Having been born in San Francisco, and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Richard Bulan had many fond childhood memories of visiting the Golden Gate Bridge… playing underneath it, walking across it, picnicking next to it, and taking visiting family out to see it. It had always been a special place to him… an icon of home. In 1994, a local San Francisco television station featured a short news story about historic steel being removed from the Golden Gate Bridge during its handrail replacement. The steel was originally placed on the bridge in 1937, and was removed in 1993 after 56 years of exposure to the harsh conditions of the Golden Gate. Since Richard had such fond memories of the bridge, he thought it would be great to own a piece of its history. Richard contacted the contractors about purchasing a section of rail, which he thought he could perhaps fashion into a headboard. However, upon viewing the available steel, he realized the enormity of a single section. The handrail sections were 12½ feet long and weighed approximately 1000 pounds each. This was obviously something he could not just toss in the back of a pickup truck and attach to his bedframe. However, Richard was determined to own a piece of San Francisco history, so he hired a truck to ship the huge piece of handrail to his home. After spending a month cutting and grinding down the section of handrail, he had crafted not only one headboard (weighing in at 115 pounds) to attach to his bed, but three more just like it. When telling his story to friends, they expressed interest in purchasing headboards for themselves. Therefore, after realizing the market for such a product, Richard started the Golden Gate Bridge Furniture Company.Since acquiring the handrail and starting the company with that first Headboard design, the Golden Gate Bridge Furniture Co. has since created several table and lamp designs. This provides a variety to the product line, as well as utilizing every piece of the rail in a way so that none of the historic steel is wasted. Furthermore, the company tries to stay true to the American spirit of the Golden Gate Bridge by ensuring that everything used to create the product is American made and locally crafted. Each piece of furniture is crafted by hand in small batches. Also lending to the uniqueness of the furniture, the handrail material has a weathered patina from years of exposure to the harsh winds and salt air of the open ocean. Once a piece of furniture has been crafted, the steel is sandblasted to remove the dirt, rust, and old paint, highlighting all the unique, characteristic imperfections that have been etched into the steel over the years. The furniture is then given a fresh coat of International Orange, the official color of the Golden Gate Bridge, to preserve its finish. Designs are given a limited production run, and each piece is numbered and comes with a Letter of Authenticity.In an age where so much of what we consume is mass produced overseas, Golden Gate Bridge Furniture Company brings something more to its furniture pieces by offering a product that is hand-crafted by local artisans using American sourced materials. Additionally, these designs allow you to make this breathtaking monument, an icon of both San Francisco and the American Spirit, a part of your home or office in both a functional and artistic way.