Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA, circa 1937

About this postcard

A black-and-white view looks across the water at the Golden Gate Bridge, its two towers and sweeping main cables spanning the strait. A shoreline with buildings and a pier sits in the foreground, and rolling hills rise behind the span. The bridge opened to traffic in 1937, linking San Francisco's Presidio with the Marin County headlands. Its 4,200-foot main span made it the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time, and its stepped Art Deco towers quickly became the city's best-known landmark. Views like this one, taken from the San Francisco shore, were standard souvenirs for visitors arriving by car or ferry in the bridge's early years.