Installed 1937 · Removed 1993
A piece of
American history.
The steel in our work once lined the pedestrian walkway of the Golden Gate Bridge. This is the story of the original handrail, how it came down, and how it was preserved.
Discover the storyThe original pedestrian handrail
More than half a century above the Golden Gate.
The steel used in our work was part of the Golden Gate Bridge's original pedestrian handrail. Milled by Bethlehem Steel Company in Pennsylvania, it was installed during construction and remained on the bridge from 1937 until the handrail replacement in 1993.
Look closely
The steel people walked beside for generations.
For more than fifty years, this handrail bordered the bridge's pedestrian walkway above San Francisco Bay. Its surface, fasteners, seams and markings are part of the material's history.
Those details matter because they connect a finished piece directly to the structure it came from.
Details in the steel
Rivets vs. bolts
The original and replacement work can be read in the fasteners themselves. This short video takes a close look at the handrail on the bridge and shows the difference.
1993
The original handrail comes down.
During the 1993 handrail replacement, sections of the historic pedestrian railing were removed from the bridge. These photographs document that work as it happened.
How the story became ours
In 1993, one section of bridge steel changed everything.
When I learned that the Golden Gate Bridge's original pedestrian handrail was being removed, I bought a 12½-foot section weighing roughly 1,000 pounds. I wasn't starting a business. I wanted a piece of the bridge for myself.
I cut a 115-pound section from that rail and made it into a headboard. Friends saw it and began asking if I could make pieces for them. What started as a personal project became something much larger.
In 1994, I bought the remaining handrail steel that was available, left my job, and founded Golden Gate Furniture Co. The same historic material has been the foundation of our work ever since.
Preserving the material
The bridge remains part of every piece.
Today, the original handrail steel is worked in our San Francisco metal studio. It is cut, cleaned, sandblasted and finished individually.
Some pieces retain the marks and character accumulated over decades. Others are finished in International Orange, the color inseparable from the Golden Gate Bridge.
We don't try to erase the steel's history. That history is the reason the material matters.
Authenticity
Original Golden Gate Bridge steel.
Golden Gate Design pieces are handcrafted from authentic steel removed during replacement of the Golden Gate Bridge pedestrian handrail. Natural variations in texture, markings and finish are part of the material's history, so no two pieces are exactly alike.
The story continues
Own a piece of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Furniture, art, jewelry, gifts and keepsakes handcrafted in San Francisco from the original bridge steel.
Shop the collection