Difference between revisions of "Brooklyn Bridge" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{Infobox_Bridge
 
  |bridge_name= Brooklyn Bridge
 
  |bridge_name= Brooklyn Bridge
 
  |image= Brooklyn Bridge Postdlf.jpg
 
  |image= Brooklyn Bridge Postdlf.jpg
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|caption=
 
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|official_name=
 
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|also_known_as=
 
 
  |carries= Motor vehicles (cars only), [[elevated railway|elevated trains]] (until 1944), [[streetcar]]s (until 1950), pedestrians, and bicycles
 
  |carries= Motor vehicles (cars only), [[elevated railway|elevated trains]] (until 1944), [[streetcar]]s (until 1950), pedestrians, and bicycles
 
  |crosses= [[East River]]
 
  |crosses= [[East River]]
 
  |locale= [[New York City]] ([[Manhattan]] – [[Brooklyn]])
 
  |locale= [[New York City]] ([[Manhattan]] – [[Brooklyn]])
 
  |maint= [[New York City Department of Transportation]]
 
  |maint= [[New York City Department of Transportation]]
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|id=
 
 
  |design= [[Suspension bridge]]
 
  |design= [[Suspension bridge]]
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  |mainspan= 1,595 feet 6 inches (486.3 m)
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  |main span= 1,595 feet, six inches
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  |length= 5,989 feet (1825 m)
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  |length= 5,989 feet
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  |width= 85 feet (26 m)
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  |width= 85 feet
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  |below= 135 feet at mid-span (41 m)
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  |below= 135 feet at mid-span
 
  |traffic= 145,000
 
  |traffic= 145,000
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  |open= [[May 24]], [[1883]]
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  |open= May 24, 1883
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|closed=
 
 
  |toll= Free both ways
 
  |toll= Free both ways
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|map_cue=
 
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|map_image=
 
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|map_text=
 
 
  |map_width=
 
  |map_width=
 
  |lat= 40.705953
 
  |lat= 40.705953
 
  |long= -73.998048
 
  |long= -73.998048
 
}}
 
}}
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{{otheruses}}{{dablink|East River Bridge redirects here. For a list of East River Bridges, see [[List of fixed crossings of the East River]].}}
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The '''Brooklyn Bridge''' (originally the '''New York and Brooklyn Bridge'''), one of the oldest suspension bridges in the [[United States]], stretches 5,989 feet over the [[East River]] connecting the [[New York City]] boroughs of [[Manhattan]] and [[Brooklyn]]. On completion, it was the largest [[suspension bridge]] in the world and the first steel-wire suspension bridge. Since its opening, it has become an iconic part of the New York Skyline.  
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The '''Brooklyn Bridge''' (originally the '''New York and Brooklyn Bridge'''), one of the oldest [[suspension bridge]]s in the [[United States]], stretches 5,989 feet (1825&nbsp;m)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/bridges.html |title=NYCDOT Bridges Information |publisher= New York City Department of Transportation |accessdate=2006-04-11}}</ref> over the [[East River]] connecting the [[New York City]] [[borough (New York City)|borough]]s of [[Manhattan]] and [[Brooklyn]]. On completion, it was the [[List of largest suspension bridges|largest suspension bridge in the world]] and the first steel-wire suspension bridge. Since its opening, it has become an iconic part of the New York Skyline.
 
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== History ==
 
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===General===
 
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[[Image:BrooklynBridgeSchematic.jpg|thumb|120px|left|Plan of one tower for the Brooklyn Bridge, 1867.]]
 
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Construction began in [[January 3]], [[1870]].  The Brooklyn Bridge was completed thirteen years later and was opened for use on [[May 24]], [[1883]]. On that first day, a total of 1,800 vehicles and 150,300 people crossed. The bridge's main span over the East River is 1,595 feet 6 inches (486.3 meters). The bridge cost $15.1 million to build and approximately 27 people died during its construction.  A week after the opening, on [[May 30]], a rumor that the Bridge was going to break down caused a stampede which crushed and then killed twelve people.
 
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At the time it opened, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world &mdash; 50% longer than any previously built &mdash; and it has become a treasured landmark. Additionally, for several years the towers were the tallest structures in the Western Hemisphere. Since the 1980s, it has been floodlit at night to highlight its architectural features. The bridge is built from limestone, granite, and [[Rosendale, New York|Rosendale]] natural cement. The architecture style is [[gothic architecture|Gothic]], with characteristic pointed arches above the passageways through the stone towers.
 
  
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[[Image:LOC Brooklyn Bridge and East River 6.png|thumb|230px|left|The Brooklyn Bridge with a nighttime view of the [[World Trade Center]].]]
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Construction began in January 3, 1870. The Brooklyn Bridge was completed 13 years later and was opened for use on May 24, 1883. On that first day, a total of 1,800 vehicles and 150,300 people crossed. Now, the bridge carries an average of 145,000 vehicles per day.  
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The bridge was designed by an engineering firm owned by [[John Augustus Roebling]] in [[Trenton, New Jersey]]. Roebling and his firm had built earlier and smaller suspension bridges, such as [[Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct]] in [[Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania]], the [[John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge]] in [[Cincinnati, Ohio]] and the [[Waco Suspension Bridge]] in [[Waco, Texas]], that served as the engineering prototypes for the final design.
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{{toc}}
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The bridge's main span over the East River is 1,595 feet, six inches. The bridge cost $15.1 million to build and approximately 27 people died during its construction. Over the course of New York's history, the Brooklyn Bridge has become a treasured landmark.  
  
