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Ground Breaking, Yerba Buena Island July 9, 1933
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California Governor James Rolph, Jr., and former President Herbert Hoover, posed with Miss Bay Bridge, Miss Prosperity, and young ladies representing Bay Area communities. The ceremony was the first since leaving office in March 1932. Construction of the bridge helped Northern California through the worst of the depression. |
| The first steel tower of goes up at the end of Pier 24. The SS President Harrison of the Dollar Lines, now APL, passes below. The Matson liner Mariposa is at her dock. | |
| By November, 1934, the four towers to Yerba Buena Island were going up and workers in the financial district had a clear view. Above the Ferry Building is the produce district crammed with fruit and vegetable dealers who supplied the city's markets, hotels, and restaurants. They were housed in wonderful old brick buildings... the area was much more interesting than Embarcadero Center, which replaced it. | |
| Workers on the West Bay towers watched as 12 battleships, including the Arizona; 18 destroyers; and two aircraft carriers entered the Bay. The Saratoga is at far left. | |
| With the completion of the four towers, catwalks were erected between San Francisco and Yerba Buena Island. On July 6, 1935, cable spinning began between the towers. Each of the two cables with 17,464 wires was compressed to a diameter of 28 inches. From each cable, suspenders were placed to hold the twin decks. | |
| The magnitude of building the bridge is evident in this photo taken in late 1935. On the west bay the bridge comprises two suspensions span, each 2,310 feet long. They are anchored in the center by the largest concrete bridge pier ever built, 92 by 197 feet, rising 502 feet from its rock foundation. | |
| The bridge's chief engineer, C. H. Purcell once wrote that next to sinking the caissons, the closing of the cantilever section was probably the most ticklish job he faced. Traveling derricks moved toward each other until a gap of 96 feet remained. Eight hydraulic jacks pushed and pulled on the cantilever until the final section was aligned and joined. | |
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On January 5, 1936, the first section of steel deck was lifted from barges and hoisted to the suspending cables. Decking was completed to Yerba Buena Island three months later. On the island the largest bore-tunnel ever attempted at the time was underway. It's two levels enclosed an area 58 feet wide and 76 high. |
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| President Roosevelt in Washington pressed a telegraph key to open the bridge at the East Bay Toll Plaza. Although pedestrians were not allowed, 5000 happy San Franciscans walked onto the bridge creating a massive traffic jam. A California Highway Patrol officer stands by his motorcycle watching the last stragglers head for home. The bridge is not completely finished. Tracks for interurban electric trains must still be installed on the lower deck which they share with truck traffic. When the trains were taken off, the bridge was converted to two way use. Westbound on the top deck, Eastbound on the lower. |
