tributes to the orange icon, including furniture made
out of reclaimed steel from the bridge. Located on the fifth floor of the
hotel, the festive suite features blown-up photos of the Golden Gate
Bridge's tollboth covering the doors and walls outside the suite; a printed
opaque decal of the Golden Gate Bridge that expands across the five bay windows
inside the suite; a headboard painted in a street-art style to capture the
grandeur of the bridge; a lampshade made with historic photos from 1937, the
year the bridge was being built; decorative pillows created with vintage
photographs of the bridge from the 1930s; and nightstands and a coffee table
created with reclaimed Golden Gate Bridge steel. Guests staying in the Golden
Gate Suite will also be treated to a complimentary Golden
Gate cocktail from Fifth Floor Restaurant, the restaurant at Hotel
Palomar San Francisco. The cocktail, called Vermillion M.E.S., gets its name
from the Orange Vermillion color painted over the steel, chosen by architect
Irving Morrow. The suite will be available through the end of 2012.
Located atop Nob Hill, the Fairmont San Francisco, one
of a handful of hotels that offers rooms with Golden Gate Bridge Views,
is celebrating one of its most iconic guests, Grammy-award winning singer
Tony Bennett, with a special suite dedicated to him and his unique place in the
hotel’s storied history. Located in the hotel's Tower
Building, the "Tony Bennett Suite
at The Fairmont San Francisco" is set to open May 24, 2012 to coincide
with the 75th anniversary of the Golden
Gate Bridge.
The two-bedroom suite pays homage to Bennett, who in December 1961 took the
stage of the Fairmont San Francisco’s Venetian Room and performed "I Left
My Heart in San Francisco"
for the first time. Guests of the suite will be treated with personal photos
and memorabilia from Bennett, as well as an original painting of the Golden Gate Bridge, which he created specifically
for the suite. In addition to his musical career, Bennett is also a noted
visual artist. For Bennett fans, the hotel will also have a limited number of
giclée prints of the Bennett painting of the Golden Gate Bridge
for purchase. And as a special perk, guests of the suite will receive a copy of
Bennett’s "Duets II" CD, which they may enjoy along with a bottle of
champagne and heart-shaped dessert amenity.
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| Golden Gate Bridge |
Party like it’s 1937 at the Clift hotel for a 1930’s inspired weekend, May 25-27.
Celebrations will include live music, DJ’s, 1930’s themed cocktails, and
projection screens featuring films from the 1930’s. Guests are encouraged to
come dressed in era-inspired clothing.
Across the Bay in Sausalito, Cavallo
Point Lodge will be honoring the Golden
Gate Bridge
with weekend festivities to celebrate the bridge's 75th anniversary, as well as
an art exhibit that will run through the end of June 2012.
To kickoff the weekend celebration, the luxury resort-spa
will host a Golden Gate gala dinner on
Saturday, May 26, 2012. Prepared by two award-winning chefs, Chef Justin
Everett of Murray
Circle and Chef Craig von Foerster of Sierra Mar, the dinner will feature a
champagne reception followed by a six-course menu with wine pairings. On
Sunday, May 27, 2012, the lodge will host a Terrace Party from 6-10 p.m. that
will include a gourmet barbecue buffet, live music and stunning views of the
fireworks display over the Bay. (Tickets are $75 per adult and $25 per
child). Through June 30, 2012 the lodge will be hosting "Visions of
the Golden Gate at 75," an exhibit
linking the iconic span's past and present. The show will feature rare,
black-and-white photographs of the bridge during the construction era taken by
land surveyor and photographer W. Gordon Voorhies as well as contemporary
interpretations by Bay Area photographers Robert Campbell, Emil Flock and Chris
Honeysett.
Rooms with a (Bridge) View
For those in search of a room with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge,
a handful of San Francisco hotels offers rooms
with a view of the Golden Gate
Bridge.
Presidio: The newly-opened Inn at the Presidio offers several
rooms with bridge views. Located in historic Pershing Hall, previously the
post’s bachelor officers' quarters, the inn offers 22 rooms, 17 of which are
one-bedroom suites.
Union Square:
The historic Westin St Francis
offers rooms with gorgeous views of the Golden Gate
Bridge from the Tower Building;
request guest rooms starting on floor 26, or book one of its two suites, the
Pacific and the Bridge View.
Nob Hill: The Intercontinental Mark
Hopkins, perched atop Nob Hill, offers several guest rooms with partial
views of the bridge, as well as its California
suite. Visitors can also drop by Top of the Mark, the hotel's popular roof-top
bar, for an exquisite view of the bridge from the northwest corner of the room.
Across the street from the Mark Hopkins, the Fairmont San Francisco also
offers multiple views from its Tower
Building.
Fisherman's Wharf: The Argonaut Hotel,an easy walking
distance to all of the shops and restaurants on Fisherman's Wharf, offers
waterfront views of the Golden
Gate Bridge
from several of its rooms.
Golden Gate
Bridge: Facts & Figures
Span: 6,450 feet
Total length: 8,981 feet
Completion date: May 28, 1937
Cost: $35 million
Date paid in full: July 1971
Engineer: Joseph B. Strauss
Road height: 260 feet
Tower height: 746 feet
Golden Gate Bridge
Swing span: 27 feet
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| Golden Gate Bridge |
Deepest foundation: 110 feet under water
Cable thickness: 37 inches
Cable length: 7,650 feet
Steel used: 83,000 pounds
Concrete used: 389,000 cubic yards
Miles of wire cable: 80,000
Gallons of paint annually: 10,000
Color: International orange
Rise, in cold weather: 5 feet
Drop, in hot weather: 10 feet
Traffic: 3 million vehicles per month
CashToll: $6 (southbound only)
FasTrak Toll: $5
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