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As the construction had begun, Roebling's foot was badly injured by a ferry when it crashed into a wharf; within a few weeks, he died of [[tetanus]] caused by the amputation of his toes. His son, [[Washington Roebling|Washington]], succeeded him, but was stricken with [[caisson (engineering)|caisson]] disease ([[decompression sickness]], commonly known as 'the bends'), due to working in compressed air in caissons, in 1872.  This disease also caused him to halt construction of the Manhattan side of the tower 30 feet short of bedrock when soil tests underneath the caisson found bedrock to be even deeper than expected. Today, the Manhattan tower rests only on sand. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/BuildingDetail/435.php |title=GlassSteelandStone: Brooklyn Bridge-tower rests on sand|accessdate=2007-02-20}}</ref>  Washington's wife, [[Emily Warren Roebling]], became his aide, learning engineering and communicating his wishes to the on-site assistants. When the bridge opened, she was the first person to cross it. Washington Roebling rarely visited the site again, actually residing in [[Trenton]], [[New Jersey]], and elsewhere during most of its construction. In truth, he spent little time looking through the telescope at the project, his near-sightedness causing the most trouble.<ref>[[David McCullough]], ''The Great Bridge'', 476-7]</ref>
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==Construction==
 +
[[Image:New York City Brooklyn Bridge - Currier & Ives 1877.jpg|thumb|320px|left|Currier & Ives print (1877)]]
  
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[[Image:New York City Brooklyn Bridge - Currier & Ives 1877.jpg|thumb|275px|right|Currier & Ives print (1877)]]
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The bridge was designed by an engineering firm owned by [[John Augustus Roebling]] in Trenton, [[New Jersey]]. Roebling and his firm had built earlier and smaller suspension bridges, such as Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct in Lackawaxen, [[Pennsylvania]], the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge in Cincinnati, [[Ohio]], and the Waco Suspension Bridge in Waco, [[Texas]], that served as the engineering prototypes for the final design.
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At the time the bridge was built, the [[aerodynamics]] of bridge building had not been worked out. Bridges were not tested in [[wind tunnel]]s until the 1950s - well after the collapse of the [[Tacoma Narrows Bridge]] in the 1940s. It is therefore fortunate that the open truss structure supporting the deck is by its nature less subject to aerodynamic problems. Roebling designed a bridge and truss system that was six times as strong as he thought it needed to be. Because of this, the Brooklyn Bridge is still standing when many of the bridges built around the same time have vanished into history and have been replaced. This is also in spite of the substitution of inferior quality wire in the cabling supplied by the contractor J. Lloyd Haigh - by the time it was discovered, it was too late to replace the cabling that had already been constructed. Roebling determined that the poorer wire would leave the bridge four rather than six times as strong as necessary, so it was eventually allowed to stand, with the addition of 250 cables.  
 
  
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Diagonal cables were installed from the towers to the deck, intended to stiffen the bridge.  This turned out unnecessary, but they are kept for their distinctive beauty.
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The bridge is built from limestone, granite, and Rosendale natural cement. The [[architecture|architectural]] style is [[gothic architecture|Gothic]], with characteristic pointed arches above the passageways through the stone towers. Since the 1980s, it has been floodlit at night to highlight its architectural features.  
  
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[[image:Brooklyn-bridge-1890.png|thumb|250px|right|Brooklyn bridge, 1890]]
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It was fortunate that the open truss structure supporting the bridge's deck is by its nature less subject to aerodynamic problems than other designs. At the time the bridge was built, the [[aerodynamics]] of bridge building had not been fully worked out. Bridges were not tested in [[wind tunnel]]s until the 1950s—well after the collapse of the [[Tacoma Narrows Bridge]] in the 1940s.  
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At various times, the bridge has carried horses and trolley traffic; at present, it has six lanes for motor vehicles, with a separate walkway along the centerline for [[pedestrian]]s and [[bicycle]]s. Due to the roadway's height (11 feet posted) and weight (6,000 lbs. posted), commercial vehicles and buses are prohibited from using this bridge. The two inside traffic lanes once carried [[elevated railway|elevated trains]] of the [[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation|BMT]] from [[Brooklyn]] points to a terminal at [[Park Row (BMT station)|Park Row]]. [[Streetcar]]s ran on what are now the two center lanes (shared with other traffic) until the elevated lines stopped using the bridge in 1944, when they moved to the protected center tracks. In 1950, the streetcars also stopped running, and the bridge was rebuilt to carry six lanes of automobile traffic.
 
  
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=== 1994 Terrorist Attack ===
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Roebling designed a bridge and truss system that was six times as strong as he thought it needed to be. Because of this, the Brooklyn Bridge is still standing when many of the bridges built around the same time have vanished into history and have been replaced. This is also in spite of the substitution of inferior-quality wire in the cabling supplied by the contractor J. Lloyd Haigh. By the time this was discovered, it was too late to replace the cabling that had already been constructed.  
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{{main|Brooklyn Bridge Shooting}}
 
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On [[March 1]], [[1994]], Lebanese-born [[Rashid Baz]] opened fire on a van carrying members of the [[Chabad-Lubavitch]] [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] Movement, striking 16-year old student [[Ari Halberstam]] and three others traveling on the bridge. Halberstam died 5 days later from his wounds. Baz was apparently acting out of revenge for the [[Cave of the Patriarchs massacre|Hebron massacre]] of 29 Muslims by [[Baruch Goldstein]] that had taken place days earlier on [[February 25]], [[1994]]. Baz was convicted of murder and sentenced to a 141-year prison term. After initially classifying the murder as one committed out of [[Road rage (phenomenon)|road rage]], the [[FBI]] reclassified the case in 2000 as a terrorist attack. The entrance ramp to the bridge on the Manhattan side was named the Ari Halberstam Memorial Ramp in memory of the victim<ref>[http://www.arihalberstam.com/php/1.php#a Ari Halberstam Memorial Ramp]</ref>.
 
