Golden Gate

When the Golden Gate Bridge opened on May 27, 1937, its 4,200-foot main span was the longest in the world, a record it held until 1964. Its towers rise 746 feet above the water.

The color nearly went another way. The Navy suggested black and yellow stripes so ships could see the bridge. Consulting architect Irving Morrow chose a vermilion now called International Orange instead, because it suited the headlands and stood out better in fog.

Fog is the point. In summer it can swallow the whole span, and five air-powered foghorns installed in 1937 are still in use, two on the south tower and three at midspan.

Here one orange tower climbs out of a thick bank of fog at the right edge, with the main cable sweeping down in a long diagonal to the left and fading into grey. Dark water chops across the bottom. Flecks of cyan, white and gold are scattered across the surface like spray off the bay, and the orange is the only warm color in a field of grey, cream and blue.