James Bashford took the most famous photograph of the bridge's collapse. In 1939 he was working at Thompson Photo Service, owned by Ambler Thompson. The firm was hired by the Washington Bridge Authority to document the construction of the first Narrows Bridge. Bashford was involved in the project and took more than 400 photographs of the bridge, recording every aspect of the construction.
He related many anecdotes about the bridge to his daughter Ann. One example was how the workers used to suck on lemons to keep from becoming seasick as the bridge swayed while they worked. (In fact, it was the bridge workers who coined the nickname "Galloping Gertie.") Bashford also worked as a freelance photographer for the local papers.
On the day of the collapse, Bashford was working for himself. As news of Gertie's antics spread through town, he headed to the bridge site with his trusty camera. He took several photos before the collapse and then caught the image that has been reproduced around the world thousands of times. Two years ago, Bashford's daughter and grandson donated the original negative and camera to the Gig Harbor Peninsula Historical Society.
Gertie's Final Hour
Throughout the early morning hours of Thursday, November 7, 1940, the bridge deck rose up and down 3 to 5 feet in winds of 35 to 46 miles per hour. Alarmed by this constant motion, highway officials and state police closed the bridge at 10:00 a.m. Shortly after, the motion dramatically changed from a rising and falling to a twisting motion. The twisting grew stronger and span movement went from 5-foot to 28-foot undulations.
At about 10:30 a.m., a center span floor panel dropped into the water 195 feet below. The roadbed was breaking up and chunks of concrete were raining into the Narrows. At 11:02 a.m., 600 feet of the western end of the span twisted free, flipped over, and plunged into the water.
The twisting continued, and at 11:09 a.m., what remained of the center span ripped free and thundered down into the Narrows. When this happened, the 1,100-foot side spans dropped 60 feet, only to bounce up and then settle into a sag of 30 feet.
In the simplest terms, the slimness that made Galloping Gertie so elegant resulted in her collapse. Clark Eldridge's original plans called for open, 25-feet-deep stiffening trusses (girders supporting the road). Consulting engineer Leon Moisseiff proposed that the trusses could be reduced, creating a shallower roadway and making the bridge look like a long, graceful ribbon. Conveniently, his suggestion would also be cheaper.
The Toll Bridge Authority took Moisseiff's suggestion and did a redesign that substituted a plate girder stiffening system only 8 feet deep. Although the redesign met all criteria for acceptable practice at the time, it made the bridge more vulnerable to the effects of wind.
