Alfred Zampa (March 12, 1905 – April 23, 2000) was an American iron worker who played a role in the construction of numerous

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

bridges during the early twentieth century.

John V. Robinson John V. Robinson (born 1960) is an American writer and photojournalist who specializes in photographing heavy construction work with a focus on bridge construction and the men and women who do the work. Robinson goes onto construction sites and d ...

''Al Zampa and the Bay Area Bridges'', Arcadia Publishing, 2005, He was most notable for being one of the first people to survive falling off the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...

. He was a charter member of the

Half Way to Hell Club The Half Way to Hell Club was an exclusive club organized by the men who fell from the Golden Gate Bridge during its construction in 1936 and 1937 and were saved by the safety nets. One of the club's earliest members was Iron Worker Al Zampa who ...

, whose members are the men who fell from the Golden Gate Bridge and were saved by the nets. Robinson, John V. ''Spanning the Strait: Building the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge'', Carquinez Press, 2004

Life and career

Zampa was born in

Selby, California Selby is an unincorporated community in Contra Costa County, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Geography The town is located on the Carquinez Strait where its enters San Pablo Bay, across from Vallejo ...

. He retired from the position of iron worker at the age of 65 in 1970, and died at the age of 95 in

Tormey, California Tormey, formerly known as El Cierbo from the (Spanish word 'Ciervo' for 'Elk' (''Cervus canadensis''), is an unincorporated community in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is located between Rodeo and Crockett on the edge of ...

. Zampa's parents were born in Ortuchio, a village in the Italian region of Abruzzo; there is now a square in the village named Piazza Alfred Zampa in his honor.

Cultural influence

In 1987 writer Isabelle Maynard wrote and produced a play titled "The Ace" chronicling Zampa's exploits on the Golden Gate Bridge and the formation of the

. "The Ace" was based on Zampa's life and was advertised as an "iron worker's story of heroism, risk and recognition on the Golden Gate Bridge." It was well-received on San Francisco stages, especially during the bridge's 50th anniversary year. The Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge is named in his honor. The new bridge replaced the 1927 span of the Carquinez Bridge which Zampa helped construct, beginning at the age of 20.

External links

AlZampaBridge.com Official site of the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge

References

*Robinson, John V. ''Spanning the Strait: Building the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge.'' Crockett, CA: Carquinez Press. (2004) *Robinson, John V. ''Al Zampa and the Bay Area Bridges.'' San Francisco: Arcadia Publishing. (2005) *Robinson, John V.''Bay Area Iron Master Al Zampa: A Life Building Bridges.''Charleston, SC: The History Press. (2015) *Schwartz, Harvey. ''Building the Golden Gate Bridge: A Workers' Oral History.'' Seattle:U of Washington Press. (2015) 1905 births 2000 deaths Bridge engineers People from Contra Costa County, California Engineers from California 20th-century American engineers {{US-engineer-stub