Photograph of the week: Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California, USA

In 2011 the American Society of Civil Engineers chose the Golden Gate Bridge for inclusion in its Seven Wonders of the Modern World. It’s not a stretch to understand why: not only is this iconic orange span of graceful steel recognized the world over, it is also, quite simply, a marvel of engineering, architectural design, and imagination.

As famous as the Golden Gate Bridge is today – an enduring symbol of San Francisco, California, and, indeed, the USA itself – it almost never came to be. Back in 1916, or thereabouts, calls began for a bridge to connect the city of San Francisco to Marin County, California, thereby replacing a cumbersome, treacherous 20-minute ferry crossing. But these calls were mostly met with negativity and naysay. It would be impossible to build experts said. The currents were too strong, they said. The water too deep. The winds too unpredictable and stormy. The fog too thick. It would be too ugly they said, the size…