Brooklyn Bridge
History
The
idea for a bridge connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn had been around for decades
before work finally broke ground on the towers of the Brooklyn Bridge in
1870. It would take roughly 27
lives, more than 9 million dollars, and 20 years of planning and construction
before the project would be completed in 1883.[1] John Roebling, the original engineer
who designed the groundbreaking effort, died in 1869 due to complications from
an injury sustained during for the project and had to be replaced by his son,
William Roebling, for the remainder of the project. Many were initially worried about the bridgeís stability, as
12 people were trampled in a riot soon after the bridgeís opening, caused by
hysteria over worries that the bridge might fall. In 1884, P.T. Barnum famously allayed peopleís fears about
the bridge by marching 21 elephants and 17 camels across at once.[2] When the bridge first opened, it was 1
cent to cross on foot and 5 cents for vehicles. Cable cars opened a few months after the bridge opened in
1883, and were electrified in the 1890s.
Impact
The
bridge was immediately an international engineering wonder, bringing fame to
New York City. It brought added
commerce and population to both Brooklyn and Manhattan by linking the two
cities and their hinterlands in a far more efficient manner than ferry service
alone; in the fifteen years following the bridgeís opening, the population of
Brooklyn doubled from 580,000 to more than a million.[3] The trains running across the bridge
became overwhelmed soon after its opening, necessitating the first 24 hour
service for trains in the world.
The increased flow of commuters into Manhattan allowed for more
businesses to reside in lower Manhattan, encouraging a greater concentration of
increasingly taller office buildings.
The opening of the Williamsburg Bridge in 1903 and the Manhattan and
Queensboro bridges in 1909 took some of the burden off of the Brooklyn Bridge. However, foot and automobile traffic to
this day remain heavy, as it is still the most direct connection to Lower
Manhattan from Brooklyn.
1883 View of the Bridge: http://www.railroadextra.com/bbhw04.Html
(accessed 4/28/03)