83 years ago today, construction started on the Golden Gate Bridge

Click ahead to see historic pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge under construction and today.

Two towers of the Golden Gate Bridge under construction before the installation of the strait in 1936. Click ahead to see historic pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge under construction and today.

Two towers of the Golden Gate Bridge under construction before the installation of the strait in 1936. Photo: Www.goldengate75.org Photo: Www.goldengate75.org Image 1 of / 73 Caption Close 83 years ago today, construction started on the Golden Gate Bridge 1 / 73 Back to Gallery

Happy birthday, bridge!

On Jan. 5, 1933, workers began the task of excavating 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt for the bridge's anchorages. On Feb. 26, the official groundbreaking ceremony was held at Crissy Field with 100,000 people in attendance. President Herbert Hoover even sent a congratulatory telegram.

Building the bridge was a herculean task. Over the next few months, construction on the approach road from the Presidio and the San Francisco and Marin towers began. In six months, the Marin (north) tower was done.

The bridge's main span were joined in the middle on Nov. 18, 1936. The bridge opened officially to pedestrian traffic on May 27, 1937, with vehicular traffic coming a day later.

For more on the bridge's history, check out the Golden Gate Bridge's awesome, trivia-filled site. Dozens of beautiful Chronicle file photos of the bridge can be seen in the gallery above.