How the Golden Gate Bridge Got Its Name

The Golden Gate Bridge was named for the strait it stretches over. The strait was named by a US Army topographical engineer.



San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge is the gateway to the city from the Pacific Ocean.

The bridge was named for the strait it runs over. The waterway was christened Chrysopylae -which is Greek for Golden Gate - by John Freemont around 1846.

Freemont was one of the Army's topographical engineers and said the area reminded him of a similarly named harbor in Istanbul.

It's rumored that there simply weren't any other proposals, so the Golden Gate option stuck.

A popular misconception is that the name Golden Gate was inspired by the California gold rush, which actually happened two years later.

As gold had nothing to do with it, the architect apparently didn't feel obliged to work it into his design.

Its unique color is officially called International Orange, and was selected because it melded well with the warm tones in the landscape. At the same time, the color contrast against the water made the bridge easy to spot by passing ships.

The paint currently used on the bridge is made by Sherwin Williams. The closest off-the-rack color is Fireweed. The Pantone match is number 180.