One of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century, the Brooklyh Bridge opened with fireworks and fanfare on May 24, 1883. It connected New York State’s two largest cities, Brooklyn and Manhattan, which were divided by the East River. Before the bridge was built, the only way to travel from one city to the other was by ferryboat.
The Brooklyn Bridge was conceived by John Roebling, America’s leading engineer. Roebling envisioned a suspension bridge, the first to use steel-wire cables, that would be the longest bridge in the world. Unfortunately, he died of tetanus after a minor injury at the bridge site. His son, Washington Roebling, supervised the actual construction, which began in 1870. First, two great granite towers were sunk into the bed of the East River. Then, large steel cables were draped between the towers. Finally, the bridge roadway was suspended from the cables. The total cost of the project was nine milllion dollars.
The Brooklyn Bridge took 13 years to build. Soon after opening in 1883, it was carrying 33 million people a year between Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Today, Brooklyn and Manhattan are no longer separate cities; they are both boroughs of New York City. But John Roebling’s Brooklyn Bridge still carries millions of travelers between them each year.
Inventions, Travel, New York, 1883, May 24