  
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=== 2003 Plot ===
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Roebling determined that the poorer wire would leave the bridge four rather than six times as strong as necessary, so it was eventually allowed to stand, with the addition of 250 cables. Diagonal cables were installed from the towers to the deck, intended to stiffen the bridge. This turned out to be unnecessary, but they are kept for their distinctive beauty.[[Image:BrooklynBridgeSchematic.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Plan of one tower for the Brooklyn Bridge, 1867.]]
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In 2003, truck driver [[Iyman Faris]] was sentenced to 20 years in prison for providing material support to [[al-Qaeda]], after an earlier plot to destroy the bridge by cutting through its support wires with [[blowtorch|blowtorches]] was cancelled.
+
As the construction began, Roebling's foot was badly injured by a ferry when it crashed into a wharf; within a few weeks, he died of [[tetanus]] caused by the amputation of his toes. His son, Washington, succeeded him, but was stricken in 1872 with "caisson disease" ([[decompression sickness]], commonly known as 'the bends'), due to working in compressed air in [[caisson]]s.<ref> A watertight structure within which construction work is carried on under water.</ref> This disease also caused him to halt construction of the Manhattan side of the tower 30 feet short of bedrock, when soil tests underneath the caisson found bedrock to be deeper than expected. Today, the Manhattan tower rests only on sand.  
  
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== Access points ==
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Washington's wife, Emily Warren Roebling, became his aide, learning engineering and communicating his wishes to the on-site assistants. Washington Roebling rarely visited the site again.
  
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The Brooklyn Bridge is accessible from the Brooklyn entrances of Tillary/Adams Streets, Sands/Pearl Streets, and Exit 28B of the eastbound [[Brooklyn-Queens Expressway]]. In Manhattan, the bridge can be entered from either direction of the [[FDR Drive]], [[Park Row]], Chambers/Centre Streets, and Pearl/Frankfort Streets.  Pedestrian access to the bridge from the Brooklyn side is from either Tillary/Adams Streets (in between the auto entrance/exit), or a staircase on Prospect Ave between Cadman Plaza East and West. In Manhattan, the pedestrian walkway is accessible from the end of Centre Street, or through the unpaid south fare zone of [[Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall]] [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company|IRT]] subway station.
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===Opening===
 +
When the Brooklyn Bridge opened on May 24, 1883, Emily Roebling was the first person to cross it. At the time it opened, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, 50 percent longer than any previously built. Additionally, for several years the towers were the tallest structures in the Western Hemisphere.
  
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==Trivia==
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The opening was greeted by a wave of enthusiasm for the engineering marvel. However, less than a week later, on May 30, 1883, a rumor that the Bridge was going to collapse caused a stampede which crushed and killed 12 people.
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[[Image:Brooklyn Bridge railroad.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Brooklyn approach with elevated [[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation|BMT]] and streetcar tracks and trains, ca. 1905]]
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*The [[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation|BMT]] bridge tracks were planned to connect to what is now the [[Nassau Street Line]] [[New York City Subway|subway]] at [[Chambers Street (BMT Nassau Street Line station)|Chambers Street]] to form part of the never-finished [[Centre Street Loop]].
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The first person to jump from the bridge was Robert E. Odlum on July 23, 1886. Odlum, a swimming teacher, made the jump in a costume bearing his initials. He survived the pre-announced jump, but died shortly thereafter from internal injuries.<ref>{{cite web
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*The bridge was placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on [[June 17]], [[1977]] and on [[March 24]], [[1983]] the bridge was designated a [[National Historic Engineering Landmark]].  
 
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*The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge is detailed in the 1972 book ''The Great Bridge'' by [[David McCullough]] and in the first [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] documentary film ever made by [[Ken Burns]], ''Brooklyn Bridge'' (1980). Burns drew heavily on McCullough's book for the film and used him as narrator.
 
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*The first person to jump from the bridge was Robert E. Odlum on [[July 23]], [[1886]]. Robert, a swimming teacher, made the jump in a costume bearing his initials. He survived the pre-announced jump, but died shortly thereafter from internal injuries.<ref>{{cite web
 
 
|url=http://www.endex.com/gf/buildings/bbridge/bbridgenews/bblife1954/bblife1954.htm
 
|url=http://www.endex.com/gf/buildings/bbridge/bbridgenews/bblife1954/bblife1954.htm
 
|title=Life Magazine May 24, 1954
 
|title=Life Magazine May 24, 1954
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|accessdate=2007-01-06}}</ref>
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|accessdate=January 20, 2008}}</ref>
  
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==A bridge for pedestrians in an age of automobiles==  
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==Traffic==
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[[Image:Brooklyn Bridge railroad.jpg|thumb|230px|left|Elevated trains and streetcars, ca. 1905]]
  
