Another great time at the Marin County Fair

From the Fair web page:

Golden Gate Pavilion

Celebrating the
Golden Gate Bridge


In 2012, on May 27, the now famous Golden Gate Bridge will turn 75 years old. The Golden Gate Pavilion will be transformed into a Bridge-infused experience, taking fairgoers on a journey from yesterday, through today and into tomorrow. Through a variety of educational and informative exhibits plus historic and contemporary photographs, combined with innovative activities, visitors will learn and engage as they reflect on the history and present-day operations of this international symbol.

As visitors enter the vast Bridge exhibition via a 48-foot-long model of the Golden Gate Bridge, they’ll step off into the world of tomorrow encountering the largest construction project ever undertaken since the original construction of the Golden Gate Bridge - the massive, multi-year, multimillion dollar earthquake retrofit. Built before today’s modern seismic engineering knowledge, fairgoers will learn how the entire span is being transformed to withstand a major earthquake, section by section.


Fairgoers will embark on a journey into the 1930s by viewing the 20-foot-long history wall that will tell the story, year by year, of the original construction of this amazing icon. With 75 years of rich history, visitors will learn about the original construction from January 1933 to its opening in May 1937, and how ten prime contractors and hundreds of men built this engineering marvel. The history wall will be accented by a collection of amazing historical construction photos and newspaper articles from that era. Visitors will then round the corner to May 28, 1937 when a grand auto parade crossed the Bridge as it opened to traffic. A restored Packard that crossed the Golden Gate Bridge that morning in the motorcade will be on display. A variety of memorabilia from vintage uniforms to pins, photos, hardhats and tools, to a 15-foot-tall stainless steel tower model (1/56 scale) that was built as an aid for checking the design of the 746-foot-tall main towers will be featured. The model was designed by Princeton University professor George Beggs who, in 1933, was hired for his expertise in the model study of complex engineering structures.


The Golden Gate Bridge requires year-round maintenance to withstand the daily rigors of wind, fog, salt-laden air and, of course, traffic. Fairgoers will learn why it requires continuous care, and understand how this happens by meeting some of people who do the work. They will see demonstrations of equipment and safety gear by today’s caretakers, and be able to ask questions such as: “Is the Bridge painted from one end to the other every year?” (This is, in fact, a myth. The Bridge is painted continually based on where the structural steel is experiencing the worst rust).