Brooklyn Bridge, New York City
Looking up at the Brooklyn Bridge, New York City on 4th July 2010
To walk the Brooklyn Bridge is to walk on a piece of history. Before the bridge was built, Brooklyn citizens crossed the East River to Manhattan by ferry, or when the river was frozen in the winter, crossed the treacherous ice by carriage. It was decided that a bridge would be built to link the two boroughs. German-born engineer John Roebling was chosen as the bridge’s designer and builder. Originally the bridge was named The New York and Brooklyn Bridge, then became known as The East River Bridge, then finally, The Brooklyn Bridge.
The Roebling family would pay a high price for the honor of building what is one of the most recognizable bridges in the world. While John Roebling surveyed the site for the bridge’s Brooklyn tower, a boat collided onto the wharf where he stood and crushed his foot, necessitating the amputation of his toes. John Roebling died three weeks later from tetanus.
The task of completing John Roebling’s vision was handed to his son, Washington Roebling. Washington would later be stricken with decompression sickness, leaving him partially paralyzed, deaf and nearly blind. Refusing to abandon what was now the family dream, Washington’s wife, Emily Warren Roebling took the reins. Emily studied advanced mathematics, specifications and material strengths under her husband’s tutelage. For the next eleven years, this remarkable and tireless woman supervised the day-to-day construction. Emily relayed her husband‘s instructions while he viewed the progress using binoculars (some claim it was a telescope) from his balcony at home in Brooklyn Heights, it was rumored that she was in fact, the head engineer.
Construction began on January 3, 1870.The first task would be in anchoring the bridge’s towers to the bedrock deep beneath the East River. Giant wooden boxes called caissons, were built on land then towed to the location. The boxes were pressurized with compressed air to keep the water out. Once in place, the floor of the box would be removed, allowing workers to dig up the river’s bottom. Working conditions in the caissons were grueling and unbearable. The combination of cramped working conditions, heat and working at such depths sickened many workers. Added to the deplorable conditions, was what the project physician, Dr. Andrew Smith called “caisson disease.“ As the workers ascended from the compressed air-filled caissons, many workers would suffer from “the bends,“ also known as decompression sickness. Workers were limited to working no more than two hours at a time in the caissons.
The breath-taking spider web pattern of cables was partially accidental. Roebling originally designed the bridge to be six-times stronger than necessary, but the cable supplier for the bridge, contractor J. Lloyd Haigh, substituted inferior quality cable. Discovering the switch too late in the construction process, Roebling calculated that the bridge was only four-times stronger than necessary. It was decided to add an additional 250 cables, including diagonal cables from the towers to the deck.
The completed bridge’s cost totaled $15.5 million.
Length of the bridge’s main span - 5,989 feet, 1.13 miles, and the total length is 6,016 feet, or 1.14 miles long.?Distance of roadbed above water - 135 feet?Height of towers above high water- 276½ feet?Height of towers above roadway - 159 feet?Height of tower arches above roadway - 117 feet
Approximately 27 people died during the 13 years of construction.
The bridge was opened for use on May 24, 1883. Emily Warren Roebling was the first person to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. A plaque on the bridge to commemorate Emily’s accomplishment is inscribed with the words, “Back of every great work we can find the self-sacrificing devotion of a woman.” Born on September 23, 1843 in Cold Spring, NY in Putnam County. Emily Warren Roebling passed away on February 28th, 1903 from stomach cancer at the age of 59. Washington Roebling died on July 21, 1926.
Brooklyn Bridge, New York City
Looking up at the Brooklyn Bridge, New York City on 4th July 2010
To walk the Brooklyn Bridge is to walk on a piece of history. Before the bridge was built, Brooklyn citizens crossed the East River to Manhattan by ferry, or when the river was frozen in the winter, crossed the treacherous ice by carriage. It was decided that a bridge would be built to link the two boroughs. German-born engineer John Roebling was chosen as the bridge’s designer and builder. Originally the bridge was named The New York and Brooklyn Bridge, then became known as The East River Bridge, then finally, The Brooklyn Bridge.
The Roebling family would pay a high price for the honor of building what is one of the most recognizable bridges in the world. While John Roebling surveyed the site for the bridge’s Brooklyn tower, a boat collided onto the wharf where he stood and crushed his foot, necessitating the amputation of his toes. John Roebling died three weeks later from tetanus.
The task of completing John Roebling’s vision was handed to his son, Washington Roebling. Washington would later be stricken with decompression sickness, leaving him partially paralyzed, deaf and nearly blind. Refusing to abandon what was now the family dream, Washington’s wife, Emily Warren Roebling took the reins. Emily studied advanced mathematics, specifications and material strengths under her husband’s tutelage. For the next eleven years, this remarkable and tireless woman supervised the day-to-day construction. Emily relayed her husband‘s instructions while he viewed the progress using binoculars (some claim it was a telescope) from his balcony at home in Brooklyn Heights, it was rumored that she was in fact, the head engineer.
