El 24 de mayo de 1983, el puente de Brooklyn estuvo cerrado al tráfico todo el día
La ciudad de Nueva York celebró una fiesta de cumpleaños de tres millones de dólares para celebrar el centenario de su puente más antiguo y famoso
Sin embargo, incluso esa exhibición no podía igualar el triunfo del 24 de mayo de 1883 cuando el puente se abrió por primera vez, uniendo
las ciudades independientes de Brooklyn y Nueva York
Las escuelas y las tiendas se cerraron porque baya Seth Low, que más tarde se convirtió en el primer alcalde de la ciudad de Nueva York combinado
Declaró que era un feriado, era un feriado de la ciudad y Brooklyn estaba muy orgulloso de este puente
Al superar la separación geográfica entre Brooklyn y Manhattan
El puente de Brooklyn condujo a la fusión de 1898 que creó una mayor, Nueva York
Antes del puente, Brooklyn había sido una comunidad rural a pesar de que tenía la tercera población más grande del país.
Viviendas baratas llevaron a la gente a establecerse allí, pero todos los trabajos estaban al otro lado del East River en el próspero centro de negocios de Nueva York
En 1868 había más de 50 millones de viajeros al año
tiene que haber una
Demanda del servicio de un puente, en ese momento Nueva York y Brooklyn
estaban creciendo muy rapidamente
pero
la única forma de cruzar era en ferry, que no era un sistema muy confiable cuando el rió se congelaba o
cuando habían tormentas u otras cosas
Desde principios de la década de 1800, Brooklyn había querido un transporte más seguro y confiable a Nueva York
Pero los obstáculos físicos parecían insuperables: un puente sobre el East River tendría más de una milla de largo
más del doble de largo que cualquier puente existente, tendría que ser
Excepcionalmente fuerte porque el East River es en realidad un canal de agua salada turbulento
levantandose con las mareas del Océano Atlántico
Finalmente, el puente tendría que ser lo suficientemente alto como para permitir que los buques oceánicos pasen por debajo
Tal puente parecía imposible de construir, pero no para John Roebling
Durante el invierno de 1852
Roebling un ingeniero civil fue varado a bordo de un ferry obstruido en el East River
Esa experiencia encendió su determinación de construir un puente sobre el río
45 años antes John Roebling había nacido en Mulhouse en Alemania
Poseyendo una brillante mente analítica fue al Instituto Politécnico de Berlín donde estudió matemáticas.
arquitectura e hidráulica
A los 25 años John Roebling navegó a Pennsylvania para fundar una comunidad de inmigrantes alemanes
Se casó con Johanna Hurting otro colono
Roebling llamó a su ciudad saxonburg y la vio como una especie de utopía
También se veía a sí mismo como una especie de granjero
Pero sus habilidades como erudito y científico no eran aptas para la agricultura y la agricultura iba mal
En 1837, Roebling se convirtió en ciudadano estadounidense
pero se mantuvo personal y profesionalmente incumplido
un visionario que aún no había encontrado su único y verdadero llamado
Volvió a la ingeniería y se convirtió en constructor de esclusas de río y estudiante de metales en el oeste de Pensilvania.
