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The Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge in the American city of San Francisco is one of the most famous bridges in the world. Its tall frame, two large towers and orange colour make the bridge easy to recognise. Yet as the Golden Gate Bridge was being built, people disagreed about what the bridge should look like.

People were worried that San Francisco’s thick fog would make the bridge hard to see. The US Navy wanted the bridge to stand out so ships and aeroplanes wouldn’t collide with it. They wanted the bridge to have wide black and yellow stripes, like a bumblebee! Irving Morrow was one of the bridge designers. He did not like the idea of a striped bridge. Morrow did not want a plain black or grey bridge either, though. He thought a dark bridge would make the Golden Gate seem smaller than it was.

When the bridge’s parts were delivered to San Francisco, they had an orange colour. The bridge workers were supposed to paint a new colour over the orange. But Morrow was still unsure of what colour that would be. He looked at the orange bridge parts and decided that the colour would be perfect! Morrow thought the orange would stand out well against the ocean and the sky.

Finally, the difficult decision had been made. A red-orange Golden Gate Bridge was bright enough for ships and planes to see. The colour made the bridge appear grand and tall. Over the years, fresh paint has been needed. But the colour remains the same orange that was supposed to be painted over many years ago.