Bridge Thermometer

2009 – 2015

A calibrated spotting scope, mounted on a high bluff and trained on the Golden Gate Bridge, allows visitors to see how much the span moves up and down as the structure contracts and expands in response to temperature. Engineered to rise and fall by as much as 16 feet, the span’s daily fluctuations illustrate the power of the subtle forces impinging on the Bridge—and the dynamic nature of monumental structures we normally think of as static.

This exhibit is part of the collection: Fort Mason