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[[Image:NYEastRiver From WTC.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A World Trade Center view of the [[Manhattan Bridge]], Brooklyn Bridge, and the [[East river]].]]
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In its early years, the bridge carried horses and trolley traffic, as well as pedestrians. At present, it has six lanes for motor vehicles, carrying an average of 145,000 vehicles per day, with a separate walkway along the centerline for [[pedestrian]]s and [[bicycle]]s. Due to the roadway's height (11 feet posted) and weight limitations (6,000 lbs. posted), commercial vehicles and buses are prohibited from using the bridge. The two inside traffic lanes once carried elevated trains of the [[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation]] (BMT) from [[Brooklyn]] points to a terminal at Park Row in [[Manhattan]].  
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The Brooklyn Bridge has a center lane open to bicycles and pedestrians, just above automobile traffic. While the bridge has always permitted the passage of pedestrians across its span, its role in allowing thousands to cross takes on a special importance in times of crisis and becomes a symbol of New Yorkers' resilience. 
 
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During transit [[strike action|strikes]] by the [[Transport Workers Union]] in 1980 and 2005 the bridge was used by people commuting to work, with Mayors [[Ed Koch|Koch]] and [[Michael Bloomberg|Bloomberg]] crossing the bridge to show solidarity with the inconvenienced public. Following the [[Northeast Blackout of 1965|1965]], [[New York City blackout of 1977|1977]] and [[2003 North America blackout|2003]] [[power outage|Blackouts]] and most famously after the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] on the [[World Trade Center]], the bridge was used by people in Manhattan to leave the city after subway service was suspended.
 
  
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==Cultural significance==
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[[Streetcar]]s ran on what are now the two center lanes, shared with other traffic, until the elevated lines stopped using the bridge in 1944. In 1950, the streetcars also stopped running, and the bridge was rebuilt to carry six lanes of automobile traffic.
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[[Image:BrooklynBridgeDetail.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Looking up at a tower]]
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[[Image:Brooklyn Bridge I.JPG|thumb|230px|right|Pedestrian traffic in 2005.]]
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[[image:Brooklynbridge28122005.JPG|thumb|right|250px|View from the pedestrian path of the Brooklyn Bridge (2005)]]
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The Brooklyn Bridge currently has a center lane open to bicycles and pedestrians, elevated above automobile traffic. While the bridge has always permitted the passage of pedestrians across its span, its role in allowing thousands to cross takes on a special importance in times of crisis and becomes a symbol of New Yorkers' resilience. 
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[[image:Brooklyn Bridge at Night.jpg|thumb|none|250px|right|Brooklyn Bridge at night]]
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<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:BrooklynBrPntg.jpg|right|thumb|250px|An [[Bridges in art|artist's image]]]] —>
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During transit strikes by the [[Transport Workers Union]] in 1980 and 2005, the bridge was used by thousands of pedestrians commuting to work, with Mayors [[Ed Koch]] and [[Michael Bloomberg]] crossing the bridge to show solidarity with the inconvenienced public. Following the 1965, 1977, and 2003 power blackouts, and most famously after the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] on the [[World Trade Center]], the bridge was used by shocked citizens in Manhattan to leave the city after subway service was suspended.
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Contemporaries marveled at what technology was capable of and the bridge became a symbol of the optimism of the time. [[John Perry Barlow]] wrote in the late 20th century of the "literal and genuinely religious leap of faith" embodied in the Brooklyn Bridge … the Brooklyn Bridge required of its builders faith in their ability to control technology."<ref>[http://ftp.eff.org/pub/Publications/John_Perry_Barlow/HTML/brooklyn_bridge.html Cultural Significance]</ref>
 
  
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References to "selling the Brooklyn Bridge" abound in American culture, sometimes as examples of rural gullibility but more often in connection with an idea that strains credulity. For example, "If you believe '''that''', I have a wonderful bargain for you…"  References are often nowadays more oblique, such as "I could sell you some lovely riverside property in Brooklyn ... "
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==Terror threats==
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On March 1, 1994, Lebanese-born Rashid Baz opened fire on a van carrying members of the [[Chabad-Lubavitch]] [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] Movement, striking 16-year old student [[Ari Halberstam]] and three others traveling on the bridge. Halberstam died five days later from his wounds. Baz was apparently acting out of revenge for the [[Hebron]] massacre of 29 [[Muslim]]s by [[Baruch Goldstein]] that had taken place days earlier on February 25, 1994. Baz was convicted of murder and sentenced to a 141-year prison term. After initially classifying the murder as one committed out of road rage, the [[FBI]] reclassified the case in 2000 as a terrorist attack. The entrance ramp to the bridge on the Manhattan side was named the Ari Halberstam Memorial Ramp in memory of the victim.<ref> [http://www.arihalberstam.com/php/1.php#a Ari Halberstam Memorial Ramp] Retrieved January 20, 2008.</ref>
  
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In his second book ''The Bridge'', [[Hart Crane]] begins with a poem entitled "Poem: To Brooklyn Bridge."  The bridge was a source of inspiration for Crane and he owned different apartments specifically to have different views of the bridge.
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In 2003, truck driver Iyman Faris was sentenced to 20 years in prison for providing material support to [[al-Qaeda]], after an earlier plot to destroy the bridge by cutting through its support wires with blowtorches was canceled.
  
