Lion's Gate Bridge - Straight out of Atlas Shrugged
Amazing documentary about the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver. It was built privately by a real estate developer in 1938, after many years of dogged determination. Entirely for private profit, at zero cost to taxpayers! The story is complete with the inevitable crony-politics blocking the approval of the bridge for many years.
It was built within 18 months, to mind-blowing standards. It came in under budget, and remains to this day a marvel of both aesthetics and engineering. Shipping in the Burrard Inlet was closed to traffic for only 2.5 hours while the first cables were towed across!
It is pretty much the real-life version of the Rearden Metal bridge from Atlas. And definitely one of the most beautiful bridges I've ever seen.
It was built within 18 months, to mind-blowing standards. It came in under budget, and remains to this day a marvel of both aesthetics and engineering. Shipping in the Burrard Inlet was closed to traffic for only 2.5 hours while the first cables were towed across!
It is pretty much the real-life version of the Rearden Metal bridge from Atlas. And definitely one of the most beautiful bridges I've ever seen.
In some ways the story reminds me of that of James J. Hill and the Great Northern Railroad.
Respectfully,
O.A.
https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/index.php/...
Here's an article with a little bit of the story:
http://www.insidevancouver.ca/2012/06/12...
The other really cool thing is the immense profitability of the bridge, and that it transformed West Vancouver from countryside into a part of the city with some of the highest real estate values (average house price in West Van now is $2M).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_In...
We can thank them for that if you like.
You're welcome.
The section of AS describing the John Galt Line contains one of my all-time favorite (presumably deliberately) stupid remarks: "How is a 3000 ton bridge supposed to support a 12000 ton train?" (I think I have the numbers right). If the carrying capacity of a bridge was limited by its weight, no bridge would be able to support any weight other than its own!
(Personally, I still think those legs are a little too "slender," if you know what I mean)
Or, you could just buy your crappy steel from China, and watch itself tear itself up (good ol' interlaminar shear!).
That whole "you didn't build that" thing was an attempt to get people to acknowledge the infrastructure. The "little people," you know! Like most of us are, even though we want to think (and want others to think) that the universe revolves around us, and that our s%#& don't stink.
Interestingly, Michael Burns of Lions Gate Entertainment (which is named after the bridge) had at one time planned to fund and distribute an Atlas Shrugged movie, with potential cast members including Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Julia Roberts, and Anne Hathaway.
(Luckily we got Taylor Schilling, Samantha Mathis and Laura Regan instead :-)
Lions Gate Entertainment also produced Mad Men, which has a great Atlas Shrugged reference in it, as well as Orange Is The New Black, starring Taylor Schilling.
Just repeat after me: nothing is possible without our benevolent government, nothing is possible without our benevolent government, nothing is possible without our benevolent government...
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