The Golden Gate Bridge Could've Had a Submerged 'Boat Tunnel'

The Golden Gate Bridge wasn't always destined to be the majestic, International Orange-colored span it is today. Back in the bridge's planning stage, the U.S. Navy was so concerned about its visibility that it lobbied hard to paint it black with yellow stripes. But that bold proposal looks absolutely mundane when you consider this one from 1932, which would've had the center of the structure submerged in the San Francisco Bay so ships could pass above.

The idea for a "boat tunnel" chopping right through the center of one of the world's now-most-recognizable bridges came from local inventor Cleve F. Shaffer, whose obituary claims he also "foresaw the tank, the bazooka, and the moving sidewalk, though he failed to win fame from any of them." The big attraction of Shaffer's plan was monetary: It was thought this bizarre structure would cost a mere third of the bridge's $35 million price tag. The authorities liked that perk enough that they were led to "consider seriously the erection of the boat tunnel bridge," reported the magazine Modern Mechanix, "which would be the only one of its kind in the world."