Half Way to Hell Club

Just imagine 200,000 people walking, tap dancing and roller skating across this bridge. That is what happened on 27^th May 1937 on the inauguration of the world’s longest suspension bridge.

Like me, many do get confused between the two bridges in San Francisco.

The one above is the Golden Gate Bridge and the one below is the Bay Bridge Bridge

One more picture of the Bay Bridge at night

 Before I proceeded to the bridge I had a look at this section of the rope that was placed here.

These pictures below explains it all

As you move ahead on the bridge this rope comes down very low, particularly at this point.

These towers are really massive when you pass under it.

Each tower has approximately 6000,000 rivets.

The Fort Point that is situated right below the Golden Gate bridge is something most of the tourists miss out on.

It is a seacoast fortification on the southern side of the bridge.

One of the pictures from Wikipedia showing the canon inside the Fort Point.

That white contraption you see under the bridge could be a safety net for some work that is presently going on there.

The Half way to Hell Club was formed by 19 men whose lives were saved by the safety net that was used during the construction of this bridge.  That was way back in 1937. The net stretched from end to end.

Wish they had not removed the net after the work was over, as this bridge has become a hot spot for suicides.

There are 1600 confirmed suicides since its opening. The book The Final Leap by John Bateson is based on this. One of the pictures from his book showing police officers trying to coax a suicidal teen back to safety (they succeeded)

 There are survivors too.  One man who survived, swam to the shore and drove himself to the hospital. The impact cracked several of his vertebrae.  After being suspended in the air for about 4 seconds the jumper hits the water at a speed of 120 km/hr. Most jumpers die from impact trauma.

There is a scaled down model on display for the tourists. You can actually move the bridge in sections and when you move it with your hand you realize how flexible  the bridge can be.

After I walked for about 100 meters on to the bridge I experienced the shake every time a vehicle passed through. I presume this shake is what gives the bridge the elasticity to hold on.

No wonder it can withstand earthquakes of 8 points on the Richter scale.

 A statue of a sailor and his duffel bag is used by many as a backdrop to get themselves photographed.

This is dedicated to the ordinary Sailors and Marines who sailed out from this point. Approximately 1.5 million men and women shipped out from San Francisco during WW II

Bicycling around the Golden Gate Park and crossing the bridge to Sausalito is a common feature here with the tourists.

Cycles are available on hire at a nominal cost

It is really chilly and cold when you cross the bridge (especially if you are at the top deck of the bus)

I tried to capture some parts of the bridge on video (nicely bundled in a scarf and ear muffs with tears rolling down my cheek)

Truly an engineering feat and the most photographed bridge.

View from the top

Many of the pictures that were clicked in and around San Francisco was from the top deck of the tourist bus.

 This resulted in many of them going into the dustbin, mostly due to a shaky picture or being out of focus, or just simply “oh this is not what I wanted”

Clicking pictures of the bay bridge from a long distance was easy

but clicking from the bay bridge while seated in the bus was a real challenge as the cross beams kept intersecting every 1.5 seconds when the bus was in motion. But still I managed to get this :

A bottom view of the Bay Bridge

And another one going over the Pier 26 and 24

Talking of piers, I found one in half measure too:

Among the tangle of the over head wires (for the trams) you can see the Ferry Building.

All the even numbered Piers were to one side of the Ferry building, while the odd ones to the other side. There must have been some logic for this type of numbering. 

One of the well maintained trams (and still functional)

When it comes to the Golden Gate it is a different story. Most of the time it is shrouded in fog. But the presence of the fog has given photographers an excellent chance to get some lovely pictures.

What I got was this:

It is very rare that you get a clear picture of the bridge on a bright and sunny day. As I had a two day comprehensive pass for the bus, I crossed the bridge thrice and managed to get a good picture on a sunny day.

More on the Golden Gate bridge in a later post.

The old and the new: The Transamerica Pyramid stands close to the Sentinel building (the green building -  also known as Columbus Tower) which was built in 1907. The Sentinel bldg. was later bought by film maker Francis Ford Coppola in 1970.

As for the Pyramid, it is the tallest skyscraper in San Francisco skyline. Maybe that is why it did not fit into my frame J

 Managed to get some clear shots of some statues, like this one.

Looks like a plate shearing machine. Was admiring the perfection of the body angles of these five men. Even the keyway has been shown in the propeller fan lying down.  

Another one, probably about some discussion during the gold rush time.

In San Francisco you get to see a lot of graffiti. Painted as well as tile graffiti.

People catching up with a bite as the day begins.

Occasionally you get to see some fancy cars

The wavy pattern of the road was captured from top deck of the bus:

The weeping women on top of the Palace of Fine Arts

 Noticed some beautiful and well maintained villas too.

A church at the cross road of Van Ness and Broadway

which was built more than a century ago

OK now that is too many pictures for one post. So here is a last one, to put a smile on your face.