The Brooklyn Bridge, completed in 1883, was a crowning achievement in New York City history. The bridge has placed itself as a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service and a New York City Landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The Brooklyn Bridge was the first bridge in history to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn together. It took 14 years to build the bridge which cost close to 15 million dollars. The Brooklyn Bridge is called the “Eighth Wonder of the World” and is a top attraction for tourists visiting New York City. The bridge spans the East River between Brooklyn and Manhattan and stretches for a length of 5989 ft., about 1.8 km. The span measures 1595.5 ft. The bridge was the world’s largest suspension bridge.

John A. Roebling was a civil engineer who designed the Brooklyn Bridge in the early 1800’s. Even though he came up with the design he never got to see the bridge because he died after crushing his foot in an accident on the bridge.  Roebling learned how to build suspension bridges such as the “Brooklyn Bridge” when he was trained as an engineer at Berlin’s Royal Polytechnic Institute. In 1866 a company called “The New York Bridge Company” was founded and they hired John as a chief engineer. He planned the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge, as they called it at the time and told them to make the bridge with newly available steel wire, which would allow the bridge to be larger, stronger, and longer than any bridge to be built yet. He was not the only one that died during the construction in total twenty people died during the construction. When John died his son Washington Roebling took after the leadership of the plan of the bridge. But from working on the pillars of the bridge he suffered from caisson-disease and was on his deathbed on the day of the opening of the “Brooklyn Bridge”.

The Brooklyn Bridge was needed in the early 1800’s because at the time New York City consisted only of Manhattan with about 400,000 residents, twice as many residents as there are today. So the solution they came up with was to develop Brooklyn and people and goods could cross the East River quickly, regardless of weather conditions. This was not the first time building a bridge over the East River was talked about, it was talked about as long as anyone can remember, but nothing was done until the 1800’s.        The bridge had two central purposes which were to bear the weight of four immense cables, and they would hold both the cables and the roadway of the bridge high enough so they would not interfere with traffic on the river. The bridge was designed to have a load capacity of 18,700 tons. They designed two elevated railroad tracks, which were connected to elevated railroad systems in New York and Brooklyn, down to the center of the bridge. On the other side, they designed four lanes, two lanes on two outer roadways. To be used for carriages and horseback riders. Right over the track they provided an elevated promenade for pedestrians and bicyclists. After 15 years it helped unite Brooklyn and Manhattan, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island to form a larger New York. When the Brooklyn Bridge first opened, it cost a penny to cross by foot, 5 cents for a horse and rider and 10 cents for a horse and wagon. The Brooklyn Bridge served as an important landmark for New York City and added character. It allowed people to travel from Brooklyn to Manhattan in a very fast and convenient way. It allowed Manhattan to be a very attracted tourist area and as well Brooklyn. It allowed cars, horses, carriages, etc. to travel using the bridge at a cheap rate at the time. The footpath of the bridge allowed you to cross the river in peace by not being bothered by the traffic on the lower life and also offered a great view of the downtown Manhattan Skyline.

The Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time. . The bridge spans the East River between Brooklyn and Manhattan and stretches for a length of 5989 ft., about 1.8 km. The bridge remained the longest suspension until 1903 when the Williams burg Bridge overhauls it by 4.5 ft. On May 24, 1883, the opening ceremony of the bridge was described as “the greatest gala day in the history of that moral suburb. The wife of John A. Roebling was given the first ride over the bridge which represented a symbol of victory for her. As soon as the bridge opened 150,000 people poured the bridge. It carried trolley lines, horse-drawn vehicles, and livestock on its opening day. A week after the bridge opened a tragic attack happened on Memorial Day, 20,000 people died in a panic attack which said that the bridge was about to collapse. The bridge inspired more art than another other man made structure in the United States. The towers of the bridge made the bridge become a national monument in 1964.

The Brooklyn Bridge, completed in 1883, was a crowning achievement in New York City history. The Brooklyn Bridge has many historical values behind it and serves an important factor for people back then. It allowed them to get from Manhattan and Brooklyn in a beneficial way. It was more expensive o use the bridge then it was today. Today the bridge is free to use thanks to New York Mayor William J. Gaynor in 1911, when he said “I see no more reason for toll gates on the bridges than for toll gates on Fifth Avenue or Broadway.”

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“Brooklyn Bridge.” Brooklyn Bridge. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/brooklyn/>.

“Brooklyn Bridge.” , New York City. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/brooklynbridge.htm>.

“Today in History.” : June 12. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jun12.html>.

“Infrastructure.” NYC DOT. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/brooklyn-bridge.shtml>.

“10 Things You May Not Know About the Brooklyn Bridge.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 23 May 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-brooklyn-bridge>.