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Kurt Vonnegut references the sale of the Brooklyn Bridge in his 1987 novel Bluebeard. "If I had taken his money, it would have been like selling him Brooklyn Bridge."
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==Cultural significance==
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At the time of its opening, the bridge quickly became a symbol of the optimism of the time. [[John Perry Barlow]] wrote in the late-twentieth century of the "literal and genuinely religious leap of faith" embodied in the Brooklyn Bridge.
  
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===Film===
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In his second book ''The Bridge'', [[Hart Crane]] begins with a poem entitled "Poem: To Brooklyn Bridge." The bridge was a source of inspiration for Crane, who purchased several apartments specifically to have various views of the bridge.
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*In Disney's 1988 film [[Oliver & Company]], the Brooklyn Bridge is depicted having subway railroads. It was first shown when the villain Sykes goes after Fagin, Jenny, and their pets.
 
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*In 2006's ''[[Superman Returns]]'', the bridge is seen in several scenes. In addition, [[Superman]] and [[Lois Lane]] fly parallel to the bridge.
 
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*In [[Godzilla (1998)|the 1998 American version of ''Godzilla'']], the bridge is attacked by [[Zilla]], otherwise called the American Godzilla, destroying the towers and steel beams.
 
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*In the [[1998 in film|1998]] film ''[[Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact]]'', a [[tsunami]] caused by a [[comet]] crashing into the [[Atlantic Ocean]] destroyed the bridge.
 
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*The Brooklyn Bridge is featured at the end of [[Martin Scorsese]]'s ''[[Gangs of New York]]'', and in the [[2004 in film|2004]] film [[Team America: World Police]].
 
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*The bridge is prominently featured in the [[2005 in film|2005]]  film [[Fantastic Four (film)|''Fantastic Four'']], starring [[Jessica Alba]] and [[Michael Chiklis]]. Scenes depicting the roadway of the bridge were actually filmed on a set in [[Vancouver, British Columbia|Vancouver]], [[Canada]] using a [[Bluescreen|green screen]] and [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]] (Computer-generated imagery) technology.
 
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* The DVD cover for the film ''[[The Siege]]'' shows an image of the Brooklyn Bridge being destroyed in a terrorist attack. In the film this attack is not shown, although the bridge is used as an escape from Manhattan during terrorist attacks.
 
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* The movie [[Virginal Young Blondes]] (2004) also takes place on the Brooklyn Bridge, when the two main characters get stoned together in the movie's last scenes.
 
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* The [[Bugs Bunny]] cartoon [[Bowery Bugs]] "explains" the legend of why [[Steve Brodie]] jumped from the bridge, and ends with Bugs closing a sale of the bridge to the person to whom he has narrated the story.  Although Steve Brodie was a real saloon owner operating near the bridge, his [[1886]] leap is widely believed to be a self-promoting myth.
 
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*In the 1982 film [[Sophie's Choice (film)|Sophie's Choice]], writer Nathan Landau (played by [[Kevin Kline]]) stands on the bridge with his lover Sophie ([[Meryl Streep]]) and his protégé Stingo ([[Peter MacNicol]]) evoking the names of great Brooklyn writers such as [[Herman Melville]] and [[Hart Crane]].
 
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*In the 1992 movie "[[Newsies]]" Jack Kelly (Christian Bale) and Boots (Arvie Lowe Jr.) scream off the Brooklyn Bridge on their way to see Spot Conlon (Gabriel Damon) in Brooklyn.
 
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*The 2006 movie "[[Night at the Museum]]" begins with an uncredited cameo of the bridge.
 
  
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===Television===
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References to "selling the Brooklyn Bridge" abound in American culture, sometimes as examples of rural gullibility, but more often in connection with an idea that strains credulity. For example, "If you believe ''that'', I have a bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell you…"
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*A [[Television|TV]] show called ''[[Brooklyn Bridge (TV series)|Brooklyn Bridge]]'' aired in [[prime time]] from 1991 through 1993 on [[CBS]].
 
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*An aerial view of the Brooklyn Bridge, in winter, with snow on the pedestrian path, is featured in the opening sequence to [[Law and Order SVU]]
 
  
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*A dramatization of the challenges faced by the Roebling family during construction of the bridge are portrayed in the [[BBC]] documentary series ''[[Seven Wonders of the Industrial World]]''.
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The bridge was placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on June 17, 1977 and on March 24, 1983 was designated a [[National Historic Engineering Landmark]].  
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*On ''[[The Fairly OddParents]]'', a short scene of the world laughing at the end of the episode "Information Stupor Highway" shows New York City laughing with an animated Brooklyn Bridge.
 
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*The span is seen in several episodes of ''[[The Cosby Show]]''.
 
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*The bridge is used in the season 3 opener of ''[[CSI: NY]]'', ''[[People With Money (CSI episode)|People with Money]]'', where a young couple was murdered while allegedly "having sex". A woman in this episode was attacked by a keychain knife, leading the detectives to investigate the heinous crime.
 
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*In the cartoon ''[[The Fairly OddParents]]'', Cosmo tells Timmy that a man sold him the deed to the Brooklyn Bridge.
 
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*The music video for [[Taking Back Sunday]]'s "You're So Last Summer" features the bridge as a backdrop.
 
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*In [[Aftershock: Earthquake in New York]], the bridge is seen destroyed after an earthquake strikes New York City.
 
