The 50th anniversary of the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1987. Initially, planners anticipated a gathering of around 80,000 people. However, the turnout greatly exceeded expectations, with an estimated 800,000 individuals attending the event.
The burden of people walking caused the normally curved roadbed to flatten. SF resident Winston Montgomery depicted the situation by writing, “The Golden Gate Bridge, bearing all its 419,000 tons, creaked and oscillated like a frail wooden slab over a chasm.”
People who were scared and feeling seasick ended up being sick on their own shoes. As per Montgomery’s account, to alleviate the pressure on the bridge, individuals started tossing bicycles and strollers off the structure.
