THE
COLOR
Chief engineer Joseph Strauss and his colleagues
intended to select a paint that would withstand the harsh winds and weather
and the corrosive salt air-constant factors for a bridge across the Golden
Gate. Following a year of testing paints and colors, the possible choices
were carbon black, steel gray, and orange. Some felt that this bridge,
like others, should be black, gray, or silver. Architect Irving Morrow
preferred the warm orange color for both aesthetic and practical reasons.
He felt that the darker shades would detract from the beautiful setting
and that orange could be seen better in dense fog, another constant factor
for the Gate. He was supported by local artist and sculptor Benjamin Buffano,
and by many other locals who wrote letters supporting his choice of "International
Airways Orange."