Donde las industrias de hierro y acero de la nación estaban comenzando a existir
allí estudió el ferrocarril portage un sistema para transportar barcos de canal sobre las montañas Allegheny
Roebling no estaba satisfecho con los cables de cáñamo utilizados para remolcar barcos en el ferrocarril portage
Las cuerdas se desgastaban rápidamente o se rompian a veces con resultados fatales
Roebling se puso a trabajar en una solución
Su laboratorio era el prado detrás de la iglesia en saxenburg
Allí pasó el verano de 1841 empalmando y enrollando alambre de hierro en un cable de 600 pies de largo
El cable de hierro de Roebling se convirtió en una mina de oro
Las órdenes fluian desde los fabricantes de sistemas de canales ,de equipos de dragado y minas de carbón
Todas las tecnologías en evolución que remodelarían y redefinirían
America
En 1844 Roebling ganó su primera Comisión real como ingeniero
Nueve meses después. Entregó el primer acueducto de suspensión del mundo sobre el río Allegheny de Pittsburgh
el acueducto sostenía 2.000 toneladas de agua sobre las cuales flotaba una procesión de barcazas del canal
En 1850, Roebling había construido seis estructuras suspendidas, cada una dependía del cable de roebling
Ahora producido por su propia fábrica en Trenton, Nueva Jersey
De 1851 a 1853
roebling estaba sumido en la construcción de un puente colgante sobre la desalentadora garganta de Niágara
Este puente demostró que una estructura ligera de suspensión podría soportar el peso pesado de un ferrocarril
Roeling se convirtió en el mejor constructor de puentes de su época
His passion for the suspension structure led to its preeminence in America
Today, there are more suspension bridges in the United States than in all the rest of the world
The appeal of suspension bridges lies in their ability to span great distances without intermediate piers
They also require less material than other bridges
Prior to Roebling suspension bridges were out of favor because so many had collapsed
But roebling's bridges never fell due to his scrupulous attention to detail
He was successful at building the bridges because he was
He was a great innovator, but he did it very carefully
He did
dramatic things
But he did them meticulously
He did not
Jump off onto something that he did not think thoroughly and carefully
after
Niagara Roebling designed the Cincinnati Covington bridge which became the world's longest bridge when completed under the supervision of
John Roebling son, Washington in
1867
by then John Roebling was struggling with severe depression a
reaction to Abraham Lincoln's assassination and the death of his own wife Johanna his chief comforts were the
Seances at which he summoned Johannes spirit along with those of other departed family members
The one bright ray to penetrate roebling's gloom was his plan for an East River bridge
He claimed it would be the greatest engineering work of the continent and the age
Roebling envisioned a bridge with one central span held aloft by four cables strung from two towers
the cables were secured to masonry Anchorage's
Seven stories high and as large as a city block one anchorage on each shore
The bridge would be dominated by
268 foot high twin towers each
Would contain two glorious gothic arches over
100 feet high shaped like elongated
cathedral windows
The
structure
Has a very sacred feeling to it the sacred dimension to it essentially because it was built in a very Gothic style
That was influenced by I believe the structure of churches
Roebling designed a two-level bridge
The lower level was for vehicles. The top level was for pedestrians
Even today no other bridge in the world has anything like it?
In this case, no one asked Roebling to build a bridge. He wanted to build that bridge
he felt it was needed there and his type of bridge would be the most practical maybe the only practical way to do it and
so he actually
Came to New York and promoted the bridge
Responding to roebling's passion the state government in Albany chartered the New York Bridge Company in December
1867
Appointed chief engineer John Roebling, but his project was immediately stalled by objections
Roebling's most challenged innovation was his plan to use steel rather than iron cables
Roebling felt steel would provide strongest support but no bridge had ever been made of steel and
Roebling for all his fame and brilliance was bitterly derided
At 63 John Roebling was fed up with opposition
The Union Pacific was completing a railroad to connect towns and cities from coast to coast
Roebling saw his new bridge as the final link in the same
transcontinental chain
the eastern outpost of manifest destiny in granite and steel
It was galling that the biggest challenge to roebling's vision of america came from its own congress
Roebling had to meet federal requirements or the work that should rightfully be his noblest or most exalted
contribution to the thriving industrial age
Would be doomed
The most strident critics of the Brooklyn Bridge were leveled by John Roebling with one brilliant stroke
Roebling the bridges designer led his adversaries on a triumphant tour of his previous triumphs the critics caved in On
June 21st
1869
