click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney
No, I wasn't around when the Pyramids were built, but as a lad of 10 or so I definitely remember seeing the San Rafael to Richmond Bridge being built, as our family in our 1947 Pontiac paddled along side the bridge on a soon-to-be obsolete ferry boat during bridge construction.
The San Rafael to Richmond Bridge is more utilitarian than architectural, and the question of why it was apparently built from roller-coaster blueprints begs to be asked. "Simply a cost cutting measure" is the common answer--the roadway supports away from the tall cantilevered section could be substantially lowered, saving money on steel in the process.
click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney (taken in August, 2009)
Oh, ferries are great--if we don't mind being herded like slaughterhouse cattle, or don't object to paying for an overpriced boarding pass. And I suppose there could still be a romance associated with ferries--enough of an inspiration to bring them back in the 1980's after 30 years. Today, operated and heavily subsidized by the Golden Gate Transit Authority, the modern fleet of ferries only carry passengers and bicycles.
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