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
Skansen Bridge the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The Strauss designed single-leaf iron truss railway bridge with overhead counterweight provides clearance for boat traffic. This type of bridge has a counterweight suspended in a parallelogram, as well as motors and gears to lift and lower the end of the bridge. In 2006, Skansen Bridge received architectural conservation by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage ("Riksantikvaren") based upon Skansen Bridge being unique in Norway and only one of a few of its kind left in the world. The conservation includes the entire bridge including construction and technical equipment, the guard cabin and