Golden Gate Bridge Facts For Kids

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Fun Golden Gate Bridge Facts For Kids

One of the most iconic modern marvels to grace our beautiful planet is the Golden Gate Bridge. I’m excited to bring you some amazing and fun Golden Gate Bridge facts for kids today.

The Golden Gate Bridge is in the San Francisco Bay area and connects the northern Tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County. This very recognizable American landmark was built in only 4 years and was opened to traffic in 1937. There was a lot of doubt surrounding the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, many thought it was impossible to build. There had been discussions surrounding building the bridge for over 100 years.

Today, I’m bringing you some of the more interesting Golden Gate Bridge Facts For Kids. I hope you enjoy!

Interesting Facts About The Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge Facts For Kids

Check out some of the most amazing Golden Gate Bridge facts for kids below. I’ve done a lot of research and the interesting facts below are some of the best. It will give you a little history and some fun and interesting facts!

The Golden Gate Bridge Facts For Kids

♦ Many believe it earned its name after an United States army Captain said it reminded him of the Golden Horn harbor in Istanbul.

♦ The magnificent Golden Gate Bridge is on the list of Seven Wonders of the World.

♦ The bridge is 746 feet above water and stretches for 8,981 total feet in length.

♦ The roadway is hung by 2 massive cables that consist of 27,572 individual strands of wire. These pass through the two main towers. At each end they are secured by concrete for additional safety.

♦ There are over 600,000 rivets in each bridge tower, that makes over 1.2 million total rivets!

♦ It was the longest suspension bridge until 1964 when the Verrazano Narrows Bridge opened in New York City. The suspension spans 4,200 feet.

♦ If the Golden Gate Bridge was to be built today, the total cost would be $1.2 billion.

♦ Since it was built there have been approximately 2 billion vehicles that have crossed the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco.

♦ On February 26. 1976 the Golden Gate Bridge was on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine. It was the backdrop for a popular rock group of the time.

♦ It was mentioned as “possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed bridge in the world” by Frommer’s travel guide.

♦ Before the Golden Gate Bridge was built the only way across the bay was by boat. A company started a Ferry service in 1820 but it didn’t become a full service ferry until 1867. By the 1920’s this trip across the bay helped that company become the largest ferry service in the world.

♦ The ferry ride tool about 20-27 minutes depending on which route was taken. The funny part is that the drive across the bridge takes about 10 minutes (only half the time). For safety reasons the speed limit is only 45 MPH when crossing.

♦ Due to deep water, strong winds, tides and currents it was thought that completing the bridge was impossible.

♦ Construction went on despite concerns. It was completed on May 28, 1937 and opened to the public. Construction only took a total of 4 years.

♦ It’s named the Golden Gate bridge, but it’s actually orange in color. The choice for orange was to make it visible to boaters as well as blend in to it’s surrounding countryside.

Amazing Golden Gate Bridge Facts For Kids

Video On The Golden Gate Bridge

Here is an amazing video that will show you exactly how the Golden Gate Bridge was built. If you have the time, it’s totally worth the view!

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Fun Facts About The Golden Gate Bridge

Conclusion

I really appreciate you stopping by today and taking some time to learn about a very important part of American history. It might seem like just a bridge to some, but the Golden Gate Bridge was a testament to how far we had come as a race. It’s important to know the why and how these modern marvels were established and put together. I hope you have some time to check out some more of the amazing facts for kids articles below!

Why stop here? We have some other amazing pages that talk about other man made and natural structures. We also have many other categories for you to check out. You can see those categories to your right, or you can navigate by using the menu at the top, I hope you enjoy! Check out a few that I linked for you below.