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San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937, connecting San Francisco to Marin County in the north.

View caption George Rose/Getty Images

75 Years Ago, A Deadly Day On The Golden Gate KQED

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Constructing the iconic bridge was a coveted job in Depression-era San Francisco. The work was dangerous, but the men were careful and years passed without a single fatality. Just months before it opened, however, the bridge finally claimed its due — all in a few horrifying seconds.

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In his series The State of the Union, Gregg Segal creates a contrast between an idealized Civil War era, as embodied by re-enactors, and contemporary life.

A Civil War In The Olive Garden Parking Lot

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James Burton: The Teen Who Invented American Guitar

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More than 200,000 people crossed the bridge the day it opened in 1937. Many walked. Others ran, tap-danced, roller-skated, unicycled, or strode on stilts.

Walk This Way: Crossing The Golden Gate Bridge

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StoryCorps

The Day Taps Echoed Through Belgium's Hills()

After Harrison Wright was drafted into the U.S. Army as a teenager in 1943, he became a bugler.

May 25, 2012 During World War II, Harrison Wright served with the Army in Europe. And as he recalls during a visit to StoryCorps with his grandson, he was sent on a very special assignment to mark the end of the war.

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Law

The Face That Changed The Search For Missing Kids()

Etan Patz on the "lost child" poster issued after his 1979 disappearance.

May 24, 2012 The arrest of a man who says he killed Etan Patz highlights how much things have changed since the 6-year-old boy was abducted in 1979. Missing children were barely on the radar of law enforcement agencies back then, but are a priority all over the country today.

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The Salt

Hail The Conquering Chicken! A Story Of Dinner Plate Domination()

May 21, 2012 From the jungles of Southeast Asia through the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, the chicken's journey to the table has been quite the odyssey, spanning thousands of years. Yet it's only in the past century that chickens came to dominate the American diet.

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The Two-Way

Lockerbie Bomber Dies, Three Years After Release()

Security officers escort convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi (center) in Tripoli in 1992.

May 20, 2012 The former Libyan intelligence officer who was the only person ever convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie, Scotland, bombing has died, according to reports. He was 59.

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Around the Nation

Son Fulfills Dream That Racism Denied His Mother()

May 18, 2012 KSMUFriday, Terry Walls is graduating from the same university that rejected his mother because of the color of her skin. Mary Jean Price Walls hadn't spoken about her application to Missouri State University in six decades, until her son uncovered letters in university archives.

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