This month marks 79 years since the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge. It first opened to pedestrian traffic on May 27, 1937 with an estimated 200,000 pedestrians crossing the bridge that first day. The bridge then opened to vehicle traffic the next day. The weeklong Golden Gate Bridge Fiesta celebration included nightly pageants at Crissy Field with parades, fireworks, and various entertainment.
National Walnut Day
Did you know that May 17th was National Walnut Day? The first National Walnut Day was in 1949, proclaimed by the Walnut Marketing Board to promote the consumption of walnuts. It was made official by a Senate Resolution that was signed in 1958 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The two most common species of walnut are the English Walnut and the Black Walnut. The Black Walnut is native to North America, but taste and difficulty to hull the shell prevents its commercial growth for nut production. It is the English walnut that is cultivated for commercial production, with 99% of the nation’s walnuts being produced in California's Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. In years past, since the native California (Black) Walnut did better in the California environment, English Walnut would be grafted onto root stock of the native Black Walnut. As the trees matured in the orchards, the two species grew together and you could see the distinctive graft line in the trunk where the two different colors and textures of bark would meet. After many years, as the grafted trees were removed, some were salvaged to be used for lumber by artisan woodworkers. If lucky, you would sometimes find a piece that contained the graft line where the two species grew together, creating beautiful swirls of light and dark in the finished surface of the boards. This marbled combination of wood texture is sometimes referred to as Claro Walnut by woodworkers.
The history and the uniqueness of Claro Walnut containing a graft line is a perfect complement to the Golden Gate Bridge handrail material, and we have been lucky enough to find a few pieces of this locally salvaged wood to incorporate into some of our designs. Below is a gallery of some pieces we currently have in stock and available.
Side Table with Claro Walnut Top #33 of 280
Headlands Table with Claro Walnut Top #2 of 34
Coffee Table with Claro Walnut Top #12 of 140
Executive Desk with Claro Walnut Top #1 of 10
Executive Desk with Claro Walnut Top (Detail)
For more information:
info@goldengatefurniture.com
www.goldengatefurniture.com
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Golden Gate Furniture Co.
1 Rankin Street, Studio 417
San Francisco, CA 94124
415.661.6263
