Berfrois

Intellectual Jousting in the Republic of Letters
The Golden Gate Bridge is the only major international landmark without a suicide barrier. From the Eiffel Tower to the Empire State Building, St. Peter’s Basilica to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, every other one-time suicide magnet has had a barrier erected. The Golden Gate Bridge has not. Its short, four-foot-high railing can be surmounted by almost anyone. Even the smallest deterrent helps. People have decided not to jump because they couldn’t find a parking space at the bridge, or because they arrived after the pedestrian walkway was locked at night. One 31-year-old housewife didn’t jump because her skirt was so tight that she couldn’t lift her leg over the short railing, and she was too modest to take it off. “Beauty and Death: A World-famous Icon’s Dark Side”, John Bateson

The Golden Gate Bridge is the only major international landmark without a suicide barrier. From the Eiffel Tower to the Empire State Building, St. Peter’s Basilica to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, every other one-time suicide magnet has had a barrier erected. The Golden Gate Bridge has not. Its short, four-foot-high railing can be surmounted by almost anyone.

Even the smallest deterrent helps. People have decided not to jump because they couldn’t find a parking space at the bridge, or because they arrived after the pedestrian walkway was locked at night. One 31-year-old housewife didn’t jump because her skirt was so tight that she couldn’t lift her leg over the short railing, and she was too modest to take it off.

“Beauty and Death: A World-famous Icon’s Dark Side”, John Bateson

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