San Francisco is known as the 'City of the Golden Gate' due to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, which has become the symbol of the city. The bridge, completed in 1937, spans the Golden Gate Strait and is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco and the United States. The name 'Golden Gate' actually refers to the strait itself, named by John C. Fremont in 1846, and the bridge took its name from the strait it spans.