Existing comment:
Art Deco on a Grand Scale
The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the world's largest examples of the Art Deco style.
Named for the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, held in Paris in 1925, the Art Deco style was used by architect Irving Morrow to add aesthetic touches throughout the Bridge. These include chevron or beveled shapes and an expression of verticality.
The chevron design and the angular, stepped brackets on the horizontal struts of the Bridge are nonstructural, added for visual effect.
Lights that point down are street lights for Highway 101 traffic crossing the Bridge. The round lights pointing up emphasize the height of the towers at night, an up-lighting technique often used on Art Deco skyscrapers of the 1930s, such as the Empire State Building.
The concrete pylons at the ends of the arch portion of the Bridge have a chevron form in both plan and elevation. Their tops are another Art Deco feature: they do not meet the sky as a squared off shape like a flat roof but rather with staggered vertical forms.
A hidden Art Deco gem at the Marin (north) side of the Bridge, viewed from Battery Spencer.
The concrete at the base of the south tower also received an Art Deco treatment. |