The Brooklyn Bridge

To this day, the Brooklyn Bridge serves to connect Brooklyn, which was third largest city in the world in 1860, and New York. The idea of building the bridge came from a German Engineer named John Roebling. John was inspired to build the Brooklyn Bridge when he experienced a long and cold ferry ride from New York to Brooklyn. John realized the inconvenience the bridge served for many people especially since at the time, around 40% of wage earners in Brooklyn worked in New York. After experiencing the miserable a harsh conditions that many workers have to experience to get to cross the East River, he thought that he should propose a convenient bridge that connects the two major cities. John submitted the bridge ideas in 1857.  

John Roebling though later died while trying to heal from a ferryboat accident. His son, Washington Augustus Roebling, took over the project. With Washington taking over project, construction of the bridge began in 1870.

One of the hardships that occurred during the construction was the emergence of caisson disease.

Workers worked in 2 massive watertight chambers, deep into the river's floor which were called caissons.
Pressurized air was pumped into the caisson to allow underwater construction of the bridge's foundation. This created a low-quality circulation of air.
Often if people worked in the caisson for a period of time, they had a high chance of being infected with caisson disease.

One man out of three quit every week

Washington Roebling also got infected with this disease

           It was reported that Washington became paralyzed from this disease and the nervous condition from overwork and anxiety. Washington's wife, Emily Roebling, became an important asset to the bridge; she delivered Washington's instruction to the workers and took charge of the construction while Washington could only watch the construction from his house in Brooklyn Heights.

Picture of the interior of a caisson during the Brooklyn Bridge construction
Picture from The Brooklyn Bridge They Said It Couldn't Be Built  by Judith St. George

Picture of Washington Roebling viewing the Brooklyn Bridge construction from his home in Brooklyn Heights

Picture from Fine Arts America

Around 20 men died in the 14-year process of building the bridge.

With the dedication of the workers, though, the bridge opened as the Great East River Bridge on May 24, 1883 having 150300 people walking onto it during opening day.

As a result, the Brooklyn Bridge not only serves revolutionary landmark that connects two major cities, but is recognized to "an embodiment of the scientific knowledge of physical laws." (Cadbury 114)

            It was the first steel-cable suspension bridge in the world  

            It was the first bridge to be coated with metal zinc to protect it from rust
            The two 276.5-ft tall towers of the bridge were taller than any NYC building at the time
            It was the world's largest suspension bridge at the time
            Based from the astonishing achievements in the physical outcome, the bridge is claimed to be the "eighth wonder of the world"

With its convenience and amazing physical elements, it is no wonder why people fell in love the bridge



Picture of the Brooklyn Bridge and its surroundings in during the late 1800s

Picture from Brooklyn Museum



Fun Fact: Some people were skeptical about the sturdiness of the bridge since they have never seen such application of physics be done. To prove that the bridge was stable, circus owner P. T. Barnum led 21 elephants over the Brooklyn Bridge on May 17, 1884.