News from The City … The Brooklyn Bridge

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 She takes us to work when subways strike, leads the way home during the Great Black Out, provides a wide walk-way where we can stroll, jog or bike while the river breezes whisper in our ears. She is a lovely lady and it doesn’t matter what day or night you see her, like any other lady, she’ll dazzle you with a new color, another angle and …

Partial Reprint: 10 Most Beautiful Bridges in the World:

In 1855, engineer John Roebling started to design a bridge that at the time would be the longest suspension bridge in the world, with towers being the tallest structures in the Western Hemisphere: the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.

Today, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the main crossings of the East River and one of the most heavily trafficked bridges in the world. But in the late 19th century, it took Roebling more than 14 years to convince the city to build the bridge.

After he got approval, Roebling was surveying a site when his foot was crushed by a ferry. Three weeks before the scheduled groundbreaking, he died of tetanus. His son, an engineer named Washington Roebling took over the project.

In 1872, while working on caissons to set the foundation for the towers, Washington fell ill with caisson disease (a decompression sickness commonly known as “the bends”) that left him barely able to see, talk, or write.

  

Historic record of bridge

His wife, Emily Warren Roebling, rose to the occasion – she learned engineering on the fly and for nine years went to the job site to deliver her husband’s directions. Washington himself was said to watch the construction from his room through a binocular.

When the Brooklyn Bridge was opened, Emily was honored with the first ride over the bridge. She held a rooster, a symbol of victory, in her lap. Washington himself rarely visited the bridge till his death in 1926.

Brooklyn Bridge in winter

One interesting note about the Brooklyn Bridge: it stood fast while other bridges built around the same time had crumbled. Engineers credit Roebling for designing a bridge and truss system six times as strong as he thought it needed to be!

… it has so many different meanings for people who grew up and live in NYC, in particular, Brooklyn. She is a grand piece of our history and considered to be the third most beautiful bridge in the world. (ref.)

Graphic link

Driving or walking across the Brooklyn Bridge you will be hypnotized by the intricate design of her cables, woven like delicate lattice work, by the archways of her giant towers, and the vistas of the rivers, and New York harbor.

fOIS In The City

 

JenG/Pieces of Me