  
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===Other Media===
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The bridge has figured prominently in numerous motion pictures, including: ''Superman Returns'' (2006), ''Godzilla'' (1998), ''Deep Impact'' (1998), ''Gangs of New York'' (2004), ''Sophie's Choice'', and several others. A television show called ''Brooklyn Bridge'' aired in [[prime time]] from 1991 through 1993 on CBS, featuring a Jewish family from Brooklyn.
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[[Image:Brooklyn Bridge poŝtmarko DE 2006.jpg|thumb|225px|right|<center>German stamp of [[2006]], showing the Brooklyn Bridge]]
 
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* A German stamp of [[2006]] shows the bridge.
 
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* The bridge is part of the cover of the book ''Twin Towers''.
 
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* The bridge is part of the cover of the schoolbook "English G2000 A4"
 
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* The bridge is featured in ''[[SimCity 3000]]'', and in ''[[SimCity 4|SimCity 4: Rush Hour]]'' as the "Medium Suspension" bridge type for avenues and highways.
 
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* The bridge was blown up by [[Magneto (comics)|Magneto]] and the [[Brotherhood of Evil Mutants]] in an issue of ''[[Ultimate X-Men]]''.
 
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* In ''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' comic books ([[The Night Gwen Stacy Died|issue #121]]), Spider-Man's girlfriend, [[Gwen Stacy]], is kidnapped and held at a bridge by the [[Green Goblin]]. The artwork depicts the Brooklyn Bridge, but the editor mistakenly labelled it as the [[George Washington Bridge]].
 
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* In the 1998 video game [[Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA]], the New York Downtown course begins at the Brooklyn end of the bridge, and proceeds to the Civic Center of Lower Manhattan before  turning north towards Chinatown, Little Italy, and Greenwich Village. The bridge is bypassed on subsequent laps, in much the same way as the [[Golden Gate Bridge]] in the game's predecessor, [[San Francisco Rush]], and the player is barred from re-entering it once he/she has left it. 
 
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* The ''[[Money Song (Monty Python)|Money Song]]'' from ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' features the line ''And my [[dollar bill]]s could buy the Brooklyn Bridge''.
 
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* The bridge appears in the Xbox 360 racing game [[Project Gotham Racing 3]].
 
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* Irish rock band [[U2]] played a free concert under the bridge at [[Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park]] on November 22, 2004 in support of their album released that day, ''[[How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb]].''  Select songs from the concert were later released in December 2004 in the digital [[Extended play|EP]] through [[iTunes]], ''[[Live from Under the Brooklyn Bridge]]''.
 
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* Australian musician [[Darren Hanlon]] wrote a song titled Brooklyn Bridge for his Little Chills album.
 
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*The play [[A View from the Bridge]] by [[Arthur Miller]] is a reference to the Brooklyn Bridge which was symbolic of the link between American life in [[Manhattan]] and the Italian way of living in communities in Brooklyn.
 
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* A replica of the bridge appears in the [[Namco]] video game [[Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War]] in a fictional college town called Bana City. The replica bridge is called Marvin Bridge. In the scenario terrorists use nerve gas in the city which leads to pursuit of a van. The crisis was settled with neutralizers dropped from the air, and the terrorists were arrested in the middle of the bridge. Mission 11b - Reprisal.
 
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* In the anime [[Negima!]], a battle takes place on a bridge with a design based on, possibly identical, to the Brooklyn Bridge.
 
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* The bridge is shown in the opening theme of the 80's sitcom [[Who's the Boss]].
 
  
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[[Image:Panorma BB.jpg|thumb|left|800px|A panorama of the bridge]]
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==Notes==
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[[Image:Brooklyn Bridge panorama 2006.jpg|thumb|left|775px|A view of the bridge and Brooklyn taken from Pier 17, Manhattan]]
 
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<br style="clear:both;"/>
 
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==References==
 
 
<div class="references-small">
 
<div class="references-small">
 
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<references/>
 
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==References==
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*Cadbury, Deborah. ''Dreams of Iron and Steel''. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2004. ISBN 000716307X
 +
*Haw, Richard. ''The Brooklyn Bridge: A Cultural History''. Rutgers University Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0813535875
 +
*Latimer, Margaret. ''Bridge to the Future: A Centennial Celebration of the Brooklyn Bridge''. New York Academy of Sciences, 1984. ISBN 978-0897662468
 +
*McCullough, David. G. ''The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge''. Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 978-0743217378
 +
*Shapiro, Mary J. A. '' Picture History of the Brooklyn Bridge''. Dover Publications, 1983. ISBN 978-0486244037
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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{{commonscat|Brooklyn Bridge}}
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All links retrieved November 21, 2023.
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*[http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/bridges.html Bridges at New York City DOT]
 
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*[http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/brooklyn/ NYCroads.com - Brooklyn Bridge]
 
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*[http://www.transalt.org/bridges/brooklyn.html Transportation Alternatives Fiboro Bridges - Brooklyn Bridge]
 
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*[http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0000011 Structurae: Brooklyn Bridge]
 
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*[http://www.cbsforum.com/cgi-bin/articles/partners/cbs/search.cgi?template=display&dbname=cbsarticles&key2=brooklyn&action=searchdbdisplay The story of Brooklyn Bridge] - by [http://www.cbsforum.com/ CBS Forum]
 
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*[http://www.dualmoments.com/Panorama/1903brooklyn.htm Panorama of Brooklyn Bridge 1899 - Extreme Photo Constructions]
 
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*[http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Brooklyn_Bridge.html Great Buildings entry] for the Brooklyn Bridge
 
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*[http://www.asce.org/history/brdg_brooklyn.html American Society of Civil Engineers]
 
