Building The Golden Gate Bridge

Silver Award Winner, 2016 Nautilus Book Award in Young Adult (YA) Non-Fiction Moving beyond the familiar accounts of politics and the achievements of celebrity engineers and designers, Building the Golden Gate Bridge is the first book to primarily feature the voices of the workers themselves. This is the story of survivors who vividly recall the hardships, hazards, and victories of constructing the landmark span during the Great Depression. Labor historian Harvey Schwartz has compiled oral histories of nine workers who helped build the celebrated bridge. Their powerful recollections chronicle the technical details of construction, the grueling physical conditions they endured, the small pleasures they enjoyed, and the gruesome accidents some workers suffered. The result is an evocation of working-class life and culture in a bygone era. Most of the bridge builders were men of European descent, many of them the sons of immigrants. Schwartz also interviewed women: two nurses who cared for the injured and tolerated their antics, the wife of one 1930s builder, and an African American ironworker who toiled on the bridge in later years. These powerful stories are accompanied by stunning photographs of the bridge under construction. An homage to both the American worker and the quintessential San Francisco landmark, Building the Golden Gate Bridge expands our understanding of Depression-era labor and California history and makes a unique contribution to the literature of this iconic span.

There were people who said that a bridge across the Golden Gate Straight could not be done. The bridge would need to be more than one mile (1.6 kilometers) long and be built over rushing waters. Readers will learn about how the difficulties presented by the geography of the Bay Area were overcome and the then longest suspension bridge in the United States was finished in just four years.

This title explores and explains how the Golden Gate Bridge was built. The bridge's construction is described in terms of the engineering process. The book explores why the bridge was built and describes the design stages and technologies used during construction. The book also describes the challenges builders faced while building the bridge.

Describes the Golden Gate Bridge that connects Marin County to the city of San Francisco, including information about its history, design, and construction.

Gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the building of the Golden Gate Bridge. Additional features include a table of contents, a Fast Facts spread, critical-thinking questions, primary source quotes and accompanying source notes, a phonetic glossary, an index, and sources for further research.

An award-winning architect explores the history and engineering of a modern marvel with “easygoing prose [and] dozens of delightfully accessible sketches” (SFGate.com). Nine million people visit the Golden Gate Bridge each year, yet how many know why it’s painted that stunning shade of “international orange”? Or that ancient Mayan and Art Deco buildings influenced the design? Current bridge architect Donald MacDonald answers these questions and others in a friendly, informative look at the bridge’s engineering and seventy-year history. This accessible account is accompanied by seventy of MacDonald’s own charming color illustrations, making it easy to understand how the bridge was designed and constructed. A fascinating study for those interested in architecture, design, or anyone with a soft spot for San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge is a fitting tribute to this timeless icon.

A passionate chronicle of the Golden Gate Bridge's construction by a National Humanities Medal-winning historian reveals influences from culture and nature that shaped its development while offering insight into its role as a national symbol of American engineering and innovation.