San Francisco built the Golden Gate Bridge during the Great Depression, which meant that people poured in from all over the country to work on it. As a consequence, regulations were ... how should we put it ... nonexistent. Workers would go up the 746 feet to construct the bridge with prayers as their main source of support.
Shockingly, people died. On February 17, 1937, workers stripped a section of the catwalk to move, but instead of moving horizontally, they went vertical. Nine men died in the fall. Others were lucky enough to cling to pieces of steel jutting from the bridge. One man was tangled in a net when he hit the water. It dragged him so deep that when he emerged, he was bleeding from his ears and could probably speak Atlantean.
The Brooklyn Bridge was no picnic for its builders either. They worked in poorly ventilated underwater chambers, and would continually get decompression sickness. And once it was finished, things got even worse. People distrusted the bridge because it was so huge, perhaps fearing it would develop awareness and conquer the city. Shortly after the opening, someone cried out that there was danger, which caused danger, since a crowd panicked and tried to flee. The massive, pointless stampede killed at least 12 people and injured 35 more. Frankly, it's a miracle that pitchfork-wielding New Yorkers didn't torch the bridge overnight as revenge, vowing to never again use this demonic technology.