Congress granted Roebling the right to build the Brooklyn Bridge
Roebling's plan called for five phases of construction
First two massive empty boxes known as caissons will be sunk to the bottom of the East River and filled with concrete
The caissons would become the foundations for the second stage
Erecting the bridges twin towers in the third phase two limestone and concrete Anchorage's would be built on shore
one in Brooklyn the other in New York
The fourth stage of suspension bridge construction was the spinning of cables from one anchorage across the tops of the towers
to the anchorage on the other shore
Finally the cables would support a framework on which would rest the bridges roadway
While he designed the bridge roebling's closest confidant was his son Washington his partner in the bridge project
Washington's training as an engineer began at 17 when his domineering father packed him off to Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute in Troy, New York
Washington was working at the family wire mill in Trenton when the Civil War broke out next morning. He enlisted
That wartime experience gave him confidence in his ability to lead
He became a colonel on the staff of General G K Warren
He fell in love with Warren's sister Emily and grew a beard to pleasing
to Washington's surprise his difficult father liked Emily and
Appreciated her intelligence and devotion
Qualities that would prove essential in the battles to complete the Brooklyn Bridge
Washington and Emily were married in January
1865 after Washington resigned from the Army their only child John was born in 1868
If Washington lacked his father's genius. He was just as much a perfectionist as an engineer
Both roebling's began work on the bridge three days after they received the go-ahead from Congress
They went to the Fulton ferry slip to survey the site of the Brooklyn Tower
John Roebling marched about bellowing calculations
When he reached the edge of the ferry slip he stumbled into some debris and imprisoned his right foot
Just then a ferry smashed against the slip crushing roebling's trapped toes
He continued shouting orders until he passed out
Ironically iron John Roebling became a victim of the ferries. He was trying to eliminate
Washington rushed his father to a doctor who amputated the toes without anesthetic by roebling's request
Roebling then fired the doctor and stubbornly treated his foot with water only believing water was nature's own remedy
He had a very dangerous situation with his toes. He had a mutated
He was going to bathe them in hot water and that would cure the toes gangrene set in and tetanus eventually sat in
Roebling had committed a typically headstrong act this time. It was a hideous mistake
Had Roebling obeyed the doctor's orders. He would have lived instead. He died of tetanus three weeks after the accident
Following the biggest funeral in Trenton history, John Roebling was buried near the wire Empire he founded
Flags flew at half-mast all over Brooklyn how would the bridge be built without John Roebling its guiding genius?
Only one man was equipped for the challenge, but he would be taking on a gargantuan task. That would nearly kill him - a
Month after John roebling's death his 32 year old son. Washington was made chief engineer
Except for some bridges he built for the Union Army
Washington had never been in charge alone
Now he would be trusted to implement every untested step of his father's vision. He was bound to make mistakes
Because the Brooklyn Bridge design was so revolutionary there were no precedents to follow
without his perseverance
Washington would have been lost
But it was his willingness to work side by side with his men that would prove essential in the first stage of the construction process
the sinking of the pneumatic caissons
The danger of this work could not be underestimated
Washington had studied caissons
but never used them it would take three years and as many as a dozen deaths before the caissons were securely in place on
May 3rd 1870 the Brooklyn caisson was towed to its site
It cost over
$100,000 and weighed 3,000 tons, or
1,000 tons more than the biggest clipper ship of the era
Designed to serve as the foundation for the bridges massive towers the caissons were enormous iron
reinforced wooden boxes open at the bottom
First the caissons would be sunk to the muddy riverbed
But in order to support the tremendous load of the towers the caissons would need to descend further
Beneath the river bed all the way down to the bedrock of the river bottom
The back-breaking work of excavating the mud and rock was laid upon hundred of low paid laborers
Workers entered the caisson through an airlock built into its roof
From there, they descended by elevator and ladder into the pressurized working chamber at the bottom of the caisson
Along the rim of the caissons open base was a cutting edge
the cutting edge was designed to pierce the mud through which the caisson descended as
Mud seeped into the working chambers the men shoveled it into wheelbarrows the more mud
They excavated and shoveled the deeper. The caisson would sink
The men placed the excavated material in pits at the base of two watersheds
