Renovations Turn Golden Gate Bridge into Eerie Wind Instrument
Listen to the Bay Area’s new spooky soundtrack.
An unfamiliar sound emanating from San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge has been called “angelic,” “spooky,” or in the case of many local residents, “annoying.”
The eerie tune is the result of high winds passing through a railing recently installed as part of a renovation designed to preserve the life of the 1.7-mile-long landmark, San Francisco’s non-emergency service confirmed.
Such winds amplified the flute-like sound so intensely last week that some residents reported hearing it up to 3 miles away.
“Engineers designed new sides for the sidewalk to help with wind resistance but didn’t take into account the EXTREME sound it creates when wind passes through it,” one Twitter user remarked. “The bridge sings crazy songs now it’s so trippy. It hurts the ears and [is] unbearable it’s that loud.”
With San Francisco averaging a wind speed of approximately 10.5 mph, making it one of the windier cities in the U.S., the new apparatus on the 83-year-old bridge could pose a problem.
Still, completing necessary renovations likely means the sound will be here for a long time to come.
Bay Area social media users were quick to question the source of the hum from various spots near the bridge.
Listen to some of them below.