2011.68.68
Bridgeworkers on San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge
Artist
Acme Photographer
Title
Bridgeworkers on San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge
Creation Date
11/17/1934
Century
mid-20th century
Classification
Photographs
Creation Place
North America, United States, California
Medium and Support
gelatin silver print
Credit Line
Gift of Isaac Lagnado, Class of 1971
Copyright
Public Domain
Accession Number
2011.68.68
High above the water of San Francisco Bay, men work to piece together sections of steel on the Bay Bridge. Although bridges literally function as an efficient solution to connect two places, this photograph also showcases the sense of pride people felt in undertaking such a colossal project. Built in the midst of the Great Depression, the bridge demonstrated the heights that American hard work and ingenuity could achieve. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that on the bridge’s opening day there was “the greatest traffic jam in the history of San Francisco, a dozen old-fashioned New Year’s eves thrown into one.”