The Golden Gate Bridge opened to pedestrian traffic on 27 May 1937, the beginning of a week-long celebration of the 4,200-feet long structure (the longest bridge in the world until 1964 when it was surpassed by the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City).
The idea for the bridge was first proposed in 1872, but no serious concepts were developed until Joseph Strauss submitted a proposal for a combination suspension-cantilever bridge in 1921. Over the next few years, Strauss’s design was modified by engineer Leon S. Moisseiff, architect Irving F. Morrow, and others. Moisseiff’s concept of a simple suspension bridge was accepted by Strauss, and Morrow, along with his wife, Gertrude, developed the Golden Gate Bridge’s elegant Art Deco design (and chose the distinctive orange color). In 1929 Strauss was named chief engineer and construction began in 1933.
More than 18,000 people waited for “Fiesta Day” to begin at 6 am and more than 200,000 people crossed the bridge on foot opening day.