The Bay Bridge did not have a ribbon cutting; the governor took a blowtorch to a golden chain!

The upper deck had vehicle traffic in two directions with pedestrian walkways until the 1960s. The lower deck carried trains and trucks.

"At the time of its Nov. 12, 1936 completion, the Bay Bridge was called the most complicated construction project in U.S. history. The parade of a million people in its honor was the largest in city history. People sat in eight hours of traffic to cross the bridge — and then declared that it was worth the wait."

I'm really starting to appreciate how much of San Francisco was developed during the Great Depression.