<P> In May 1924, Colonel Herbert Deakyne held the second hearing on the Bridge on behalf of the Secretary of War in a request to use federal land for construction . Deakyne, on behalf of the Secretary of War, approved the transfer of land needed for the bridge structure and leading roads to the "Bridging the Golden Gate Association" and both San Francisco County and Marin County, pending further bridge plans by Strauss . Another ally was the fledgling automobile industry, which supported the development of roads and bridges to increase demand for automobiles . </P> <P> The bridge's name was first used when the project was initially discussed in 1917 by M.M. O'Shaughnessy, city engineer of San Francisco, and Strauss . The name became official with the passage of the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District Act by the state legislature in 1923, creating a special district to design, build and finance the bridge . San Francisco and most of the counties along the North Coast of California joined the Golden Gate Bridge District, with the exception being Humboldt County, whose residents opposed the bridge's construction and the traffic it would generate . </P> <P> Strauss was chief engineer in charge of overall design and construction of the bridge project . However, because he had little understanding or experience with cable - suspension designs, responsibility for much of the engineering and architecture fell on other experts . Strauss's initial design proposal (two double cantilever spans linked by a central suspension segment) was unacceptable from a visual standpoint . The final graceful suspension design was conceived and championed by Leon Moisseiff, the engineer of the Manhattan Bridge in New York City . </P> <P> Irving Morrow, a relatively unknown residential architect, designed the overall shape of the bridge towers, the lighting scheme, and Art Deco elements, such as the tower decorations, streetlights, railing, and walkways . The famous International Orange color was originally used as a sealant for the bridge . The US Navy had wanted it to be painted with black and yellow stripes to ensure visibility by passing ships . </P>

Who was the original design of the golden gate bridge