Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge (officially named the New York and Brooklyn Bridge until renamed in 1915) is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on Thursday, May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first bridge across the East River (and was colloquially often called the "East River Bridge" prior to 1915). On Wednesday, May 30, 1883, twelve people were killed in what is now often called the Brooklyn Bridge stampede. The Brooklyn Bridge has undergone several renovations. As of the year 2025, 21 bridges and 7 tunnels are connected to Manhattan Island. The Brooklyn Bridge is designated by the U.S. government as a National Historic Landmark.

Quotes

• Between the completion of the bridge on paper and the inauguration of construction, a distressing event took place. This was the death of Mr. Roebling, in 1869. It was difficult to believe that the loss would not prove irreparable, and yet in fact Providence had preserved him to be the real builder of the bridge, although not a hammer had been lifted when he died. His son, Colonel W. A. Roebling, who was already associated with the work, enjoyed the confidence and shared the ability of his father. The board of trustees appointed him chief engineer—the position he has held during the entire progress of construction.
  • Alfred C. Barnes, The New York and Brooklyn Bridge. American architectural books, No. 70. J. H. Fisher. 1883. 

• When, in 1865, Mr. William C. Kingsley first took fairly hold of this enterprise, and had plans and estimates made by competent men, almost the same line was recommended as the Bridge actually now occupies. This line extends from a point in Brooklyn near the junction of Sands and Washington Streets about 38½ feet above high-water mark, to Chatham Street, New York, near the City Hall, about 61½ feet above high-water mark. When afterwards permission was obtained from the United States Government to put a suspension-bridge across the river, that permission stipulated that the channel of the river should not be interfered with in any way, and that the highest part of the Bridge should be at least one hundred and thirty-five feet above high-water mark.
  • Samuel W. Green, A Complete History of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge: From Its Conception in 1866 to Its Completion in 1883. American architectural books (no. 521). New York: S. W. Green's Son. p. 11. 

• ... In 1921, the bridge was a cornerstone image in Paul Strand and Charles Sheeler's cinematic hymn to New York, Manhatta. Subsequently, the bridge has appeared in countless films, from Josef von Sternberg's The Docks of New York (1928) and Raoul Walsh's The Bowery (1933) to such recent blockbusters as The Siege (1998), Godzilla (1998), 8mm (1999), and Kate & Leopold (2001).
  • Richard Haw, The Brooklyn Bridge: A Cultural History. Rutgers University Press. 2005. p. 6. ISBN 0813535875. 

• The Brooklyn Bridge, like that of Niagra, is carried on four main cables. The supports are two huge towers, rising 272 feet above high water. At the river level they measure 140 feet broad by 50 deep, which dimensions decrease to 120×40 feet at the summit. ...
  The most interesting feature of the bridge is the cable work. Each of the four cables, anchored at either end to massive 13-ton plates, embedded in huge masses of masonry, each representing more than 44,000 tons, contains 5296 galvanised steel wires, which were carried separately from tower to tower, and bound up together in a parallel formation into a cylinder 15¾ inches in diameter.
  • Archibald Williams, "Chapter VI. American bridges". The Romance of Modern Engineering Containing Interesting Descriptions in Non-technical Language of the Nile Dam, the Panama Canal, the Tower Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Niagara Falls Power Co, Bermuda Floating Dock, etc. London: Seeley & Company Ltd. 1908. pp. 127–138.  (quote from pp. 129–130)

• For those who do not care to prowl about for the scattered bits of interest or who prefer what Baedeker would call "a magnificent panorama," there are plenty of good points of vantage from which to see whole sections at once, such as the Statue of Liberty or the tops of high buildings, or, obviously, Brooklyn Bridge, which is so very obvious that many Manhattanese would never make use of this opportunity were it not for an occasional out-of-town visitor on their hands. No one ought to be allowed to live in New York City—he ought to be made to live in Brooklyn—who does not go out there and look back at his town once a year. He could look at it every day and get new effects of light and color. Even in sky-line he could find something new almost every week or two.
  • Jesse Lynch Williams, "The Water-Front". New York Sketches. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1902. pp. 1–26.  (quote from p. 12)

The Great Bridge (1972)

• The opening of the "Eighth Wonder of the World, on May 24, 1883, was the biggest celebration New York had seen since the opening of the Erie Canal nearly sixty years before. Some of the Irish were unhappy because the day chosen for the ceremony happened also to be Queen Victoria's birthday, but almost everybody else had a splendid time.
  • David McCullough, The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge. New York: Simon & Schuster. 2001. p. 448. ISBN 0743217373.  (reprint of 1st edition in 1972)

• For nearly fifty years after it was completed the Brooklyn Bridge reigned supreme as the most magnificent, if not technically the largest, suspension bridge on earth. In its initial days as a public thoroughfare it was commonly referred to as "The Eighth Wonder of the World" as it was even greater sensation than anyone had expected. On its first full day, May 25, 1883, a total of 150,300 people crossed on foot and 1,800 vehicles went over carrying an unknown number of others.
  • p. 500 of 2001 edition

• In May of 1884, P. T. Barnum, "in the interest of the dear public," took a herd of twenty-one elephants, including the famous "Jumbo," over the bridge to Brooklyn and thereupon declared that he, too, was now perfectly satisfied as to the solidity of the masterpiece.
  • p. 502 of 2001 edition

External links

• Encyclopedic article on Brooklyn Bridge on Wikipedia
• (January 14, 2023)"Modern Marvels: Building the Brooklyn Bridge (S2,E20) | Full Episdoe". HISTORY, YouTube.