The Brooklyn Bridge was an amazing accomplishment from both father and son, one did the design and the other finished that construction after the bridge was finished many saw the bridge in many different aspects, many saw the bridge as a death instrument other saw it as one of the wonders of the world. Two stories was first, the crossing of the circus animals, the show he displayed, and the showman’s vision of the bridge. The other was the vision the Roebling family had on the use the Brooklyn Bridge, and what is could help many people. The vision the circus showman had and the Roebling family had were different in some ways but also were similar.
John Augustus Roebling was born June 12, 1806 in Germany. He was a German-born U.S. civil engineer. He was in that time, world’s most trusted bridge builder. John A. Roebling noticed one winter that when the east river froze, there was no way of crossing towards Manhattan. (History)The ferry usually would cross between the two cities trying to make it possible for people to cross. But when it was winter, the river would freeze up and it would be impossible for the ferry to travel. So John A. Roebling noticed a bridge was in need of building , he started designing the building, after a while a bad accident happened and he died shortly after, he died July 22, 1869, in Brooklyn Heights, New York . He died into the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. His son Washington Roebling continued with his dad’s vision. But he later too, got sick with a horrible disease, a disease called “caisson disease.” The term “caisson disease “means a sometimes fatal disorder that is marked by neuralgic pains and paralysis, distress in breathing, and often collapse and that is caused by the release of gas bubbles (as of nitrogen) in tissue upon too rapid decrease in air pressure after a stay in a compressed atmosphere. (Merriam-Webster) This disease left him motionless, he couldn’t walk, so from his building he observed the work and sent his wife, Emily Warren Roebling to give out the orders, She kept records, answered the mail, and represented her husband at social functions. On the day that the bridge opened Washington Roebling didn’t come out of his house to celebrate with everyone.
When the bridge had recently been finished, many started to create rumors, many started saying the bridge wasn’t going to hold, and that it wasn’t safe. Six days after the bridge was opened to the public, a rumor quickly spread that the new bridge was about to collapse. The resulting panic caused such a massive stampede that 12 were killed in the crush. The tragic incident started the afternoon of May 30, 1883 when a woman tripped and fell descending the wooden stairs on the Manhattan side of the bridge. This caused another woman to scream at the top of her lungs, which caused those nearby to rush towards the scene. The rumor started throughout the whole bridge that the bridge wasn’t safe. As more and more people panicked and mobbed the narrow staircase, creating a massive pileup. Thousands were on the promenade, quickly turning the situation deadly. (untapped cities)After the terrible incident, many were really scared to cross the bridge, many started to really doubt the strength of the bridge. So Phineas Taylor Barnum, 19th century New York’s biggest showman made a proposal. To test out the bridge, Phineas Taylor Barnum offered, he’d walk his troupe of elephants across the Brooklyn Bridge, but authorities turned him down. But a year later, on May 17, 1884, he finally got approved to do this and his elephant and other creatures as well crossed over the Brooklyn Bridge.
These people had their own vision of the usefulness of the bridge. They were similar but I at the same time they had their differences. John A Roebling and his son Washington saw the bridge as a easier and faster way for people to travel across. They wanted to connect these two cites and furthermore it became a cultural meaning, a representation of New York and its possibilities that could happen in this city. Many immigrant would see this bridge and observe its Beauty and it would send them a message, a message that in this place anything was possible, that their dreams were possible. Now, New York’s biggest showman Phineas Taylor Barnum used the Bridge for another reason, as stated before the bridge was getting doubted by many, so he used his heavy animals to prove that the bridge was indeed safe and that there was no reason to doubt the strength the bridge carried. At the same time, Barnum used this opportunity as part of a big promotion to his show. He used the bridge to get more audition to attend his shows. These were some differences these men had, but there were similarities as well. Some similarities were, they both wanted to make the Bridge a successful and useful tool, they wanted people to be secure in what was built. They both had the vision in trying to make people’s lives better. The Roebling’s wanted people to cross the bridge easier, and the Showman wanted to display that people didn’t need to be frighten by this new bridge. These were some similarities they displayed.
“It would be unreasonable to say that the two greatest works of the architecture in New York are things that are not buildings at all – Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge. “(Goldberger 34) what the author is explaining here is that for him and many others this is one of the worlds recognized and beloved icons. It’s a inspiration symbol to many. The bridge gave many different kinds of visions the Bridge was useful, or great towards their own use. Some saw the bridge of a way to get across the two cities faster, and other saw it as a way to get themselves notice. There’s were ways people saw the bridge useful to them, whether it was for a good cause or a bad one, like suicide and other things. The bridge was, is and will continue being useful to many and future generations.
Work Cited
“Building the Brooklyn Bridge.” About.com 19th . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013
Haw, Richard. The Brooklyn Bridge: A Cultural History. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 2005. Print.
“Ephemeral New York.” Ephemeral New York. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013
“Brooklyn Bridge.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013
“Become a Contributor.” Untapped Cities. N.p., 23 Oct.2013. Web 30 Nov. 2013
