The Golden Gate Bridge is a Sundial? Yup!

Did you know that our beautiful Golden Gate Bridge is not only of one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World, but it’s also a sundial.

Sure, it’s an amazing technological feat. They said it couldn’t be built and at the time its opening in 1937, it was both the longest and the tallest suspension bridge in the world. But the Sundial Project wants to introduce you to another super cool aspect of the bridge. Using the iconic bridge as a sundial allows you to take in the entire environment: the bridge, the straits, the headlands, the Presidio, and the Pacific Ocean. 

How does the Sundial work?

Every night, the sun sets in the west somewhere behind the Golden Gate Bridge, but it’s not at the same spot. In the winter, the sun sets further south, and in the summer, the sun sets further north. In order to see the sun setting directly between the two bridge towers requires the observer to change positions throughout the year.  That’s where the Sundial Project steps in. They’ve created some handy maps to help.

View a map of the places and times the sunset can be viewed between the two bridge towers.

The project was launched way back 2012 and you can no longer participate in posting a photo since Panoramio has been discontinued, but the Sundial Project suggests you can still participate by painting, writing a poem of the sundial sunset, or how you see the bridge and its environs. Or you could post on Instagram. A sunset between the Golden Gate Bridge is definitely insta-worthy.