The Brooklyn Bridge (initially known as the "New York and Brooklyn Bridge") links the districts of Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City. It was built between 1870 and 1883 and, at the time of its inauguration, it was the largest suspension bridge in the world (it measures 1825 meters long, and the light between pillars is 486.3 meters), a record of light until 1889 the Forth Bridge is built, with a maximum light of 521 m. It was also the first suspended by steel cables. Since then, it has become one of the most recognizable symbols of New York.
It is an emblem of nineteenth-century engineering because it was innovative at that time the use of steel as a building material on a large scale. It is so well constructed that it is still in use today. The figure of the bridge is often used as a basis in many of the "skyline" photographs to represent the city of New York.
The bridge was designed by an engineering firm owned by John Augustus Roebling of Trenton, New Jersey. Roebling and his firm had previously built smaller suspension bridges, such as the Delaware Aqueduct in Lackawaxen (Pennsylvania), the Hanging Bridge in Cincinnati (Ohio), or the Hanging Bridge in Waco (Texas), which served as a prototype for the final design of the Brooklyn Bridge.
During the construction process, Roebling severely fractured his foot when a ferry hit a pier; A few weeks later, he died of tetanus due to the amputation of his toes. His son, Washington Roebling, succeeded him, but he suffered an illness caused by his work in foundation pits, decompression syndrome or "divers' disease". Washington's wife, Emily Warren Roebling, became her assistant, learning engineering and communicating her husband's instructions to field assistants. When the bridge was opened to the public, she was the first person to cross it. Her husband, on the other hand, rarely visited his work, since he lived in Trenton (New Jersey) during the construction process.
The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge began on January 2, 1870, and ended thirteen years later, on May 24, 1883, when it was opened to the public. The first day was crossed by a total of more than 1800 vehicles and 150,000 people. In its construction, 15.1 million dollars were spent and 27 people died.
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