Since the bridge was built in 1937, an estimated 1,500 have leapt to their death on the bridge, but the number is completely unknown as the bodies of many who have jumped have never been found. In recent years, an average of 24 people have jumped each year, one attempt every two weeks. A debate about putting a barrier on the bridge has raged since the mid-50s when it was first proposed but has gone nowhere since, with the last proposal coming in 1999. The reason why the proposal never goes anywhere? It'll ruin the view, of course. Says a mother of somebody who jumped, "what kind of monster would stand there before me and tell me that aesthetics are more important than my son's life?"