The Golden Gate Bridge: A Story of Love, Fear and Death

TITLE: The Golden Gate Bridge: A Story of Love, Fear and Death
STATUS: Publish
ALLOW COMMENTS: 1
CONVERT BREAKS: 1
ALLOW PINGS: 1
PRIMARY CATEGORY: California
CATEGORY: California

DATE: 10/06/2003 05:40:16 PM
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BODY:
This is <a href="http://newyorker.com/fact/content/?031013fa_fact">an incredibly fascinating article</a> from The New Yorker chronicling the macabre history of one of the world's best-known landmarks - and one that I used to cross quite often while I lived in Cali. I had no idea this stuff was going on, and it's really shocking what the subculture of the bridge has become. And a lot of people continue to die. It's a long article, but well worth the read. Thanks to <a href="http://www.fark.com">Fark</a> for the link, as usual.

I'm very curious to hear what people think of this one.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Virve
URL:
DATE: 10/07/2003 10:22:28 AM
The article mentions the Viaduct in Toronto from which around 500 people have jumped. Its very similar to the Golden Gate in that it was a huge accomplishment when it was built. It served as both a traffic bridge and as a transport for water all over the city. It spans a valley filled with gorgeous trees and rock faces. A nice place to end it all, and that's why it became so romanticized.

I drove over it recently and asked my mom what was up with the huge fence, and she said "its to stop the people from jumping". The barrier isn't an ugly thing in itself but reminds you every time you pass by what its there for.

I'm divided on the barriers...it makes sense to make it harder for people to physically get themselves over and into the water, but I suspect that with something like the Golden Gate they'd just face it as an extra challenge- which some people would likely feel romanticizes their death even more.
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