General Discussion

Bluenorthwest

(45,319 posts)

72. Yes, 11 died, and yet I agree with the poster who said innovative safety precautions

Mon May 28, 2012, 11:29 AM

May 2012

were used, because they were. More workers were saved by the nets and other precautions than died, and 10 of the 11 died when the safety nets themselves failed when scaffolding and rigging collapsed. 19 men were caught in the nets and saved from death during the building, 11 lives lost. Without the nets it would have been 30 dead at least.
I just don't like to forget those who did in fact die.
Editing to add that the Brooklyn Bridge, 1872 or so, took the lives of 27 workers, including the chief designer Roeeling. The son of Roebling took over the work and he suffered permanent and paralyzing injuries as a result of getting the bends during the underwater construction phase. So the progress in safety methods and the lessons learned with each large project are evident in the lesser numbers killed constructing the Golden Gate and subsequent projects.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

129 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

They Did It During The Great Depression, They Did It Without Computers, They Did It Without AutoCad [View all] WillyT May 2012 OP

Skilled Tradesman, Dedicated Engineers, And Focused Goal - Works Every Time cantbeserious May 2012 #1

Word !!! WillyT May 2012 #3

+1 TomClash May 2012 #13

Who? malaise May 2012 #2

Well... It IS San Francisco... So Ya Never Know... WillyT May 2012 #4

LOL malaise May 2012 #8

Yes... so much of the most amazing engineering would seem impossible today without all these tools hlthe2b May 2012 #5

And even before that and with less sophistication, this was accomplished NRaleighLiberal May 2012 #6

Isn't that the truth malaise May 2012 #9

right back at ya! NRaleighLiberal May 2012 #11

Self-deleted frazzled May 2012 #31

No way. The inter-tubes told me those were definitely the product of extra-terrestrial technology. freshwest May 2012 #48

That's right. Brigid May 2012 #64

Does he intentionally try to look like a Centauri from Babylon 5? NickB79 May 2012 #71

Yes! LOL! 'This is part where my brain went on strike.' freshwest May 2012 #76

well, given that the pyramides were build by slaves, I am not sure it is a good example. Mass May 2012 #63

A newer theory is that free men, skilled workers for pay, built the Great Pyramid. tclambert May 2012 #69

So were the Capitol and the White House. Surya Gayatri May 2012 #89

They were built by well-paid conscripted labor, not slaves. Odin2005 May 2012 #91

Probably not the best example, given that it was built by slaves nxylas May 2012 #68

Also they were completely useless 4th law of robotics May 2012 #77

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever..."-John Keats Surya Gayatri May 2012 #90

I'm sure all the starving slaves were very happy they could 4th law of robotics May 2012 #110

They weren't starving--in fact they were quite well Surya Gayatri May 2012 #115

Not just the rich fujiyama May 2012 #109

But, will these ostentatious creations Surya Gayatri May 2012 #116

they did it remarkably safely CreekDog May 2012 #7

Well eleven men died in constructing the bridge... Bluenorthwest May 2012 #56

I was just about to look that up. tclambert May 2012 #70

Yes, 11 died, and yet I agree with the poster who said innovative safety precautions Bluenorthwest May 2012 #72

They would have jumped at the chance to use computers and AutoCad DavidDvorkin May 2012 #10

Sure... And The Wright Brothers Would Have Preferred A 747... But It Doesn't Quite Work That Way... WillyT May 2012 #15

Kind of a BS comparsion Confusious May 2012 #36

And Yet... A Marvel Of Depression Era Technology Still Stands, And Is Functional... 75 Years Later... WillyT May 2012 #37

Another bogus comparsion Confusious May 2012 #39

And You... Don't Have A Clue... Or An Appreciation Of History... WillyT May 2012 #41

I have an appreciation of history Confusious May 2012 #95

And have it collapse due to the use of cheap Chinese materials too. (NT) Heywood J May 2012 #75

Damn, lighten up Francis. Nothing like taking Surya Gayatri May 2012 #85

So your one of the people Confusious May 2012 #112

Sorry, but you don't seem bent on genuinely helping Surya Gayatri May 2012 #113

Helping you understand in a post is impossible Confusious May 2012 #117

If I had your acumen, which I sadly don't, Surya Gayatri May 2012 #118

False humility is also pretty lame too Confusious May 2012 #119

Do you not understand the point of the post? alittlelark May 2012 #43

were it Union Workers who did this? fascisthunter May 2012 #12

Yes, it was constructed with union workers. FDR was the first president to support unions. AnotherMcIntosh May 2012 #19

My dad was a union machinist in S.F. in the 30's and walked across the bridge for the opening. freshwest May 2012 #49

I was there on the 50th birthday CreekDog May 2012 #14

It was the first and only time the arch of the bridge was actually flat. lunatica May 2012 #17

I Was At Chrissy Field... But You Must Have Enjoyed This... WillyT May 2012 #21

cool article, and cool that they explained what those of us in the middle of the bridge experienced CreekDog May 2012 #32

it was awesome to be walking on the roadway, amazing, not even crowded...UNTIL... CreekDog May 2012 #33

I knew there was a reason why I stayed home on that day.... left on green only May 2012 #51

Fascinating stuff, WillyT. Thanks so much for this thread. Surya Gayatri May 2012 #93

You Are Quite Welcome !!! WillyT May 2012 #122

Somewhere around 10 years ago a poll was taken> How long did it take... BlueJazz May 2012 #16