The material was hauled up and out by dredge buckets dropped down from above
This process of digging would continue until the caisson reached the bedrock of the river bottom
Life in the caisson was brutal men had to perform hard labor in unbearable heat
Anywhere from 80 to a hundred degrees fahrenheit
They could barely see what they were digging because any light except the dim calcium lamps would have been too flammable
- most laborers the working chambers with their deep shadows and confusing noises resembled Dante's Inferno
The job drew even harder when the caisson encountered boulders at 20 feet below sea level
The boulders were so thick the caisson seemed and trapped
Washington knew there was only one solution
blast the boulders
Despite the risk to the caissons pressurized air
After extensive tests, Washington discovered blasting could be done safely with rifle powder
Excavation speeded up, but the work grew more unnerving
worst of all were blowouts
Loud terrifying explosions caused by changes in air pressure
The so called great blowout
Occurred one Sunday when an explosion shot mud and rocks 50 feet into the air
Miraculously there were no injuries because Washington led his men take Sundays off
No, one had been inside the caisson
The men escaped this disaster, but still feared being suffocated crushed and drowned
it took
264 workers to man the caisson shifts yet. The work was so dreaded that 100 men quit each week
the workers Irish German and Italian
immigrants were quickly replaced by other immigrants more willing to endure the
terrors of the caisson for a steady salary of $2 a day
Yet the biggest threat to health was the mysterious malady known as caisson disease or the bends
symptoms included vomiting
excruciating cramps and paralysis as
Scuba divers and astronauts who breathe pressurized air are taught today. The bends are caused by excessively rapid decompression
This releases nitrogen blockages into the bloodstream
preventing oxygen from reaching body tissue
tragically no one in the 1870s knew what caused the bends as
Many as one-third of the caisson workers were severely stricken by this affliction
The more quickly a man emerged from prolonged stays at great depth the greater the risk
Which made Washington Roebling who always worked alongside his men a prime candidate for the disease
Washington suffered his first attack of the bends the night of September 28
1869
Fire erupted in the caisson it was detected only after it burned through the roof
Washington arrived right away, but by 5:00 a.m. The next morning the fire seemed over
Moments later after 20 hours in the caisson
Washington collapsed and was rushed through the airlock
Reaching the surface he doubled over in agony. He was rushed home and recovered for now
When fire was discovered again at 8:00 a.m
Washington took no chances and ordered the Brooklyn caisson flooded for two days
repairs set the project back three months, but by mid March
1871 after a ten-month descent the Brooklyn caisson finally reached bedrock at 45 feet
The New York caisson was launched on May 8
1871
It encountered no boulders
instead Washington faced a new problem
endless sand
How long would it be before this case on reached bedrock?
by late April
Almost a year after launching. The caisson was seventy feet below sea level and still descending
At this great depth most of the men suffered severely from the bends
Washington reduced the eight-hour work shift to five hours, but it did no good
three men died of a disease the following week
These were only the recorded deaths
Caisson workers believed there were more on May 8th
1872 the entire case on force went on strike
Yet three days later most men returned
already feeling the pinch of poverty and lured by a raise to two dollars and 75 cents a day a
tax of the bends increased
Washington Roebling now feared it would take another year
Another million dollars and another hundred lives before the New York caisson reached bedrock on
May 18 three more men died of the bends
That same day
Washington ordered the digging to stop
The New York caisson would rest forever at a depth of 78 and 1/2 feet on a bed of sand
The decision was less of a gamble than many believed
the sand here was crusted solid hard enough to batter iron tools a
Few nights later after inspecting the concrete poured into the caisson
washington collapsed again from the bends
For several days, he lay near death
But he survived by sheer will and went back to work where he endured new attacks
Every week until the caisson was finally finished
Washington never regained his health
He withdrew to the Roebling home base in Trenton a permanent invalid
He suffered savage headaches and pains. His eyesight was too dim for him to read or write
Hounded by visions of his own death, he would not return to the bridge during its construction
Meanwhile work on the bridge continued a
trusted guardian angel kept the project moving according to Washington's plans a
guardian angel named Emily Roebling
It took four years to build each of the strong massive towers of the Brooklyn Bridge
beginning in 1871
Granite blocks from 20 quarries arrived by boat at the tower docks
