"The Golden Gate, Brought to You by ..."

By JESSE McKINLEY at The New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 25 — There are no naming rights on the table and there will not be any logo-bearing neon signs, tower-to-tower banners or screaming billboards put up, either. That might ruin the view.

But on Friday, a committee of the board that runs the financially strapped Golden Gate Bridge did pass along a plan for a so-called corporate partnership for the structure, sending a proposal to a vote in front of the full board next month.

Even as it did so, however, activists here were already preparing for the possibility that the Golden Gate — the engineering wonder, international tourist attraction and perpetual suicide magnet — might soon be brought to you by Coca-Cola, for example.

“We understand that it’s not going to be Google Gate Bridge,” said Marcie Keever, the program director for San Francisco Beautiful, a nonprofit group devoted to protecting “the unique beauty and livability” of San Francisco. “And while they are saying it’s going to be this understated thing, we’re still worried it’s just a further distraction and blight on our public spaces.” . . .

Article here.