Casey Cronin

The Brooklyn Bridge

Upon its completion in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was declared the longest suspension
bridge in the world. !"ershon, 13#$ %t spanned the &ast 'i(er, at the western end, and connected
the city o) Brooklyn with *anhattan in +ew ,ork City. %t was a testament o) the late nineteenth
century technology.!-nyder,./renier, #0$
Construction o) the bridge began in 18#1 under the super(ision o) 2ohn 'oebling, a
renowned ci(il engineer, who un)ortunately su))ered an accident while sur(eying the site
resulting in his e(ent)ul death. "is son and chie) assistant, 3ashington 'oebling, then assumed
charge. 4n 2anuary 3, 1805 workers broke ground )or the tower on the Brooklyn side!-nyder,.
/renier, 06$.
The building o) the Bridge was not without many drawbacks, howe(er, beginning with
the e7ca(ation o) the bedrock o) the &ast 'i(er. The bedrock pro(ed not so deep )or the caisson
structures used by workers to sink )oundations in the ri(erbed!"ershon, 130$ on the Brooklyn
side but the caisson on the *anhattan side was deeper resulting in a dangerous le(el o) air
compression!Brown, 11$. *any workers who descended into the into the caissons )illed with
the compressed air, su))ered )rom the bends, caused coming out o) the compressed air too
8uickly. !-nyder./renier, 06$ This disease caused se(ere pain and )rom nausea to paralysis to
e(en death )or some workers. %n )act it is this disease that caused 3ashington to become unable
to o(ersee the construction in person. 9etermined to continue to o(ersee the pro:ect!"ershon,
130$ 3ashington, with the help o) his wi)e, &mily, kept watch o) the progress )rom the window
o) his home in Brooklyn "eights. &mily related to the workers all o) his instructions. ;t his
re8uest, &mily became the )irst person to ride across the bridge in a carriage on *ay 6<,
1883!"ershon, 138$ while 3ashington watched )rom his home.
The building o) the bridge was costly, 1=,555,555 dollars, while an engineering mar(el it
resulted in the deaths o) o(er twenty workers and took twel(e years to build. %ts construction was
well chronicled, at the time, by the press, artists, photographers, writers and :ournalists. >ublic
interest in the pro:ect was closely )ollowed. ;t its grand opening on *ay 6<, 1883, in(ited guests
and the leading political )igures, >resident Chester ;. ;rthur, +ew ,ork go(ernor /ro(er
Cle(eland, mayors o) +ew ,ork City and Brooklyn were among those who marched across the
bridge )rom Brooklyn to *anhattan.
>rior to the building o) the bridge, tra(el )rom one side o) the ri(er to the other was by
)erry or pri(ate boats. The bridge as a reliable means o) transportation spurred the economic and
population growth o) Brooklyn and *anhattan. %t changed the character o) the water)ront o) both
boroughs.
The bridge today, a)ter 165 years, as an important means o) transportation, still )unctions
as a (iable and necessary means to the economic and cultural growth o) the city. %t is still (ery
much a part o) +ew ,ork City?s ma:or e(ents. ;s the starting point o) +ew ,ork?s annual
marathon e(ent, hundreds o) entrants cross the bridge to begin their race. %n 6551, a )ire)ighter
)rom Brooklyn ran across the bridge to return to his )irehouse in lower *anhattan to assist in the
rescue o) indi(iduals caught in the carnage o) the destruction 3orld Trade Towers. &ach year
since, hundreds o) citi@ens take place in -eptember in the Bridge to Tower 'un to
commemorate this e(ent. ;s recently as this week in 2uly, (andals replaced the ;merican )lags
)lown on the top o) the bridge with white banners.
The bridge is considered one o) the most beauti)ul bridges built. ;t its opening, it was
considered not only an engineering mar(el, but a work o) art !'obbins and >alit@, =$. Today
the beauty o) the bridge inspired works o) art in e(ery medium )rom poetry to photography,
e(ery crossing becomes an occasion, a brie) brush with greatness !'obbins and >alit@, 6<$.
3orks Cited
-nyder./renier, &llen *. Brooklyn!: An Illustrated History. >hiladelphiaA Temple U>,
111#. >rint.
Bnutsen, Chris, Calerie -teiker, and 2oanna "ershon. Brooklyn Was Mine. +ew ,orkA
'i(erhead, 6558. >rint.
Brown, 9a(id 2. Bridges. +ew ,orkA *acmillan, 1113. >rint
'obbins, *ichael 3., and 3endy >alit@. Brooklyn: A State of Mind. +ew ,orkA 3orkman
>ub., 6551. >rint.