Steam-powered Derrick's hoisted the blocks onto land and pulleys hauled them into their final position
Vertical wooden tracks along the sides of the towers supported each stone as it made its ascent
The huge towers were 59 feet wide and a hundred and forty feet long
by June 1st
1872 when the Brooklyn Tower was 100 feet high
It was still far broader than it was tall yet in dwarfed every building in sight
The sheer height of the towers made the work hazardous
four men died from being crushed by falling stone
Five others were killed in falls from the towers
The biggest problem of workers on top of the towers was signaling to the men below who ran the hoisting engines
It was too windy for shouting
fog made flag signals impossible and
signal bells often broke down
Men looking over the edge struggled not to be thrown off balance by sudden gusts of wind
Despite the absence of the chief engineer. The Brooklyn Tower was finished in June
1875 the New York Tower was ready in July
1876
standing
276 and 1/2 feet high more than eight feet taller than John Roebling had projected the Twin Towers
Dominated the skyline
Their glory could only be imagined by Washington Roebling on his sickbed in Trenton
Not all his symptoms were caused by the bends his nervous system had been shattered by overwork and anxiety
Unable to read write or tolerate visitors. He was still in constant touch with his assistants
Thanks to the vigilance of his wife Emily
From 1873 to
1883 all of Washington's letters charts and designs were written by Emily
She must have had a strong role in the work that was the way that the work was being done and
She was a very important part of getting the bridge built it's unlikely that if
After Washington Roebling was
incapacitated
That that bridge that he could have finished that bridge without her
With Emily's help Washington in Trenton oversaw, the construction of the bridges Anchorage's
The Anchorage's looked like stumpy towers with the same Derrick's and pulleys on top
Deep in their interior were four iron plates each weighing 23 tons
Attached to the plates were a series of iron bars
Curving upward through the masonry ready to anchor the ends of the bridges four main cables
With the towers and Anchorage's complete in
1876
workmen prepared the first traveler rode a
6,800 foot long loop of steel. No thicker than a man's thumb
The traveler would extend over the towers and be secured at each Anchorage
Its purpose was to halt the cable wires and spinning equipment back and forth
At 3:30 p.m. August 14
1876
Six thousand people watched and cheered as the traveler was hung
New York and Brooklyn were finally physically connected by a single loop of Steel
the Brooklyn Eagle ran the ecstatic headline
wetted the New York Herald playing hard-to-get said it was only an engagement as yet a
Telegram announcing the travellers success was sent from the bridge to Washington Roebling in Trenton
The sender was Frank Farrington
Farrington was the master mechanic and
in
1876
they decided that he was going to
Cross the bridge and become the first person really to go from one tower to the other on
August 25th, Farrington was strapped into a bosons chair looked to the traveler
Which was shunted from Brooklyn to New York by steam-powered pulleys
Halfway through his 22 minute ride, the 60 year-old Farrington made a gallant gesture
He took this safety rope away and stood up on the swing and waved to people with his hat
And then he sat down again, and I don't think he put his safety belt on
But he sat down again and blew kisses to the crowds down below
The main reason for Farrington x' ride was to demonstrate the safety of the traveler to untrained workmen
Unable to find experienced bridge builders
Farrington had hired sailors who were at least used to working at great heights
One of their first tasks was to construct a 48 inch wide temporary footbridge that hung between both towers
The flimsy footbridge was intended for the workmen, but it became a huge tourist attraction
Thousands of ordinary visitors got passes to cross the river by foot bridge
Some founded a harrowing experience
But amazingly no one was hurt if tourists were thrilled to be part of the bridge
Washington Roebling was tormented to be in Trenton now that his dream was becoming a reality
Throughout four years of agonizing pain. He had not once seen the bridge he lost his health to create
But now the cable spinning was about to begin
Cabling the work. He liked best would make this a real bridge at last and Washington Roebling could no longer see
In October
1876
Washington and Emily Roebling returned to Brooklyn by boat
Washington was too frail to go to the site
his view of the bridge was limited to the range of his binoculars as he peered from the window of his new house a
half-mile from the Brooklyn Bridge
although housebound
Washington continued to manage the building of the bridge thanks to his direct link to the construction process Emily
Once
Washington was incapacitated and unable to personally go to oversee the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge
She would go to the bridge for him and he would simply watch the construction from his window
