The Golden Gate Bridge: Those Who Attempt To End Their Lives

It is 1933. Construction begins. 1937, this landmark is completed and opened to pedestrians and vehicles. It is built at a cost of approximately $35.5 million and comes in under budget and ahead of schedule. World War I veteran Harold Wobber, this landmarks first suicide, claimed, "This is where I get off,” and then jumps to his death. Now jump to 2013. Nearly 1,600 people have committed suicide by jumping off. The average number of suicides from this landmark is three per month. The Golden Gate Bridge was an example of a feat of engineering.

Executive Summary The report debates the Tacoma narrows bridge failure and the different theories of how it came about, using information about what type of bridge it is and the forces acting on it before and during the collapse. It also discusses ways in which the failure could have been avoided, from changes in the design to modifications to the bridge after its construction.

Four months prior to the collapse, a similar design of bridge, also designed by Freeman Fox & Partners, collapsed in Milford Haven, Wales, killing four workers. Understandably, there was a lot of industrial unrest on the construction site of the Westgate Bridge, although workers had been assured by Freeman Fox & Partners that the design of the Westgate was perfectly safe, but was not supported by any relevant or sufficient calculations.

It is shaped in a way to transfer weight to the towers and anchors with its tension (O'Connor, 1971, p. 372). Cables are made of high strength wires spirally bound to form a rope (O'Connor, 1971, p. 372). Vertical cable suspenders that are fastened to the main cables hang the actual roadway. Stiffening girders and trusses are along the side of the bridge to distribute concentrated loads and help to keep the motion of the bridge at a minimum (Troitsky, 1994, p115).

Suicide is, according to Sartre, “an opportunity to stake out our understanding of our essence as individuals in a godless world” (Stanford, 2004). Fundamentally, existentialism argues all individuals are free and therefore responsible for their actions. Thus, it is up to the individual to create an ethos of personal ideology,

Geographically California is located in the Western Coast of North America, and is the third largest State in the United States. The largest cities are; Los Angeles which is known for Disney Land, San Diego which is known for the Sea World, San Francisco which is known for the Golden Bridge and Sacramento which is known for the largest preserved historic district of the Gold Rush and for being its capital since 1854. Although California superiority comes from its warm weather, it does have the most diverse Geography. The Central Valley which is in the center of California dominates do to the major agriculture area. “the Sacramento Valley was then a true sea of grass, grass so high a man riding into it could tie across his saddle.” (Didion.

Throughout the 30s, life had been tough due to the occurrence were very poor, but somehow, many architectural feats were being made. The U.S. Government was still building the greatest dam in the world before the Depression, the Hoover Dam, which lasted five years to build. It takes a lot of manpower and materials for the Government to build this great dam, so they hired contractors to build it and the The U.S. provides the materials. Men of six companies were hired to build the dam in 7 years or penalties will ensue; the men were called, Six Companies, Inc. Remarkably, the contractors banded together to build the dam because of the immense size of the structure, one contractor cannot do the task alone (America's Experiences). The Dams magnificent feat in becoming USA’s greatest dam inspired the same contracting firm to work on a certain bridge in the west (Hiktzik). During the time Hoover Dam was being constructed, out in the west, another architectural feat was occurring. In 1933 San Francisco, California, construction starts on what will soon to be one of America’s greatest landmarks, The Golden Gate Bridge. One of the bridges architects, Joseph B. Strauss, a man who built many bridges across the U.S., was involved in the bridge project. Strauss and his colleagues had to deal with many problems about the bridge such as people saying it had to be impossible or it was expensive and a hazard to the environment (History.com). Once the bridge was funded with thirty-five million dollars,

The first completed steel bridge was the Eads Bridge, in St. Louis Missouri. Steel was a very new material and was just starting to become commercially available. Steel was a smart choice to use because it is extremely hard and resists rusting. The Eads Bridge was the longest arch bridge in the world, of 510 feet long. St. Louis became a very important city in the midwest and had to really compete with Chicago during the Civil War. After the Civil War, St. Louis started growing in all directions. “.... the city of St. Louis wanted to reestablish its prewar dominance as the economic powerhouse of the midwest” (Ostrow 75). The main reason to build the Eads Bridge was to connect settlers from the East to the lands of the West. At the time there

