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The First San Mateo-Hayward Bridge Was a Big Deal in 1929

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Printed map of the San Francisco Bay highlighting the location of the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge.
A 1929 map shows what a big deal the bridge was at the time.  (Source Unknown, Public Domain)

Read a transcript of this episode. 

Kathleen McKusick used to work in Foster City near Bridgeview Park which, as its name suggests, offers a fine view of the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge. One day, while riding bikes with her daughter along the nearby Bay Trail, she stumbled upon a remnant of the original 1929 San Mateo Bridge that once crossed over the San Francisco Bay.

“Which raised all kinds of questions in my mind,” McKusick said. She wrote to Bay Curious looking to learn about the bridge. “I would love to know more about that original bridge in its heyday.”

McKusick Googled it, naturally, as did I, and there just isn’t a whole lot out there. The best resource? A single article written a few years ago for the Hayward Historical Society by John Christian, formerly an archivist there.

Turns out this bridge was once the longest bridge in North America.

Looking down an old section of a now unused bridge that runs off into the distance and terminates just before the horizon line. To the left of it is the new bridge that replaced it. Both bridges run over calm reflective blue water.

A little stub alongside the new San Mateo-Hayward Bridge is all that remains of the original from 1929.

The history of the bridge

We all met at the Bridgeview Park, where you can spy a little stub of the old bridge alongside the big new one.

“This is the first time I’ve been over here. I guess I’m too Hayward-centric. I’ve never really seen it from this side, to be honest,” Christian said.

According to Christian, the bridge was originally proposed in 1922 by the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, as a way to jump start business between the Peninsula and the East Bay. Construction began in December 1927. A little more than a year later, on March 2, 1929, there was a grand opening of what was then called the “San Francisco Bay Toll-Bridge.”

The bridge opening in 1929 was a big deal for the Bay Area, and President Calvin Coolidge participated in the dedication by pressing a telegraph button in Washington, D.C. that directed the unfurling of an American flag from the bridge.

San Francisco Mayor James Rolph, who was known to love attending celebrations of almost any kind, was the biggest local celebrity to show up in person.

Not unlike the Golden Gate Bridge to the north, this bridge helped farmers get their goods to market. In the 1920s, the region on both sides of the Bay was rural, as opposed to suburban, as it is today. Think farms, orchards, canneries, salt harvesting and the like.

Archival image of a 1920s-era transport truck carrying crates of ketchup. Two large American flags are mounted on poles near the front of the truck.
A Hayward cannery truck crosses the bridge bringing Hayward ‘Quality Tomato Catsup’ to San Mateo as part of the 1929 dedication. (Courtesy of the Hayward Area Historical Society)

And maybe because it wasn’t designed primarily for commuter traffic, the original bridge was only 30 feet wide with just two lanes, and about 7 miles long. 

“Looking at the new bridge, I mean, compared to the old bridge, this bridge is a monster. You know, this is like, 6 lanes. The original bridge would have been just two lanes, back and forth,” Christian said. 

Petite, and also, I have to say, terrifying. Right? Especially if there’s a stiff wind? Picking up off the water? Driving a Model T Ford? 

“Nobody was blown into the water, as far as I can tell,” Christian said. 

Fun fact: The original toll was 45 cents, about $8 in today’s money! So, Christian says, adjusted for inflation, it was more expensive to cross in 1929 than it is today. Takes the sting out of today’s $7 toll? Or maybe not.

A black and white archival aerial photo of the middle section of a long bridge passing over the San Francisco Bay.
The cause of commuter traffic on what was then the San Francisco Bay Toll-Bridge when the Model T was king. (Courtesy of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)

Dreams of a bigger bridge

By 1954, 7,400 cars and trucks were crossing every day and newspapers were calling the old bridge an “antique.” The rural towns on either side of the Bay had become suburbs, and the bridge wasn’t designed to carry that kind of capacity.

“It was a small bridge taking you to a small place. And now it’s this massive [bridge taking you from] city center to city center,” said Christian.

As time went on, the biggest complaint about this bridge was not how slender it was, but the electric drawbridge that went up on average 6 times a day to let marine traffic pass underneath. That brought cars and trucks on the bridge to a standstill. 

So in 1961, the groundwork was laid for the construction of a wider, taller bridge, to be built just a few feet north of the original span. The old bridge was dismantled, piece by piece, except for the small bit you can still see from Bridgeview Park today. And while there are now longer bridges in North America, according to the state’s Department of Transportation (PDF), the new bridge is still the longest bridge in California. 

McKusick’s thoughts on learning the full story? “I really wish that the pier were open and I could walk out onto the bridge. That would be a dream come true.”

Episode transcript

This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.

Olivia Allen-Price: Hey everyone! You’re listening to the Bay Curious podcast, where we explore the Bay Area one question at a time. I’m Olivia Allen-Price. 

Did you know that the Bay Area was once home to the longest bridge in North America? And also one of the skinniest?

It’s the original bridge that ran between San Mateo and Hayward, or Hayward and San Mateo, depending on which side of the Bay you sit on.   

Kathleen McKusick of Redwood City used to work in biotech near Bridgeview Park in Foster City. Which is how she came to ask us this question:  

Kathleen McKusick: I stumbled across a remnant of the 1929 San Mateo Bridge about a dozen years ago. I would love to know more about that original bridge in its heyday. 

Olivia Allen-Price: We have a lot of spectacular bridges here in the Bay Area. But let’s be honest, the San Mateo-Hayward bridge doesn’t get a ton of love. Today we’re putting her in the spotlight, and learning more about the original bridge that helped shape our region. We’ll be right back!

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Olivia Allen-Price:  This week, we’re answering a question from Kathleen, that was selected by you, our audience, in a monthly voting round. If you want a say in what we cover, vote in our current poll at Bay Curious.org.