Which I believe was situated somewhere over here in Brooklyn Heights
Where he and she would go actually to the site and bring his orders to the workers so that the bridge could be completed
With Emily at his side
Washington supervised the spinning of the bridges cables
The process was called spinning because of wheel as in spinning wheel carried the wire back and forth across the river
as it looks as if it's being spun, there's a wheel that carries the the wire is the cross and
the wheel turns
but the wires are straight they're all parallel wires, and they
they picked up at one end brought over to the other end taken off and put on the anchors a
Compressed bundle of 282 parallel wires was called a strand
There were 19 strands or 3,500 miles of wire in each of the bridges for cables
Fastening the strands to the anchor bars was the most dangerous part of cabling because of the 75 tons strain on each strand
On June 14
1878 Frank Farrington and four others were attaching a strand at the New York Anchorage when a steel rope holding the Strand
snapped
It killed one man instantly and flung another who later died 80 feet into the yard
Newspapers blamed Washington because the rope was a Roebling product, but the rope was not effective
However, defective metal was used on the bridge. It was supplied by a Brooklyn wire maker J
Lloyd Hey who manufactured all of the seven million pounds of wire in the strands
in July
1878 Washington announced that hay had bribed inspectors and replaced good wire with bad
Fortunately, the bridge was designed to be six times stronger than needed
Washington felt it was still safe, but he insisted that hay supply good wire to make up for the bad wires already in place
They agreed and was never penalized for this fraud
Washington had to accept that his one-man rule had ended in
1874 when the bridge was redefined as a public work run by a Board of Trustees
Construction costs were paid by the city of Brooklyn and not paid by the city of New York. Which by mid
1877 owned half a million dollars to the bridge
Claiming the bridge was unsafe New York shrugged and said so suus
The bridge trustees had no choice in the fall of 1878
They ran out of money and filed suit the courts forced New York to pay up in May the following year
Meanwhile building continued but moved slowly due to bureaucratic delays in
1879 steel suspenders were hung from the cables
It would be another two years before the 8,000 pound steel floor beams were all in place
So little work had remained yet. It had taken so much time
deliveries of supplies were way overdue perhaps because payments were -
It took all of Emily roebling's tact to keep the project moving
Possibly her greatest skill was able to
Calm people's emotions
Whenever there was some turmoil coming in should go over and talk to them make them feel good that sort of diplomacy
Years later Emily told her son, John
I have more brains common sense and know-how generally than any two engineers a civil or
uncivil that I have ever met and
But for me, the Brooklyn Bridge would never have had the name Roebling in any way connected with it
Emily's high visibility led to gossip that her husband was a bit crazy unable to speak and had lost his grip. This was untrue
Washington was very much in his right mind
As always that mind was on the bridge in late 1881
Washington asked the trustees for another thousand tons of steel to stiffen the roadway an
Uproar ensued the bridge had cost thirteen million five hundred thousand dollars more than twice the original estimate
Washington's request seemed outrageous even to engineers. In fact well into the 20th century
Engineers were still trying to economize on steel and we're building unstable bridges
This was illustrated in 1940 when a 45 mile an hour wind
Lifted the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington state to its dramatic
destruction
History proved, Washington, right
Without more steel the bridges roadway would not have been stiff enough to carry the automotive traffic that arrived in the next century
But in 1881 additional costs were intolerable to trustees who had no loyalty to Washington Roebling
Half the board had never seen him. None had seen him in the past eight years
His sanity was viciously attacked
Washington roebling's job was in jeopardy
Never before had so many powerful people including the mayors of New York and Brooklyn saw his exit from the project
By 1882
Washington roebling's 13-year battle to build his bridge had wrecked his health sapped his energy
Slandered his reputation made him a recluse and the Brooklyn Bridge still wasn't finished
But the roadway was in place and in June the state legislature ordered New York and Brooklyn
To pay whatever it cost to complete the bridge as Washington requested
But the political candidates on the Board of Trustees wanted to win votes by having the bridge open before the upcoming election
They required Washington to appear before them to be admonished
He refused he wrote the trustees that the bridge wouldn't be ready until
1883
Then he and Emily left town for their first vacation in five years. They went to Newport, Rhode Island
