Celebrate 75 Years with the Golden Gate Bridge!

Happy Birthday Golden Gate Bridge! When you were born, a gallon of gas was 10 cents, and a loaf of bread was only 9! You were named after the Golden Gate Strait, which is the opening of San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It took over four years to build you, Golden Gate Bridge, and the San Francisco Chronicle celebrated your birthday by calling you “a thirty-five million dollar steel harp!” Here’s how we’re going to celebrate your 75 years:

Memorial Day Weekend: Parades, Fireworks, and More

The Golden Gate Bridge’s actual opening-day anniversary is on May 27th, so the biggest celebrations will be taking place during Memorial Day Weekend (May 26th-27th) this year, all the way from Fort Point to Pier 39. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Bridging Us All,” which will be played out through various bridge-themed festivities. We suggest you work your way from Fisherman’s Wharf, where celebrations include:

• A historic watercraft parade;
• Music, dance, and art installations;
• Historic and educational presentations;
• And vintage automobiles from the year the bridge was opened, 1937, to those from present day.

If you’re looking for specific locations, you’ll want to hit Ghirardelli Square, Hyde Street Pier, the Jerimiah O’Brian and Pier 39. Also, visit Crissy Field and the Marina Green for bridge-related activities, and a good seat to catch the fireworks at 9:30pm on May 27th, which will conclude the weekend’s activities.

The Party Don't Stop If you won’t be able to make the big bash Memorial Day Weekend, or just don’t want to stop celebrating, there are plenty of activities to join in that last beyond the bridge’s actual anniversary. You can even start celebrating now! Check out the Golden Gate 75th Anniversary Events Calendar for a variety of events in the Bay Area, including special museum exhibits, photography and music contests, special bridge-themed restaurant menus, and more. The Golden Gate National Park Conservancy also came up with 75 ways to celebrate the anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge’s opening, and many of them you can do from home. Here are some of the highlights:

4. Throw your own Bridge birthday party on May 27, 2012 7. Write a poem or song about the Bridge and share it with us at www.facebook.com/ggb75 8. Sing “Happy Birthday” to the Bridge and post your video to our Facebook page 11. Take a picture of you or your friends holding a “Happy Birthday Golden Gate Bridge!” sign at your favorite local bridge—a drawbridge, a footbridge, or any bridge at all—and share it with us 12. Concoct a Golden Gate Bridge 75th cocktail and send us the recipe 14. Post a video of your best impersonation of a foghorn 24. Learn to say “Happy Birthday, Golden Gate Bridge!” in one of the 112 languages spoken in the Bay Area

For now, we can’t stop saying it in English – Happy Birthday, Golden Gate Bridge! And as always, pick up a Go San Francisco Card for great deals on over 40 attractions in the area!