|
top of page
Brooklyn Bridge History continued...
In 1865, a man named John Roebling proposed the idea of a suspension bridge over the East River. Roebling had become impatient with the Atlantic Avenue-Fulton Street Ferry. Roebling, who was the owner of a wire rope company and a famous bridge designer, had already come up with a plan and a design for the bridge. With its massive granite towers and its four steel cables, Roebling figured that the bridge had the potential to become a national monument and a work of art.
Roebling was already seasoned in the suspension bridge business. He had worked on several major suspension bridges in the United States. The Delaware Aqueduct, which spans between Lackawwaxen, Pennsylvania and Minisink Ford, New York, was the first project that Roebling worked on. Completed in 1848, it remains the oldest surviving suspension bridge in America. Roebling then worked on the Niagara Suspension Bridge. Opening in 1855, the bridge served rail and carriage traffic until it was replaced with a stronger version in 1891. Roebling then worked on the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge. This bridge opened in 1867 and was strengthened in the 1890's with the addition of a steel deck truss, and remains in service today.
At first, Roebling's proposal for a “Brooklyn Bridge” was met with little enthusiasm. The governments of New York and Brooklyn showed little interest in the project. This is the point in Brooklyn Bridge history where William C. Kingsley got involved. Kingsley was a Brooklyn businessman and the publisher of the Brooklyn Eagle. Kingsley was very enthusiastic about the project and so, enlisted the help of Henry Murphy. Murphy was a state senator and the former mayor of Brooklyn. With the help of Kingsley and Roebling, Murphy drafted a bill to the New York State Legislature that would enable a private company to build a bridge connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn.
Then, in 1867, a group of prominent businessmen formed the New York Bridge Company. Their sole purpose was to oversee the construction and maintenance of a bridge crossing the East River. Under the enabling act, the city of Brooklyn, which stood to benefit the most from the bridge, subscribed for $3 million of the capital stock. The city of New York only subscribed for $1.5 million. The company was also allowed to set up tolls for all types of traffic, including pedestrians. The profit from these tolls could not exceed 15 percent per year.
Then, in 1869, Roebling's design was approved by the New York City Council and the Army Corps of Engineers. Then, tragedy struck. While searching for a location for the Brooklyn tower site, Roebling's foot was crushed on a pier by an incoming ferry. Later, Roebling tragically died of tetanus that resulted from the injury. He never got to see his “work of art” completed. Washington, John Roebling's son, immediately took over as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Ground was broken for the Brooklyn Bridge foundations on January 3, 1870. In order to accomplish this, 3,000-ton pneumatic caissons (large, airtight cylinders in which workers cleared away layers of silt in an atmosphere of compressed air underneath the riverbed) were dug 78.5 feet into the ground on the Manhattan side and 44.5 feet into the ground on the Brooklyn side. This marked the first time that dynamite was used in bridge construction. The foundations for the Brooklyn Bridge took three years to construct. Workers inside the caissons led miserable lives. Paid just $2.25 a day, the workers were forced to endure hazardous conditions, including no electricity, telephones or other modern conveniences. Fires, explosions and Caisson disease (caused by changes in air pressure that affect nitrogen levels in the bloodstream) took the lives of 20 men within the caissons. Washington Roebling himself was left paralyzed after an accident within the caissons.
With the help of his remarkable wife Emily, Washington Roebling was able to oversee the Brooklyn Bridge construction from his residence in Brooklyn. Emily had studied higher mathematics and bridge engineering and soon was making daily visits to the site to supervise the crew. Work continued heavily on the Brooklyn Bridge between 1873 and 1877. The 276-foot neo-Gothic granite support towers were built during this time. They were built to withstand strong winds and provide support for rail lines. These massive towers served two very important functions. First, they would bear the weight of the four enormous cables and they would hold the cables and roadway of the bridge high enough so they would not interfere with traffic on the river. Because the two locations linked by the bridge were not located on cliffs, the towers had to be built high enough to provide for what nature could not.
In August of 1876, the two anchorages were linked across the East River for the first time by a wire rope. To commemorate this occasion, and to demonstrate the integrity of the wire rope, master mechanic Farrington crossed the East River on a chair tied to the rope. The two towers were connected by four immense steel cables that were 15 inches in diameter. Smaller wire ropes were strung down to the bridge floor, similar to harp strings. Then, across these wires, smaller wires were hung diagonally down from the towers to various points on the bridge floor. Breaking in tradition, Roebling had introduced steel, which he called “the metal of the future” for the four cables. Up to that point, iron had been used in the construction of suspension bridge cables.
In 1883, with Brooklyn Bridge construction nearing completion, two final details had to be worked out before the bridge could be opened. First, two elaborate terminal buildings, complete with ornate ironwork and plate-glass windows, were to be constructed at the Manhattan and Brooklyn ends of the bridge. Second, 70 blue-white electric arc lamps were to be installed along the promenade at intervals of about 100 feet.
The final result of all the hard work was a bridge that spanned 6,016 feet and cost $15.1 million to build. Even before it was completed, the Brooklyn Bridge became a symbol of the greatness of New York and the ingenuity of America. In 1884, in order to demonstrate the safety of the bridge, P.T. Barnum led a herd of 21 elephants across.
The Brooklyn Bridge officially opened on May 23, 1883. President Chester Arthur and Governor Grover Cleveland dedicated the bridge in front of more than 14,000 guests. Emily Roebling was given the first ride over the completed bridge with a rooster, which was a sign of victory. After the ceremony, anyone with a penny to pay the toll could cross the Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge carried trolley lines, horse-drawn vehicles and even livestock.
Amid this triumphant accomplishment, there was tragedy. On Memorial Day, 1883, a woman tripped while walking up the steps on the Manhattan side of the bridge. Her friend screamed, triggering a rumor that the bridge was about to collapse. In the panic that resulted, 12 people were killed and 35 were injured.
In recent decades, the Brooklyn Bridge has been refurbished to accommodate modern-day traffic needs. The bridge now has six lanes of automobile traffic and serves as a crossing for approximately 145,000 vehicles per day. Even after 120 years, the bridge still has the 44th longest main span among the world's suspension bridges. It was recently designated a National Historic Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
|