Seth lo the mayor of Brooklyn was outraged if Washington Roebling couldn't or wouldn't
Open the bridge this year why not get rid of him
in July
1882 seth lo arrived at Washington's home in Newport
unexpected unwelcome and certainly uninvited
With no authority except his own ambition. Lo demanded Washington's resignation as chief engineer
Washington said the trustees would have to fire him Seth lo said they'd try
New York Mayor William Gray supported mayor Lowe's
Resolution to replace Washington for once the mayors of New York and Brooklyn agreed on a matter concerning the bridge
Had the trustees voted then Washington would have lost but they waited
Emily anxiously sought allies to spread the word that no one on Washington's loyal staff would agree to replace him
Washington Roebling didn't care about allies. He told a reporter the trustees would say anything to serve their political careers in
September by a vote of 10 to 7 Washington Roebling
Wasn't fired
Seth Lowe immediately shifted gears and said he'd hoped Washington would win
Not surprisingly Seth Lowe had a long political career
driven by carriage in 1883
Washington felt well enough to be driven to the half-finished Brooklyn terminal in person
He made his observations from the carriage window and stayed inside the vehicle
By early May Washington was ready to test the effect of a trotting horse on the roadway
Washington gave Emily that on it
As people cheered Emily and her coachman became the first people to cross the Brooklyn Bridge
Inside the carriage emily held a rooster as a symbol of victory
But she was the one who deserved to crow
It had taken more than 14 years nearly 40 lives and over 15 million dollars
But the Brooklyn Bridge opened at last on May 24th 1883
It was decreed. The people's day. The entire city celebrated mankind's capacity for invention
Embodied in this wondrous bridge leading from the limitations of the past to the infinite possibilities of the future
The day began with the parade of
7,000 dignitaries headed by the guest of honor president Chester a Arthur they called him the
Apollo of America here good-looking man in terms of that particular time and everybody turned out to see him
The other interesting person was there was the governor of New York Grover Cleveland who became a later
President and then it came down to this Manhattan inch of the bridge here
Where the president got out and walked across the bridge to meet may assess law of Brooklyn
Afterward over a hundred and fifty thousand people from every walk of life
Were welcomed to stroll across the bridge for the price of a penny apiece
The only person of consequence who stayed away from the bridge was Washington Roebling
He watched the events from the window of his home
But Emily insisted that Washington receive his proper acclaim that afternoon she hosted a private reception
president Arthur
Governor Cleveland and a thousand other guests came to the Roebling home to honor the bridges founding family
through struggle suffering and sacrifice
Washington and Emily Roebling breathed life into the child born of John roebling's genius
Then clothed it in steel and granite to fulfill its destiny as the greatest engineering work of its age
on
May 25th 1883
Washington and Emily left for Newport
within six weeks Washington resigned as chief engineer
He'd invested a full third of his life in building the Brooklyn Bridge. He never wanted to build another
Instead he built Emily the mansion of her dreams in Trenton
She fulfilled another dream when she became a lawyer a few years before her death at the age of 55 in 1903
Washington outlived her by more than 20 years at
84 he took over the Roebling wire Empire
Making it the biggest most prosperous in the world. He stayed on the job until his death five years later in
1926
The bridge that now honors the roebling's achievements stood on its own but it didn't stand alone for long
After the turn of the century, there were three more bridges to Brooklyn and eventually over a dozen tunnels
Yet only the Brooklyn Bridge seems to reach out and communicate a uniquely American
message
Born of the toil struggle and soaring vision spawned into every wire of its web of Steel
the Brooklyn Bridge was a handmade bridge which to me is incredible considering its size and
And its beauty I think it's just classic because of the Gothic
Look of the bridge itself. It's so much a part of New York and
So much a part certainly of Brooklyn and so much a part of America's greatness
It took 14 years to deliver the Brooklyn Bridge
Years that coincide with America's emergence as an industrial leader and a beacon of hope a miracle of timing
Had the bridge been completed seven years before on schedule
It would have lacked the later technology that prepared it for the long cycle of service ahead
Had the bridge been abandoned until the next century
It could not have become a soaring symbol of faith to welcome the great wave of immigrants who came to America
in the 1880s and 90s
In its superb timing as in all its proportions the Brooklyn Bridge forever and twines the solid
Fulfillment of technology with the eternal yearning of the spirit
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