Sometimes considered the most spectacular bridge in the world, a century ago the Golden Gate Bridge seemed like an impossible task. Around San Francisco, any type of infrastructure built would have to withstand strong winds, fog and any earthquake. Bridges around the area are also expected to withstand the tides. Yet, for Joseph Strauss, none of these destructive powers bothered his will to create such a triumphant bridge. Completed just 5 months after the promised date in 1937 and with a total cost of $27 million, the Golden Gate Bridge has benefited society not only in the San Francisco area, but also throughout the world. Originally conceived in August 1919, San Francisco city officials asked engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy if he could build a bridge spanning the Golden Gate Strait. He would then consult numerous engineers in the United States about building such a bridge. Many of these engineers speculated that the bridge would surely cost over $100 million and could not be built to withstand the destructive forces. However, Joseph Strauss said that not only could he build a bridge that could overcome the forces, but that it would be built for less than $30 million. In June 1921, Strauss completed his initial sketches of the bridge design and presented them to O'Shaughnessy and the mayor of San Francisco. The original design, pictured below, is a symmetrical hybrid span bridge with cantilever suspension and had an estimated cost of $17 million. A year and a half later, the project was presented to the public; while the public expressed little opposition, the local press described it as "ugly". Not long after, Leon Moisseiff, a prominent suspension bridge engineer, expressed concern about the unattractiveness of the initi...... middle of paper .. ....dge, the Golden Gate spans the strait that connects to the Pacific Ocean which has very strong tides. The Golden Gate is also taller, and the main span is approximately 2,606 feet longer. Socially, the Golden Gate has served as a gateway for many commuters, and the bridge is surrounded by the beautiful topography of San Francisco. To this day the Golden Gate has been a magnificent symbol and heralded as a substantial achievement. It has withstood time and numerous concerns such as wind, fog, earthquakes and bridge deformation. The bridge served as a respectable example of engineering, because only a few problems such as traffic flow and weight reduction had to be solved. He helped over 1,970,400,000 vehicles cross the Golden Gate Strait and showed himself to the world as a worthy social, scientific and symbolic example.