Golden Gate Bridge travel guide describes the Golden Gate Bridge as "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world." At the time of its opening in 1937, it was both the longest and the tallest suspension bridge in the world, with a main span of and a total height of . Before the bridge was built, the only practical short route between San Francisco and what is now Marin County was by boat across a section of San Francisco Bay. A ferry service began as early as 1820, with a regularly scheduled service beginning in the 1840s for the
Suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge having let go of the rope. Retired UCSF professor of psychiatry Jerome Motto stated that Alarab might have been disturbed by the outbreak of the war and "that previously bearable pain suddenly became intolerable". On May 11, 2004, Gene Sprague, a native of San Mateo, California, committed suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. His death is documented in the 2006 film "The Bridge". During the filming of "The Bridge", the crew noticed Sprague walking back and forth along the bridge for around 90 minutes, before stopping to lean over the railing. According to Eric Steel, the film's director,