Found in the Archives

Golden Gate Bridge Opens

This Sunday, May 27th, 2012 marks the 75th anniversary of the opening of Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Considered a marvel of both scale and design, the Golden Gate held the distinction of being the world’s longest suspension bridge up until the 1960s.

The 1937 opening festivities lasted for one week. On the first day only pedestrian traffic was allowed to cross, and on the second day, May 28th, President Roosevelt ceremonially opened the bridge to vehicular traffic. He did this all the way from the Oval Office in Washington, pushing a golden telegraph button to signal the start of a large formal procession.

Below is the White House Stenographer’s Diary entry for May 27th, 1937, recording FDR’s Golden Gate telegraph appointment. The President telegraphed at three o’clock Eastern Standard Time so the California procession could begin promptly at noon.

"Press Button - Opening Golden Gate Bridge"
“Press Button – Opening Golden Gate Bridge”

One thought on “Found in the Archives

  1. This nonsensical entry tells us NOTHING about what made FDR such a great president — any American president could have done this opening ceremony event.

    Why is the FDR Library so resistant to the idea of telling us about all the great and useful things FDR did as president?

    Do you not want the American public of today to have any understanding of FDR’s greatness and legacy?

    Seems so.

    On May 27, 1933, Congress passed FDR’s Federal Securities Act, committing the federal government to the regulation of Wall Street. This 1933 Act — part of FDR’s New Deal — was the first major federal legislation to regulate the offer and sale of securities. The primary purpose of the 1933 Federal Securities Act was to ensure that buyers of securities received complete and accurate information before they invested. Now THAT is something to write about.

    On May 11, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Rural Electrification Administration to extend electrical power to the vast majority of American farms that still lacked electricity.

    Those are presidential activities that matter!

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