May-2014
Golden Gate Bridge – 77th Birthday
Bethlehem Steel Stacks
Today marks the 77th birthday of the Golden Gate Bridge. While I have a few favorite pictures of the bridge itself (see the post on where to take the best shots here), I want to use this post to talk about where the bridge was really born: Bethlehem, PA.
Bethlehem Steel provided the steel for the bridge, and also helped to decide its now iconic color. The steel was shipped from PA to CA via the Panama Canal. To protect it from the salt water and air while in transit, the materials were painted in a protective orange paint before their journey. 75 years later, that color is still used and the landmark is hard to imagine without it.
Above is a nighttime HDR of the Stacks at the now closed Bethlehem Steel plant. These are the blast furnaces that would have heated the steel at the start of its journey to the bridge. They also might look familiar from the second Transformers movie, Revenge of The Fallen, where they were the back drop to an opening scene in China. The area has recently been redone and is now a casino, museum, and performance stage. Below is a bridge shot from my prior Golden Gate post- click through for the full story.
End to End – Golden Gate