Stretching across the San Francisco Bay stands the world famous Golden Gate Bridge. The bridge is located in one of nature’s most beautiful settings, spanning the mile-wide bay from Fort Point in San Francisco to the Marin County Shore. Joseph Strauss, specializing in bridge building, was the leader of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. The start of construction began on January 5, 1993 and, after four years, was completed on April 27, 1997. The bridge was needed to be built because of the growing population after the California Gold Rush. The bridge was a difficult task for engineers and is now an inspiration. The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the largest suspension bridges and is well known around the world. The Golden Gate

Focus. Take a deep breath. Don’t look at everyone around you. Keep your head down. Look at the blue mat on the floor, creasing in wherever you put your feet. Glance at the clock, there are 4 minutes remaining. Put on your jacket, before you start shivering. Remain sitting in the chair. In just 3 and ½ minutes you will climb. When that happens remember to breath and stay focused. Don’t glance at the audience around you, and especially don’t pay attention to the slight pain of your shoes pinching your toes. When the timer hits 2 and ½ minutes start putting on your shoes. They are made of rubber and red felt. Right, then left. The timer has 10 seconds left. Stand up, take off your jacket, and start walking backwards towards the climb. Place your

Palm Beach resident James Montano crashed through the flashing gates and jumped a small gap of an open drawbridge on the Flagler Memorial Bridge in Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday, June 28, 2015. After the event he reportedly told a law enforcement officer that he failed to see that

Connecting the bridge between suicide and life Kevin Briggs is a retired California Highway patrol officer, who spent much of his years “patrolling the southern end of Marin, county which includes the Golden Gate Bridge” (Briggs).As many may connote this bridge with much positivity such as, to have a great view of San Francisco, others may connote it as the bridge that took their loved one . This bridge has been used numerous times for a suicide attempt. Suicide according to Vernon J. Geberth, M.S., M.P.S., is defined as the intentional taking of one’s own life (Geberth.). At a recent Ted Convention, Kevin delivered his inspiring and courageous speech titled “The Bridge Between Suicide and Life”, which argues the many consequences of suicide and the lasting effects it has on their loved ones. One of the main topics Kevin mentions in his speech is the fact that suicide is preventable and it doesn’t necessarily need to happen. In the audience of Kevin’s TED Talk were women and men who may have faced suicidal thoughts and or currently suffering from the loss of a loved one due to suicide and even the general population that may not be experiencing none of the following but are simply just listening for future references.Rhetorically, Kevin conveys this argument through rhetorical approaches such as rhetorical questions, logical evidence and even personal experience.

Entryway Prayers "Mom it was those prayers in the entryway that carried me." My adult daughter described the difficulties of returning to the homeland for her Junior year of High school when she shared the significance of a small daily routine in our home. Prayers, Entryway prayers.

The current Bay Bridge spans across the San Francisco Bay and through Yerba Buena Island. The reason the bridge travels through an island is because in the 1930’s it would have been nearly impossible to construct an eight mile long bridge spanning such deep water. During most of the 20th century, this island was a U.S. Navy base and in order for construction to be allowed, the approval of Congress was necessary. As a result, there was a great deal of lobbying that occurred in order to allow California the right to build across the island. After gaining the approval of Congress in February of 1931, construction started in July of 1933.

The Golden Gate Bridge is “considered to be one of the best and most beautiful examples of bridge design” (Poel and Royakkers 110). Unfortunately, this bridge is also "the US's most popular place to commit suicide" (110). Due to this fact, bridge designers decided that they needed to consider the option of installing some sort of suicide prevention system. Before any decision was made, the ramifications of both implementing a system and not implementing one had to be considered. Deciding whether or not to implement a system calls for an in-depth analysis of the ethics. One must identify the ethical dilemmas present, and provide analysis on the effects on all the stakeholders involved.