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The Logo of the Event
Hk standing in front of the logo as it was displayed on SF's Marina GreenYesterday was the 75th anniversary of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge—a local occasion not to be missed. I attended the festivities on the Marina Green and at Crissy Field. Got there about 4 PM. The fog only lifted about 2 PM, so that was fine, but we had to park quite far away—way up in Pacific Heights, up on top of the hill of Laguna Street, not far from the Spreckels Mansion (which now belongs to Danielle Steele). This meant that we walked about 6 miles or more to and fro the venues of the celebration. Good exercise, to say the least.
The SF Chronicle reports thousands attended. I didn't feel it was overly crowded, although people really did begin to arrive in the early evening. There were several stages of live music, exhibits and food stands. We just missed the vintage car show and we never did get to the art show at Fort Point (too long a walk to get there by 6 PM), but we did visit the exhibits at the Bridge History Tent, as well as listen to some music, eat Teriyaki chicken while walking along the beaches, and see the fantastic fireworks at
9:30 PM. Hopefully, I'll be able to get out to Fort Point sometime to see the art exhibit, and there's also an exhibit on at the California Historical Society downtown which I hope to visit before leaving for Paris on June 5.
During the afternoon and evening, piped music and different choruses rang out songs about San Francisco—"I Left My Heart in San Francisco…", "San Francisco, open your golden Gate" and others—all of which were very moving. My friend Tom remembers walking across the Bridge in 1987 for the 50
th celebration. There were so many people on it that day that its arc "flattened" and the bridge began shaking. This is undoubtedly why -- In addition to security reasons --a massive Bridge Walk wasn't allowed this year. The bridge remained open to cars all day, except from 9 – 10 PM during the fireworks. Pedestrians could walk over to Marin County and back, but only on the sidewalks, not on the roads.
It was a wonderful event, and I was really glad I went. I truly love San Francisco Bay and was delighted to celebrate with San Franciscans the construction of this very special landmark of beauty and
Crissy Field
listening to music. It was clear but quite cold. engineering feat—the Golden Gate Bridge.
Please scroll down and have a look at the photos. Some of them aren't mine but I have acknowledged the photographer. The final two photos are of the Bay and the Bridge taken a week ago when I was on a Red and White Line "Bridge to Bridge" (Golden Gate to Bay Bridge) cruise sponsored by the Bay Area Travel Writers Association, of which I am a member.
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Peter R
non-member comment
Great Reporting from a Magnificient Writer!
Hilary, thanks for your quality reporting from an event I wanted to attend but couldn't. Interesting that people weigh more than cars on the bridge, even if the cars are bumper to bumper. Peter