A Marvel. A breathtaking, beautiful marvel. xchrom May 2012 #18

Imagine all the things we could accomplish madamesilverspurs May 2012 #20

Hoover Dam. nt awoke_in_2003 May 2012 #22

And to be complete.... PavePusher May 2012 #23

Food for thought if you're anti-union? UnrepentantLiberal May 2012 #25

Only if you think that was a good thing. Fortunately we have advanced and made progress since sabrina 1 May 2012 #46

Fortunately, I do not think (nor do I think I implied) that it was a good thing. PavePusher May 2012 #120

Well, in this case, as shown somewhere else in this thread, they had unions, which probably sabrina 1 May 2012 #129

Names of the 11 men who died while building the bridge: sabrina 1 May 2012 #47

Thanks Sabrina... Bluenorthwest May 2012 #57

The Golden Gate Bridge was built by Union workers, SF was a strong Union city then. Bluenorthwest May 2012 #66

+1,000 freshwest May 2012 #50

Imagine what we were going to accompligh were it not for the likes of Chris Christie bupkus May 2012 #60

Another retrograde Repuke mistake. Christie Surya Gayatri May 2012 #98

+1,000 ! n/t Surya Gayatri May 2012 #96

They Did It Without Calculators Yavin4 May 2012 #24

. baldguy May 2012 #58

Slide rule, helped put men on the Moon. FogerRox May 2012 #79

We did that with computers DavidDvorkin May 2012 #81

Neil Armstrongs slide rule FogerRox May 2012 #84

Yes, everyone likes to talk about the slide rules that astronauts had with them. However DavidDvorkin May 2012 #102

Designed 50 years ago without computers or AutoCad (try slide-rules): IDemo May 2012 #26

Autocad is just a tool-it cannot replace imagination and focus curlyred May 2012 #27

Stradivarius built the most prized violins every creatred by hand bupkus May 2012 #62

Ask any musician worthy of the name which they'd rather Surya Gayatri May 2012 #100

+1,000 ! n/t Surya Gayatri May 2012 #99

But the real question from those of us who grew up in THE CITY is... OffWithTheirHeads May 2012 #28

The Golden Gate Bridge Suicides......... thelordofhell May 2012 #29

And What ??? WillyT May 2012 #30

They can stop this thelordofhell May 2012 #52

And the safety devices would likely destroy some of Surya Gayatri May 2012 #101

What's your point? Is the bridge any less Surya Gayatri May 2012 #87

We still are good johnd83 May 2012 #34

Red-headed step-child gratuitous May 2012 #35

oooo...Green with Envy happerbolic May 2012 #38

When I first moved to Portland . . . gratuitous May 2012 #73

What a great view of the St. Johns Bridge! classof56 May 2012 #74

And they did it for one reason... cherokeeprogressive May 2012 #40

Funded by the B of A? How did you come to that conclusion? AnotherMcIntosh May 2012 #54

Bank of Italy was renamed Band Of America one day before $35 million bond issue passed Brother Buzz May 2012 #106

That's absurd. The 'fledgling auto industry' was 30 years old when the bridge opened Bluenorthwest May 2012 #61

Thanks for putting the record straight, Blue... Surya Gayatri May 2012 #105

Actually, the Bay Bridge opened in 1936 Art_from_Ark May 2012 #123

True... East/West... But Not North/South... WillyT May 2012 #124

I was commenting on this statement by the other poster: Art_from_Ark May 2012 #125

Ah... Gotcha... WillyT May 2012 #126

Even if we were still in the horse and buggy era, Surya Gayatri May 2012 #103

And 11 of those men died. n/t lumberjack_jeff May 2012 #42

Even that is an amazing low number for this kind of dangerous project. Bolo Boffin May 2012 #92

Yeah, they sure were geniuses... Archae May 2012 #44

This message was self-deleted by its author Shampoobra May 2012 #53

Shit happens...back to the drawing board! Surya Gayatri May 2012 #86

I walked across it Friday- I took my sister & her husband down there this evening for the events NBachers May 2012 #45

Looks photoshopped. nt DCKit May 2012 #55

What is wrong with some of you? Brigid May 2012 #59

It was a great prowess, Mass May 2012 #65

Many of the names of workers on the bridge are remembered... Bluenorthwest May 2012 #67

Thanks. Bluenorthwest. Mass May 2012 #80

We used to do the impossible PatSeg May 2012 #78

The Greatest Generation got shit done! Odin2005 May 2012 #97

I was amazed at how quickly PatSeg May 2012 #104

No surprise there, PatSeg...the disappearance of the public consensus Surya Gayatri May 2012 #108

The one thing a remember the most about PatSeg May 2012 #121

Well said, Odin! +1000! Surya Gayatri May 2012 #107

Hell, we have DUers who are anti-NASA. Odin2005 May 2012 #111

A big K&R for American workers and American ingenuity! LongTomH May 2012 #82

Wonder of the world...like Rachel says Surya Gayatri May 2012 #83

Big Gummit WORKS! Odin2005 May 2012 #88

A Bridge to Somewhere! ThoughtCriminal May 2012 #94

This is where I find corporate America has no faith in our capability. VPStoltz May 2012 #114

expendable workers. pansypoo53219 May 2012 #127

Are There Any Large Scale Projects That Are Death Free.. I Seriously Would Like To Know... WillyT May 2012 #128