OK, so Kathleen wants to know the story behind what remains of what was then called the “San Francisco Bay Toll-Bridge” … We sent KQED’s Rachael Myrow to check it out  …

[sounds of a park outdoors, highway traffic can be heard in the background]

Rachael Myrow: If you’ve walked or cycled along the Bay Trail on the Peninsula, you know it passes under the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge. 

Kathleen McKusick: My daughter and I were here on the weekend to ride bikes on the Bay Trail, and we went on the bikes a little farther than I usually went on foot, and here was this astonishing little piece of a bridge. Which raised all kinds of questions in my mind. 

Rachael Myrow: Kathleen McKusick Googled it, naturally, as did I and … there just isn’t a whole lot out there … The best resource? ONE article written a few years ago for the Hayward Historical Society… an article written by THIS guy:

John Christian: John Christian, formerly an archivist at the Hayward Historical Society.

Rachael Myrow: We all met at the Bridgeview Park, where you can spy a little stub of the old bridge alongside the big new one. It’s a noisy park. You can hear the traffic from the new bridge, not to mention planes flying overhead from SFO.

John Christian: This is the first time I’ve been over here. I guess I’m too Hayward-centric. But yeah, I’ve never really seen it from this side, to be honest.

Rachael Myrow: According to Christian, the Hayward-San Mateo Bridge was originally proposed in 1922, by the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, as a way to jump start commerce between the Peninsula and the East Bay. Construction began in December of 1927. Flash forward to March 2, 1929, and we have …

[Old timey music]

Rachael Myrow: The grand opening of what was then called the San Francisco Bay Toll-Bridge! Now, quick production note. Nineteen-twenty-nine is a tricky time for sound reporters in the Bay. Much of the news footage from that era was still silent. 

[Archival recording of Calvin Coolidge talking]

Rachael Myrow: What talkies there were typically brought sound to big, national news stories. But the bridge opening in 1929 was a big deal for the Bay Area, 

[Sound of Morse code being sent over a telegraph]

Rachael Myrow: And then-President Calvin Coolidge participated in the dedication by pressing a telegraph button in Washington, D.C., that directed the unfurling of an American flag from the bridge. 

[flag unfurling sound, crowd says “Ahhhh”]

Rachael Myrow: Then-San Francisco Mayor James Rolph, who was known to love attending celebrations of almost any kind, was the biggest local celebrity to show up in person. 

[1929 Ford AA Truck engine starts up]

Rachael Myrow: Not unlike the Golden Gate bridge to the north, this bridge helped farmers get their goods to market. In the 1920s, the region on both sides of the Bay was rural, as opposed to suburban, as it is today. Farms, orchards, canneries, salt harvesting… 

And maybe because it wasn’t designed primarily for commuter traffic, I think it’s worth noting that the original bridge was only 30 feet wide with just two lanes, and about 7 miles long. 

John Christian: Looking at the new bridge, I mean, compared to the old bridge, this bridge is a monster. You know, this is like, 6 lanes. The original bridge would have been just two lanes, back and forth. 

Rachael Myrow (in the field): Petite, and also, I have to say, terrifying. Right? Two lanes, two lanes only, one going in one direction, one in the other. 30 feet wide, going over, over the Bay.

John Christian:  Right.

[dramatic music swells ]

John Christian: Yeah, I mean, it musta, I guess, you know, probably it was kind of fun, I guess. But yeah, probably a little horrifying. 

Rachael Myrow (in the field): Especially if there’s a stiff wind? Picking up off the water?

John Christian: Yeah, I mean…

Rachael Myrow (in the field): Driving a Model T Ford? 

John Christian: Nobody was blown into the water, as far as I can tell. 

Rachael Myrow: Fun fact: The original toll was 45 cents … about $8 in today’s money! So, Christian says, adjusted for inflation, it was more expensive to cross in 1929 than it is today! Takes the sting out of today’s $7 toll … Or maybe not…

Anyways, it wasn’t long before newspaper articles were calling the old bridge “antique.” By 1954, 7,400 cars and trucks were crossing every day. Because the rural towns on either side of the Bay did become suburbs…

John Christian: You know, it was a small bridge taking you to a small place, you know? And now it’s like, this massive, like, you know, city center to city center. 

Rachael Myrow: And the biggest complaint about this bridge was not how slender it was, but the electric drawbridge that went up on average 6 times a day to let marine traffic pass underneath. That brought cars and trucks on the bridge to a standstill. 

So in 1961, the groundwork was laid for the construction of a wider, taller bridge, to be built just a few feet north of the original span. The old bridge was dismantled, piece by piece, except for the small bit you can still see from Bridgeview Park today. According to the state’s Department of Transportation, by the way, the new bridge is still the longest bridge in California.

Rachael Myrow (in the field):  So now that you know the full story, any thoughts?

Kathleen McKusick: I really wish that the pier were open and I could walk out onto the bridge. That would be a dream come true.

Olivia Allen-Price: That story was reported by KQED’s Rachael Myrow.

I hope you’ll join me tonight, Thursday, Aug. 24 at Black Bird Books in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset. It’s the last stop on our tour for our new book, Bay Curious: Exploring Hidden True Stories of the San Francisco Bay Area. I’ll be reading, signing, answering questions and playing a mini trivia game. Hope to see you there!

Be sure you’re subscribed to Bay Curious so you never miss a new episode. Follow me on Instagram @oallenprice. And sign up for our monthly newsletter at BayCurious.org/Newsletter.

Bay Curious is made by Amanda Font, Christopher Beale, and me, Olivia-Allen Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Cesar Saldana, Maha Sanad and Holly Kernan.

Have a great week!

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