Jan. 5 1933 – Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge. In 1916, more than four decades after railroad entrepreneur Charles Crocker’s call for a bridge across the Golden Gate Strait in 1872, James H. Wilkins, a structural engineer and newspaper editor for the San Francisco Call Bulletin, captured the attention of San Francisco City Engineer Michael M. O’Shaughnessy. Wilkins called for a suspension bridge with a center span of 3,000 feet, which was nearly twice the legnth of any existing bridges in the world. The know-everythings of the world naturally said it wouldn’t be done and would be a huge waste of $100 million. Because the know everythings just know everything right? Not so fast. It was Joseph Baermann Strauss that came forward and said, yeah I can. Not only can it be done, but could be built for $25 to $30 million. Ansel Adams and members of the Sierra Club said it would be ugly and take away from the natural view. But the poject continued forward, then the Great Depression hit. Finally Bank of mierca agreed to by the project in the form of bonds to boost the economy, and on May 27, 1937, the longest bridge span in the world opened up. By 1965, since this is San Fransisco we’re talking about here, the lead paint that was used for the bridge was replaced by an ingorganiz zinc silicate primer with acrylic emulsion topcoat which protects the steel components from the salt in the air.
Jan. 12 1846 Daniel Hudson Burnham, according to fairfield.edu, was an American architect, raised and educated in Chicago, who gained his early architectural experience with William Le Baron Jenney, the so-called “father of the skyscraper”. With John Root (1850-91), he pioneered the construction methods which made modern skyscrapers possible. He designed the dramatic Flatiron Building in New York City. Burnham also gained his reputation as a city planner. In 1909, Burnham and his assistant Edward H. Bennett prepared The Plan for Chicago, which is considered the nation’s first example of a comprehensive planning document.
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