On January 5, 1933, construction began on the Golden Gate
Bridge, as workers began excavating 3.25 million cubic feet
of dirt for the structure’s huge anchorages.

Following the Gold Rush boom that began in 1849, speculators
realized the land north of San Francisco Bay would increase in
value in direct proportion to its accessibility to the city. Soon,
a plan was hatched to build a bridge that would span the Golden
Gate, a narrow, 400-foot deep strait that serves as the mouth of
the San Francisco Bay, connecting the San Francisco Peninsula
with the southern end of Marin County.