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*[http://www.earthcam.com/panasonic/new_york_bb.html Brooklyn Bridge Webcam]
 
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*[http://catskillarchive.com/rrextra/bbpage.Html Railroad Extra - Brooklyn Bridge and its Railway]
 
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*[http://www.yellowecho.com/travel/brooklyn_bridge_01.html Brooklyn Bridge Photo Gallery]- Photography by Charles Peifer
 
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*[http://nyc2006.free.fr/Brooklyn%20Bridge/index.html Photographs 2006]
 
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*[http://perrin.olivier.free.fr/new_york_2005/Brooklyn%20Bridge%20et%20vue%20du%20Pont/index.html gallery of photographs]
 
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*{{Geolinks-US-streetscale|40.706344|-73.997439}}
 
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*[http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/research/digital-collections/brooklynbridge/ Images of the Brooklyn Bridge from the Brooklyn Museum's art, archives, and library collections, and the text from our 1983 catalog, The Great East River Bridge]
 
  
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==Further reading==
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*[http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0000011 Structurae: Brooklyn Bridge] ''en.structurae.de''.
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*McCullough, David. (1972). ''The Great Bridge''. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-21213-3
+
*[http://nyc2006.free.fr/Brooklyn%20Bridge/index.html Photographs 2006] ''nyc2006.free.fr''.
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*Cadbury, Deborah (2004), ''Dreams of Iron and Steel'', New York, NY, HarperCollins, ISBN 0-00-716307-X
+
*[http://perrin.olivier.free.fr/new_york_2005/Brooklyn%20Bridge%20et%20vue%20du%20Pont/index.html Gallery of photographs] ''perrin.olivier.free.fr''.
  
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{{NYC Bridge}}
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{{succession box | before = [[John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge]]|title = [[List of largest suspension bridges|Largest Suspension Bridge]] | years = 1883 - 1903 | after = [[Williamsburg Bridge]]}}
 
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{{Crossings navbox
 
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|structure      = Crossings
 
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|place          = [[East River]]
 
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|bridge          = Brooklyn Bridge
 
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|bridge signs    =
 
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|upstream        = [[Manhattan Bridge]]
 
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|upstream signs  = {{NYCS-bull-small|B}}{{NYCS-bull-small|D}}{{NYCS-bull-small|N}}{{NYCS-bull-small|Q}}
 
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|downstream      = [[Cranberry Street Tunnel]]
 
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}}
 
  
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[[Category:Nations and places]]
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[[Category:Geography]]
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{{credit|126723117}}
 

Latest revision as of 04:35, 22 November 2023


Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
Carries Motor vehicles (cars only), elevated trains (until 1944), streetcars (until 1950), pedestrians, and bicycles
Crosses East River
Locale New York City (Manhattan – Brooklyn)
Maintained by New York City Department of Transportation
Design Suspension bridge
Total length 5,989 feet
Width 85 feet
Clearance below 135 feet at mid-span
AADT 145,000
Opening date May 24, 1883
Toll Free both ways

The Brooklyn Bridge (originally the New York and Brooklyn Bridge), one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States, stretches 5,989 feet over the East River connecting the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. On completion, it was the largest suspension bridge in the world and the first steel-wire suspension bridge. Since its opening, it has become an iconic part of the New York Skyline.

Construction began in January 3, 1870. The Brooklyn Bridge was completed 13 years later and was opened for use on May 24, 1883. On that first day, a total of 1,800 vehicles and 150,300 people crossed. Now, the bridge carries an average of 145,000 vehicles per day.

The bridge's main span over the East River is 1,595 feet, six inches. The bridge cost $15.1 million to build and approximately 27 people died during its construction. Over the course of New York's history, the Brooklyn Bridge has become a treasured landmark.

Construction

Currier & Ives print (1877)

The bridge was designed by an engineering firm owned by John Augustus Roebling in Trenton, New Jersey. Roebling and his firm had built earlier and smaller suspension bridges, such as Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Waco Suspension Bridge in Waco, Texas, that served as the engineering prototypes for the final design.

The bridge is built from limestone, granite, and Rosendale natural cement. The architectural style is Gothic, with characteristic pointed arches above the passageways through the stone towers. Since the 1980s, it has been floodlit at night to highlight its architectural features.

It was fortunate that the open truss structure supporting the bridge's deck is by its nature less subject to aerodynamic problems than other designs. At the time the bridge was built, the aerodynamics of bridge building had not been fully worked out. Bridges were not tested in wind tunnels until the 1950s—well after the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in the 1940s.

Roebling designed a bridge and truss system that was six times as strong as he thought it needed to be. Because of this, the Brooklyn Bridge is still standing when many of the bridges built around the same time have vanished into history and have been replaced. This is also in spite of the substitution of inferior-quality wire in the cabling supplied by the contractor J. Lloyd Haigh. By the time this was discovered, it was too late to replace the cabling that had already been constructed.

Roebling determined that the poorer wire would leave the bridge four rather than six times as strong as necessary, so it was eventually allowed to stand, with the addition of 250 cables. Diagonal cables were installed from the towers to the deck, intended to stiffen the bridge. This turned out to be unnecessary, but they are kept for their distinctive beauty.

Plan of one tower for the Brooklyn Bridge, 1867.

