The plan was simple. Open the Golden Gate Bridge to people, not cars. Let them walk the span at dawn. Then the evening portion of the bridge’s 50th birthday with music and fireworks.

And so, on May 24, 1987, they started allowing pedestrians at 6am. Organizers expected maybe 80,000 on the deck at once. Ten times that came.

An estimated 800,000 people crowded together. The roadway was a solid wall of bodies and extended both towards San Francisco and Marin. It was gridlocked: even if you wanted to leave, you were stuck in the middle of the span for hours.

The bridge sagged under the weight of all the people, which engineers estimate was the heaviest load the bridge had ever carried. Did you know shoulder-to-shoulder pedestrians weigh more than bumper-to-bumper cars?

Normally the roadway has a gentle arch, but this day it flattened out. The center sagged about seven feet!

There were reports of the steel groaning under the weight and panic in the crowd. The chief engineer said the structure was not overstressed. Everyone eventually made it off the bridge and fireworks still capped the 50th celebration that night.

On July 4, 2026, for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration, the roadway will be empty. No cars, no pedestrians. In fact, the Golden Gate Bridge District established a permanent ban on public pedestrian access to the vehicle roadway for all major celebrations back in 2012. Guess we learned our lesson.

p.s. The details for 2026: the bridge will be closed roughly 8 to 10pm on the 4th of July. So if you are going over to watch in San Francisco, plan to go early!

If you’d like to be considered for Scenic Photo of the Week (nature, architecture, wildlife, etc.), please fill this out!

We are excited to announce our cocktail class series will be at Malibu Farm’s beautiful first-floor waterfront patio on Thursdays in July. You’ll enjoy a dinner spread while the co-founders of Sausalito Liquor Company teach you how to make a series of cocktails. These sell out fast, so don’t wait. 6:15pm, $60.

The lottery for free tickets is now open to see Patti LaBelle on August 9. This weekend the lotteries open for Public Enemy and Al Green as well.

Because leaving Marin might take more planning. Look for our Marin events in the Wednesday email.

Live jazz music takes over 12 blocks of Fillmore Street. Both Saturday and Sunday, 10am-6pm.

This is a unique experience where you can cut your own lavender branches for $5 (plus $15 entry). And if you want a closer u-pick experience, check out Blue Marble Acres Farm for West Marin strawberry picking.

Please note that this property isn’t associated with the banner sponsor above or Marin Buzz in any way. It is just a unique home you might be interested in seeing, for entertainment purposes only!

172 Seadrift Road, Stinson Beach

This is a new term for me: “all the bedrooms are individual Bali Joglos with their own doors out to the gardens.”

They really leaned into the indoor-outdoor lifestyle: three bedrooms in a row, which you can either access by walking through the other bedrooms or by walking outside. I guess that’s what makes these Bali Joglos, or maybe it’s the steep roof shape, or maybe it’s just clever marketing.

This home is owned by the founder of Amy’s Kitchen, which recently closed their Marin drive-thru location. But that’s not the reason they are selling. According to SFGATE, their daughter Amy (who the company is named after) and family moved to Hawaii, so they are going to swap it for a different beach home.

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If you’d like your pet to be considered for Pet of the Week, please fill this out!

Thanks for reading. We will be back with the regular events and activities email Wednesday morning!

— Allison + Brian