# What's the most famous bridge in the world? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 29, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609 "2017-09-29T20:51:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/61 "2017-10-01T12:17:31Z")
Since this has morphed into a lets-name-a-bunch-of-bridges thread, I must mention another that I have walked across: [The Ambassador Bridge](http://www.canadianbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/windsor-detroit-ambassador-bridge-89107420-jumper-getty-compressor.jpg) mmm ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/62 "2017-10-01T13:30:19Z")
I’m going to go with _**The 59th Street Bridge (Feelin’ Groovy)**_ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/63 "2017-10-01T13:35:23Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Bridge hipsters. Bripsters? ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/64 "2017-10-01T16:12:28Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Hard to say (especially when you include the whole world) but my first thought was the San Fransisco Bay Bridge. Someone has probably already pointed this out, but the San Francisco [-Oakland] Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge are two different bridges. Nobody living in the area would ever confuse the two, though visitors often do. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/65 "2017-10-01T16:23:35Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Let’s face it, half the posts in any thread asking “what’s the most famous X” are going to describe “a cool X that is so non-mainstream you probably haven’t even heard of it”. Bridge hipsters. Well, the only reason “What’s the most famous!” threads are at ALL interesting is that you can learn cool stuff from other people who know about other cool stuff than you do. Otherwise, THIS thread would have about 14 posts of blather over whether the Golden Gate or the Tower “was more famous.” Did you know the Colorado Street Bridge is called the “Pasadena Suicide Bridge”? And that it has ghosts? > **[Pasadena's Suicide Bridge - Weird California](http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=57)** > > The Colorado Street Bridge has seen over 100 people commit suicide leading to a variety of ghosts! ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/66 "2017-10-01T22:51:38Z")
I tossed up between Golden Gate bridge and Tower bridge. I think I’ll go for Tower bridge as I have fridge magnets with it on but none with the GGB. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/67 "2017-10-01T23:04:27Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Well, I can’t let some damned Pittsburgher brag about a local bridge without calling out Cleveland’s 1932 Art Deco \*\*Lorain-Carnegie Bridge \*\*, with its magnificent 50-foot “Guardians of Transporation” gracing the colossal pylons. > > [Lorain-Carnegie Bridge (Hope Memorial Bridge) - HistoricBridges.org](http://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=ohio/loraincarnegie/) > > Bonus…the west end lets out directly to the superb West Side Market, where you can stock up on local produce, homemade pierogis, kielbasa, local dairy, fresh poultry and fish and meat, pastries, roasted nuts, fresh bread, and stop at “Johnny Hot Dog” at the SW corner for the best chili dog in the Rust Belt. The stand at the NW corner will sell you an excellent bratwurst on a hard roll – not Sheboygan standard, and dressed with brown mustard and kraut instead of raw onion and dill pickle, but still damn good. > > [West Side Market - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Side_Market) Actually I hate Pittsburgh as much as the average Clevelander. Clevelandier? Clevelandtonian? Something like that. Lets just say my second favorite football team is whoever beats the Steelers last. For bragging rights I would offer the Barre/Market Street Bridge across from beautiful downtown Edwardsville PA. Well, actually the Edwardsville/Kingston border. And Edwardsville doesn’t really have what most people would consider a downtown. But still ----------- 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/68 "2017-10-03T14:09:55Z")
As a Londoner, until recently I would have said Tower Bridge every time. But a few weeks ago I was in San Francisco for the first time and just fell in love with the Golden Gate bridge. We rode under it on a bay tour (saw a humpback whale, yes really! Star Trek IV!), drove across it, and on our free day I made my partner walk across it with me. And walking back to our hotel one night we saw the Bay Bridge all lit up and that was beautiful too. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/69 "2017-10-03T14:35:15Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > The Brooklyn Bridge has all those stories about rubes trying to buy it from con men, but I think when someone says, “Quick! Think of a bridge!”, almost everyone pictures the Golden Gate. > > I know I do. I don’t get this, I think Brooklyn and then London not Golden. Why is the Golden Gate Bridge so noteworthy? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/70 "2017-10-03T14:52:26Z")
I voted Tower and the only other one that crossed my mind was Golden Gate. It wouldn’t occur to me that someone would vote otherwise. Now, I don’t know _why_ the GGB is so noteworthy, I just thought of it because it’s famous, but then again I can say the same for Brooklyn. Tower Bridge OTOH is distinctive. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/71 "2017-10-03T15:07:20Z")
