Tag Archives: Brooklyn Tour

Summary of The Visions of the Brooklyn bridge

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The Brooklyn bridge was and still is a historical landmark, that many don’t appreciate it. Many don’t know the usefulness that bridge is to both cities New York and Manhattan . It made it easier for people to go across the east river. Before the bridge was built , they only could get across by taking the ferry, and even there sometimes there was no space. And when it snowed , it was impossible most of the time to use the boat. The east river would freeze , but not solid enough to walk across. They were many ways of looking at the new bridge that was constructed. The Bridge gave many people visions on how the bridge could of been useful to themselves. One of those who had their own vision of the Brooklyn bridge was the biggest showman in the 19th century P.T Barnum who wanted to use the bridge to promote his business and also display how safe the Brooklyn bridge is. Washington Roebling son of John Roebling also had different visions of the bridge. His vision was to make it easier for people to get across from one city to the other. Although both had different visions ,They wanted the bridge to be a success.

The curse of the Brooklyn Bridge

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The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the most famous bridges worldwide. It opened in 1883, connecting from Brooklyn to Manhattan. John Augustus Roebling designed the bridge, but after an accident that resulted in Roebling’s death, it was continued by his son Washington Roebling. Ever since this death, a series of other deaths have accured on the Brooklyn Bridge. One being the Brooklyn Bridge stampede on May 30, 1883. Rumors began to spread that the Bridge was about to collapse which resulted in people running in fear and trampling others. A legendary showman named P.T Barnum offered to walk his circus elephants weighing approximately 42 tons across the brooklyn bridge to prove the Brooklyn bridge was not a danger. Over the years many have attempted to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, some succeeding and others failing. Robert Odlum, a swimming instructor was the first person to jump the Brooklyn Bridge on May 19, 1885. Although Odlum survived the fall, a few hours later he was reported dead due to internal bleeding. According to Odlum’s friends, he did it for fame and money. Following this incident many also tried to do the same, Larry Donovan was the first to succefully jump off the Brooklyn Bridge and survive the jump. The Brooklyn Bridge has a history with interesting stories that have resulted in tragic accidents.

Citations:

CBS. “Brookiyn Bridge – Creating Grandeur.” CBSForum.com. CBS Team, 2 May 2003. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.

Prentzas, G. S. The Brooklyn Bridge. New York: Chelsea House, 2009. Print.

“Odlum’s Fatal Leap.” The New York Times. 7 June 1885.  Nytimes. Web. Nov. 2013.

Summary of Project 4

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Brooklyn Historical Society is one of the few examples of the 19th century kind of a combined museum and library still in existence. The written piece by me compared three major renovations which were done to the building since it was built. Each renovation done by a different individual consisted of different ideas, proposals and theory.The first renovation done by George B. Post which used terra cotta and red bricks to support the central ceiling of the building and came out to be known as one of the first building to use locally produced terra cotta . Another renovation which took place by Jan Hird associates in 1999-2003 focused more on considering the benefits to its interior to preserve the historical resources. For ex: Installing climate control, renovating the clock tower and replacement of stained glass lay light. A last additional renovation was completed recently by Christoff which consisted of a new classroom with advanced technology, two new gallery spaces and newly built 200 seat auditorium. In conclusion, all three renovations done to the building were made to add more glory and splendor. However, all three renovations differed from each other because every individual has its own unique perspective of approaching to a similar thing.

Summary of Project 4

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In the Project 4 research essay, I as the author discussed and analyzed two storied accounts in the history of the Brooklyn Bridge. These stories were the death of John A. Roebling and the Stampede of 1883. I first analyzed them and explained the stories in complete detail. Then i compared and contrasted them as this was the only way to see how different and similar these accounts are. The similarity in the two stories were that both of them resulted in huge tragedies. The death of John A. Roebling was tragic since he was the men responsible for the Brooklyn Bridge while the Stampede of 1883 resulted in the death of various human beings and put fear in everyone’s mind. However the aftermath is where the differences come in to play. The death of John A. Roebling resulted in more people dying from working on the bridge and his son becoming ill as well. More tragedy seem to come their way. In the Stampede of 1883, the deaths resulted in people testing out to see if the bridge was safe thus preventing such event from happening ever again. In the essay i stated “history can be defined as an argument on how we interpret the past” which shows how others view this differently.

Works Cited

Project 4 by Jason Castillo