Prominent Santa Rosa citizens paved the way for the Golden Gate Bridge

It is hard to fathom, but there was a time when Sonoma County held an enormous clout over the development of transportation in the Bay Area.

In 1920, it was the eighth ranking county in terms of agricultural production in the entire country. By 1935, it ranked 10th.

When motor vehicles began to outpace trains and boats in popularity, North Bay residents started looking for more efficient ways to transport produce to their constituents.

Following the destruction from the 1906 earthquake, a team of prominent citizens, led by Santa Rosa banker Frank P. Doyle, spearheaded a movement to make the Bay Area more car friendly. Doyle convinced Sonoma County farmers, merchants and homeowners to give up a few feet of land on either side of the roadways to make room for motor vehicles. They turned their eyes toward the San Francisco Bay in the 1920s.

Doyle headed the first meeting to formalize planning and construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. The meeting drew 300 North Bay residents, including Santa Rosa horticulturist Luther Burbank.

The bridge, which last week celebrated its 82th anniversary, was so popular it had two opening days. On May 27, 1937, Doyle opened the bridge to pedestrian traffic using an acetylene torch to cut a silver chain holding back a throng of about 200,000 visitors. The following day, San Francisco Mayor Angelo Rossi had the honor of opening the bridge to vehicular traffic. The first private car to cross the bridge was a Dodge owned by Santa Rosa car dealer, J.H. Williams.

Janet Balicki Weber and Gaye LeBaron