Since its opening in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge has become an icon for
the beauty and prosperity of the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as a
symbol of engineering achievement. Constructing the bridge posed
political and financial challenges that were at least as difficult as
those faced by the project's builders. To meet these challenges,
northern California boosters created a new kind of agency: an
autonomous, self-financing special district. The Golden Gate Bridge and
Highway District developed into a powerful organization that shaped the
politics and government of the Bay Area as much as the bridge shaped its
physical development.
From the moment of the bridge district's incorporation in 1928, its
managers pursued their own agenda. They used all the resources at their
disposal to preserve their control over the bridge, cultivating
political allies, influencing regional policy, and developing an
ambitious public relations program. Undaunted by charges of
mismanagement and persistent efforts to turn the bridge (as well as its
lucrative tolls) over to the state, the bridge district expanded into
mass transportation, taking on ferry and bus operations to ensure its
survival to this day.
Drawing on previously unavailable archives, Paying the Toll gives us
an inside view of the world of high-stakes development, cronyism, and
bureaucratic power politics that have surrounded the Golden Gate Bridge
since its inception.