Construction began on January 3, 1870.The first task would be in anchoring the bridge’s towers to the bedrock deep beneath the East River. Giant wooden boxes called caissons, were built on land then towed to the location. The boxes were pressurized with compressed air to keep the water out. Once in place, the floor of the box would be removed, allowing workers to dig up the river’s bottom. Working conditions in the caissons were grueling and unbearable. The combination of cramped working conditions, heat and working at such depths sickened many workers. Added to the deplorable conditions, was what the project physician, Dr. Andrew Smith called “caisson disease.“ As the workers ascended from the compressed air-filled caissons, many workers would suffer from “the bends,“ also known as decompression sickness. Workers were limited to working no more than two hours at a time in the caissons.
The breath-taking spider web pattern of cables was partially accidental. Roebling originally designed the bridge to be six-times stronger than necessary, but the cable supplier for the bridge, contractor J. Lloyd Haigh, substituted inferior quality cable. Discovering the switch too late in the construction process, Roebling calculated that the bridge was only four-times stronger than necessary. It was decided to add an additional 250 cables, including diagonal cables from the towers to the deck.
The completed bridge’s cost totaled $15.5 million.
Length of the bridge’s main span - 5,989 feet, 1.13 miles, and the total length is 6,016 feet, or 1.14 miles long.?Distance of roadbed above water - 135 feet?Height of towers above high water- 276½ feet?Height of towers above roadway - 159 feet?Height of tower arches above roadway - 117 feet
Approximately 27 people died during the 13 years of construction.
The bridge was opened for use on May 24, 1883. Emily Warren Roebling was the first person to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. A plaque on the bridge to commemorate Emily’s accomplishment is inscribed with the words, “Back of every great work we can find the self-sacrificing devotion of a woman.” Born on September 23, 1843 in Cold Spring, NY in Putnam County. Emily Warren Roebling passed away on February 28th, 1903 from stomach cancer at the age of 59. Washington Roebling died on July 21, 1926.
Brooklyn Bridge, New York City
Looking up at the Brooklyn Bridge, New York City on 4th July 2010
To walk the Brooklyn Bridge is to walk on a piece of history. Before the bridge was built, Brooklyn citizens crossed the East River to Manhattan by ferry, or when the river was frozen in the winter, crossed the treacherous ice by carriage. It was decided that a bridge would be built to link the two boroughs. German-born engineer John Roebling was chosen as the bridge’s designer and builder. Originally the bridge was named The New York and Brooklyn Bridge, then became known as The East River Bridge, then finally, The Brooklyn Bridge.
The Roebling family would pay a high price for the honor of building what is one of the most recognizable bridges in the world. While John Roebling surveyed the site for the bridge’s Brooklyn tower, a boat collided onto the wharf where he stood and crushed his foot, necessitating the amputation of his toes. John Roebling died three weeks later from tetanus.
The task of completing John Roebling’s vision was handed to his son, Washington Roebling. Washington would later be stricken with decompression sickness, leaving him partially paralyzed, deaf and nearly blind. Refusing to abandon what was now the family dream, Washington’s wife, Emily Warren Roebling took the reins. Emily studied advanced mathematics, specifications and material strengths under her husband’s tutelage. For the next eleven years, this remarkable and tireless woman supervised the day-to-day construction. Emily relayed her husband‘s instructions while he viewed the progress using binoculars (some claim it was a telescope) from his balcony at home in Brooklyn Heights, it was rumored that she was in fact, the head engineer.
Construction began on January 3, 1870.The first task would be in anchoring the bridge’s towers to the bedrock deep beneath the East River. Giant wooden boxes called caissons, were built on land then towed to the location. The boxes were pressurized with compressed air to keep the water out. Once in place, the floor of the box would be removed, allowing workers to dig up the river’s bottom. Working conditions in the caissons were grueling and unbearable. The combination of cramped working conditions, heat and working at such depths sickened many workers. Added to the deplorable conditions, was what the project physician, Dr. Andrew Smith called “caisson disease.“ As the workers ascended from the compressed air-filled caissons, many workers would suffer from “the bends,“ also known as decompression sickness. Workers were limited to working no more than two hours at a time in the caissons.
The breath-taking spider web pattern of cables was partially accidental. Roebling originally designed the bridge to be six-times stronger than necessary, but the cable supplier for the bridge, contractor J. Lloyd Haigh, substituted inferior quality cable. Discovering the switch too late in the construction process, Roebling calculated that the bridge was only four-times stronger than necessary. It was decided to add an additional 250 cables, including diagonal cables from the towers to the deck.
The completed bridge’s cost totaled $15.5 million.
Length of the bridge’s main span - 5,989 feet, 1.13 miles, and the total length is 6,016 feet, or 1.14 miles long.?Distance of roadbed above water - 135 feet?Height of towers above high water- 276½ feet?Height of towers above roadway - 159 feet?Height of tower arches above roadway - 117 feet
Approximately 27 people died during the 13 years of construction.
The bridge was opened for use on May 24, 1883. Emily Warren Roebling was the first person to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. A plaque on the bridge to commemorate Emily’s accomplishment is inscribed with the words, “Back of every great work we can find the self-sacrificing devotion of a woman.” Born on September 23, 1843 in Cold Spring, NY in Putnam County. Emily Warren Roebling passed away on February 28th, 1903 from stomach cancer at the age of 59. Washington Roebling died on July 21, 1926.
