National Park Service Chooses Tasteless Function Over Iconic Form at the Golden Gate Bridge

People walk along a seawall with Fort Point and the Golden Gate Bridge in the background in San Francisco on Oct. 11, 2020. Eric Risberg/AP Photo

Commentary

The Golden Gate Bridge is a beautiful steel structure cutting across the sky over San Francisco Bay. Although I’ve lived there and traversed the Golden Gate my entire life, it’s magnificent every time I see it. The stark orange vermilion color seems to both draw your eye and blend in with the surrounding environment. A modern beauty that complements its natural surroundings.

Fort Point sits below the Golden Gate Bridge at the northernmost tip of San Francisco. This Civil War era fort has kept watch over San Francisco Bay for more than 150 years. The large brick structure, of a similar red hue, predates the bridge, but since it sits below the bridge, Fort Point has featured prominently in many photographs and even movies for the past century.

Although I’ve been there many times, I specifically remember my engagement photos with my wife. The nice brisk walk toward Fort Point on a cold, foggy day, in fancy clothes, was a very San Francisco type moment. Based on how many people were there doing the same, I’m sure we share the experience with many others.

A long, heavy steel chain lined the way to our spot. The chain, hanging post to post, looked all the part of a Civil War relic against the shoreline with Fort Point behind it. Although it looked the part, the heavy chain rail was actually installed in the 1990s. So while it was not an original design, the National Park Service (NPS) at the time chose a railing befitting the romantic location and historical era in which it sits.

Today, I saw photos of the newly installed railing that is replacing the old chain, and I was downright disappointed. Of course, this chain has been changed a few times over the past century due to the harsh waterfront conditions and salt water being a natural foe to metal. But, while designs can change over time, why did the NPS choose this new design?

According to SFGate, the NPS said the new design has a “smaller footprint” and will be safer for pedestrians and cyclists. NPS spokesperson Julian Espinoza also claims the new rail looks similar to the railing in the 1950s. SFGate even dug up a scene from the movie “Vertigo” (1958) that it says confirms as much. But maybe the writer did not actually watch the clip. I watched it, and the 1958 rail looks like a miniature version of the heavy chain. The thinner chain version drapes over smaller black poles up against the rocky coastline.

Honestly, I wouldn’t even mind if they installed a rail similar to the one of the 1950s, as it would match more the look of the Presidio sitting above on the hill. But why did the NPS choose such a tasteless weather-resistant pole railing for such an iconic location?

Instead, today’s NPS installed a rail fit for a Disneyland queue, with all the romance of a state highway. The iconic thick metal chains that led the way to Fort Point are now gone, replaced by an unaesthetically pleasing two-rail weather-resistant guard rail. While this may serve a better function by having a slightly sm aller footprint, I would bet many would rather have the form over the function.

So, this is my ode to the Golden Gate Bridge’s heavy steel chain. Although you are gone, you will not be forgotten, and hopefully the NPS decides to stop destroying beauty in the name of utility.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.