May 27, 1937: The Bridge That Moved the Market

Some bets look reckless until they pay off -- and a $35 million bond measure during the Great Depression, to build a bridge that most engineers said couldn't be built, is about as reckless as it gets.On May 27, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge opened to pedestrian traffic, and two hundred thousand people walked across on the first day alone. What they were really crossing wasn't just water -- it was the economic wall that had separated San Francisco from Marin County for generations, kept housing markets artificially depressed, constrained labor mobility across the entire north bay, and handed the Southern Pacific Railroad a ferry monopoly it had held for decades. The bridge ended all of that in a single morning.This is bsnsHistory, the daily podcast from bsnsBasics that finds the turning points behind the headlines -- one date, one story, every weekday.Hosted by Ron Trucks. Produced by bsnsBasics.Visit us at www.bsnsDAILYpodcasts.com