As the construction began, Roebling's foot was badly injured by a ferry when it crashed into a wharf; within a few weeks, he died of tetanus caused by the amputation of his toes. His son, Washington, succeeded him, but was stricken in 1872 with "caisson disease" (decompression sickness, commonly known as 'the bends'), due to working in compressed air in caissons.[1] This disease also caused him to halt construction of the Manhattan side of the tower 30 feet short of bedrock, when soil tests underneath the caisson found bedrock to be deeper than expected. Today, the Manhattan tower rests only on sand.

Washington's wife, Emily Warren Roebling, became his aide, learning engineering and communicating his wishes to the on-site assistants. Washington Roebling rarely visited the site again.

Opening

When the Brooklyn Bridge opened on May 24, 1883, Emily Roebling was the first person to cross it. At the time it opened, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, 50 percent longer than any previously built. Additionally, for several years the towers were the tallest structures in the Western Hemisphere.

The opening was greeted by a wave of enthusiasm for the engineering marvel. However, less than a week later, on May 30, 1883, a rumor that the Bridge was going to collapse caused a stampede which crushed and killed 12 people.

The first person to jump from the bridge was Robert E. Odlum on July 23, 1886. Odlum, a swimming teacher, made the jump in a costume bearing his initials. He survived the pre-announced jump, but died shortly thereafter from internal injuries.[2]

Traffic

Elevated trains and streetcars, ca. 1905

In its early years, the bridge carried horses and trolley traffic, as well as pedestrians. At present, it has six lanes for motor vehicles, carrying an average of 145,000 vehicles per day, with a separate walkway along the centerline for pedestrians and bicycles. Due to the roadway's height (11 feet posted) and weight limitations (6,000 lbs. posted), commercial vehicles and buses are prohibited from using the bridge. The two inside traffic lanes once carried elevated trains of the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) from Brooklyn points to a terminal at Park Row in Manhattan.

Streetcars ran on what are now the two center lanes, shared with other traffic, until the elevated lines stopped using the bridge in 1944. In 1950, the streetcars also stopped running, and the bridge was rebuilt to carry six lanes of automobile traffic.

Pedestrian traffic in 2005.

The Brooklyn Bridge currently has a center lane open to bicycles and pedestrians, elevated above automobile traffic. While the bridge has always permitted the passage of pedestrians across its span, its role in allowing thousands to cross takes on a special importance in times of crisis and becomes a symbol of New Yorkers' resilience.

During transit strikes by the Transport Workers Union in 1980 and 2005, the bridge was used by thousands of pedestrians commuting to work, with Mayors Ed Koch and Michael Bloomberg crossing the bridge to show solidarity with the inconvenienced public. Following the 1965, 1977, and 2003 power blackouts, and most famously after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the bridge was used by shocked citizens in Manhattan to leave the city after subway service was suspended.

Terror threats

On March 1, 1994, Lebanese-born Rashid Baz opened fire on a van carrying members of the Chabad-Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish Movement, striking 16-year old student Ari Halberstam and three others traveling on the bridge. Halberstam died five days later from his wounds. Baz was apparently acting out of revenge for the Hebron massacre of 29 Muslims by Baruch Goldstein that had taken place days earlier on February 25, 1994. Baz was convicted of murder and sentenced to a 141-year prison term. After initially classifying the murder as one committed out of road rage, the FBI reclassified the case in 2000 as a terrorist attack. The entrance ramp to the bridge on the Manhattan side was named the Ari Halberstam Memorial Ramp in memory of the victim.[3]

In 2003, truck driver Iyman Faris was sentenced to 20 years in prison for providing material support to al-Qaeda, after an earlier plot to destroy the bridge by cutting through its support wires with blowtorches was canceled.

Cultural significance

At the time of its opening, the bridge quickly became a symbol of the optimism of the time. John Perry Barlow wrote in the late-twentieth century of the "literal and genuinely religious leap of faith" embodied in the Brooklyn Bridge.

In his second book The Bridge, Hart Crane begins with a poem entitled "Poem: To Brooklyn Bridge." The bridge was a source of inspiration for Crane, who purchased several apartments specifically to have various views of the bridge.

References to "selling the Brooklyn Bridge" abound in American culture, sometimes as examples of rural gullibility, but more often in connection with an idea that strains credulity. For example, "If you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell you…"

The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 17, 1977 and on March 24, 1983 was designated a National Historic Engineering Landmark.

The bridge has figured prominently in numerous motion pictures, including: Superman Returns (2006), Godzilla (1998), Deep Impact (1998), Gangs of New York (2004), Sophie's Choice, and several others. A television show called Brooklyn Bridge aired in prime time from 1991 through 1993 on CBS, featuring a Jewish family from Brooklyn.

Notes

  1. ↑ A watertight structure within which construction work is carried on under water.
  2. ↑ Life Magazine May 24, 1954. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
  3. ↑ Ari Halberstam Memorial Ramp Retrieved January 20, 2008.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Cadbury, Deborah. Dreams of Iron and Steel. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2004. ISBN 000716307X
  • Haw, Richard. The Brooklyn Bridge: A Cultural History. Rutgers University Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0813535875
  • Latimer, Margaret. Bridge to the Future: A Centennial Celebration of the Brooklyn Bridge. New York Academy of Sciences, 1984. ISBN 978-0897662468
  • McCullough, David. G. The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge. Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 978-0743217378
  • Shapiro, Mary J. A. Picture History of the Brooklyn Bridge. Dover Publications, 1983. ISBN 978-0486244037

External links

All links retrieved November 21, 2023.

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