I voted “other” as the London Bridge is the first name that came to mind and it’s not on your list. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/72 "2017-10-03T15:12:21Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I voted Tower and the only other one that crossed my mind was Golden Gate. It wouldn’t occur to me that someone would vote otherwise. Now, I don’t know _why_ the GGB is so noteworthy, I just thought of it because it’s famous, but then again I can say the same for Brooklyn. Tower Bridge OTOH is distinctive. The Brooklyn Bridge was the first of its size and the depth of the Caissons. It is very distinctive looking with its Gothic Cathedral look. It made 2 large cities into 1 effectively on top of that. Brooklyn was a separate large city before The Bridge and a few years later became part of a now much greater NYC. The Brooklyn Bridge opened 1883 and the cities merged in January 1, 1898. I assume I am missing something about the Golden Gate Bridge but it looks like most other suspension bridges to me outside of color. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/73 "2017-10-03T15:16:29Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > The Brooklyn Bridge was the first of its size and the depth of the Caissons. It is very distinctive looking with its Gothic Cathedral look. It made 2 large cities into 1 effectively on top of that. Brooklyn was a separate large city before The Bridge and a few years later became part of a now much greater NYC. The Brooklyn Bridge opened 1883 and the cities merged in January 1, 1898. > > I assume I am missing something about the Golden Gate Bridge but it looks like most other suspension bridges to me outside of color. I think it’s partly the setting, and partly the proportions - length v height etc, and the length between the towers, it just looks so slender and graceful. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/74 "2017-10-03T15:20:02Z")
Brooklyn Bridge is handsomely Germanic; however I think Bifröst Bridge is rather more memorable. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/75 "2017-10-03T15:22:03Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > London Bridge is easily the first one I thought of, not because of the bridge itself but because of the song about it falling down. Ditto. Growing up, _everyone_ knew that song. The first verse, anyway. Worthless family trivia: my little sister had one of those hand-cranked music boxes that played “London Bridge Is Falling Down” when she was at an age where she was just as likely to crank it backward as forward. So everyone in my family knows what “London Bridge” sounds like, played backward. We used to joke that if we ever needed to surreptitiously signal our presence to one another, whistling “London Bridge” backward would be perfect - we’d recognize it, and who else would be whistling that tune? ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/76 "2017-10-03T21:13:50Z")
I didn’t expect such a spirited discussion about bridges. Love it! I’m a little surprised that the Golden Gate is polling so far ahead of Brooklyn, which I thought would give GGB a run for its money. I’ve had the pleasure to walk across both of them, each very cool in its own way. I drove over the Ponchartrain earlier this year, which I quite enjoyed. And I recall taking the Chesapeake Bay Bridge many years ago. The interesting thing about that bridge is that it dips _under_ the water into a tunnel at two points along the way. It’s a rather disconcerting view for a moment! > [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > I’m fairly certain that \*\*Darren Garrison \*\*actually meant the Golden Gate Bridge. Many people don’t realize that the Bay Bridge is an entirely different bridge. The Bay Bridge is actually two bridges connected by a tunnel through an island. The Eastern span was replaced about 4 years ago, making it not only more structurally sound but also much more aesthetically pleasing. The Golden State Warriors now use that span as their logo, which ups its recognition factor a bit, but it’s still nowhere near as famous as the Golden Gate. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/77 "2017-10-03T21:40:07Z")
In addition to the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge with its magnificent Guardians, Cleveland also has its own Bridge to Nowhere, the [Superior Viaduct bridge](https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4936034,-81.7011671,213a,35y,309.39h,57.58t/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en). Though probably the most famous Bridge to Nowhere in the world is the [Pont D’Avignon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_Saint-B%C3%A9n%C3%A9zet) in France. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/78 "2017-10-03T22:43:42Z")
> [@Eclipse\_Chaser](#): > > But a few weeks ago I was in San Francisco for the first time and just fell in love with the Golden Gate bridge. We rode under it on a bay tour (saw a humpback whale, yes really! Star Trek IV!), drove across it, and on our free day I made my partner walk across it with me. > > And walking back to our hotel one night we saw the Bay Bridge all lit up and that was beautiful too. Speaking of beautiful views of these two bridges, check out these two blog pages. Spectacular aerial views of the San Francisco Bay Area, including both bridges. Both pages also include links to YouTube videos from which these still photos were taken. > **[My 2/26/11 Bay Tour soaring flight with Buzz](http://yanetz.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-22611-bay-tour-soaring-flight-with.html)** > > Both flight Traces from TG (Ramy) and BG (Buzz) Sometimes it's not all about the distance. Today I had a flight which will be rank... > **[Bay Tour - the sequel](http://yanetz.blogspot.com/2012/01/bay-tour-sequel.html)** > > Less than a year after my first Bay Tour, which was almost entirely between 2-4000 feet and below the the floor of class bravo, I rep... (No, that isn’t me in those photos. I wish it was me!) (ETA: P.S.: You can click on most of those pics to embiggen.) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/79 "2017-10-03T22:54:08Z")
As long as this thread is now segueing into discussion of lesser-known but still interesting bridges, let’s not forget the [Sundial Bridge](http://www.visitredding.com/sundialbridge) in Redding, Ca. – A footbridge over the northern reaches of the Sacramento River. And yes, the suspension tower, designed to look like a sundial, is in fact a real functional sundial. Calibrated for June 21 (summer solstice), it casts a shadow on a little grassy area at the end of the bridge. The grassy area is surrounded by a low brick wall with the hour markings set into it. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609/80 "2017-10-04T01:47:26Z")
Not the most famous (that’s obviously the GGB), but got to be one of the most interesting to drive – the [Eshima Ohashi Bridge](http://www.snopes.com/photos/architecture/graphics/eshima.jpg). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-famous-bridge-in-the-world/797609.md?page=5)