金门大桥和马林岬角，美国加利福尼亚州 Golden Gate Bridge and Marin Headlands photographed from Golden Gate Overlook in San Francisco, California (© Jeff Lewis/Tandem Stills + Motion)

金门大桥和马林岬角，美国加利福尼亚州 Golden Gate Bridge and Marin Headlands photographed from Golden Gate Overlook in San Francisco, California (© Jeff Lewis/Tandem Stills + Motion)

没有哪儿比这里更能代表旧金山… Nothing says 'San Francisco' quite like...

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

Few structures achieve the status of the Golden Gate Bridge—so recognizable that it needs no introduction. Opened on this day in 1937, the bridge was a marvel of engineering, built to withstand ferocious winds above and swirling currents below. Its construction was embraced by the local population because it would finally connect the rising metropolis of San Francisco to communities in Marin County and all that lay north. Before the bridge was completed, a ferry was the only way across the Golden Gate, the mile-wide strait that connects the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco Bay. Building a bridge to cross the span would be no small feat, and many thought it impossible.

Financing for the construction was another hurtle and was put further at risk with the Great Crash of 1929. But eventually voters in the Bay Area supported a bond measure worth $35 million ($473 million today), using their homes, farms, and business properties as collateral—the infusion of cash allowed construction to begin in 1933. In the midst of the Great Depression, the bridge became a jobs generator, putting 2,000 men to work. In four years they completed the engineering triumph ahead of schedule and under budget.

Its two towers rise to 755 feet above the water, and the span suspended between them is 4,200 feet long, which made it the longest suspension bridge in the world upon its completion. Seventeen longer suspension bridges have since been built (most of them in China), but the Golden Gate remains the star among them, considered the most beautiful, most photographed, a symbol of American style and ingenuity, and a calling card for a city. There are few better reasons to leave your heart in San Francisco.

旧金山金门大桥

很少有建筑能达到金门大桥的地位，因此不需要引入。这座桥于1937年的今天开通，是一座工程奇迹，它的建造可以抵御上方的狂风和下方的涡流。它的建设受到了当地居民的欢迎，因为它最终将连接旧金山这座正在崛起的大都市与马林县以及所有北部地区的社区。在大桥建成之前，渡船是穿越金门的唯一途径，金门是连接太平洋和旧金山湾的一英里宽的海峡。建造一座横跨这座桥将是一项不小的壮举，许多人认为这是不可能的。

建筑融资是另一个突如其来的问题，1929年的大崩盘使其面临更大的风险。但最终，海湾地区的选民支持一项价值3500万美元（今天为4.73亿美元）的债券措施，将他们的房屋、农场和商业地产作为抵押品。1933年，注入的现金使建设得以开始。在大萧条期间，这座桥创造了就业机会，使2000人就业。在四年内，他们在预算内提前完成了工程胜利。

它的两座塔楼高出水面755英尺，两座塔楼之间的跨度为4200英尺，建成后成为世界上最长的悬索桥。自那以后，已经建造了17座更长的吊桥（大部分在中国），但金门仍然是其中的明星，被认为是最美丽、拍照最多的吊桥，是美国风格和创造力的象征，也是城市的名片。没有什么更好的理由可以把你的心留在旧金山。