The majestic and eye-catching tall and long bridge on the edge near the East River in the city of New York holds the eyeballs of many including the tourists visiting there and those dreamers who dream of traveling there once in their lifetime. Read this article to know the Brooklyn Bridge facts and the history of Brooklyn Bridge.
A Glance At The Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge has gained the title of being called “one of the oldest bridges in the USA”. It is situated at the Civic Center, Manhattan-Dumbo/Brooklyn in New York, United States.
History Of Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge, which unites the two rivers of Manhattan and Brooklyn, is that bridge. The pioneer behind this masterpiece is none other than the king of steel suspension bridge designs, Mr. John Augustus Roebling, who is also famous as the Brooklyn Bridge creator.
He gained a reputation for being called the designer of suspension bridges during the times when such bridges used to fail to stand tall and strong because of the strong wind and heavily loaded vehicles. It is also called the photogenic bridge of the world. The construction of this bridge began in the year 1869 and was completed by 1883.
The Brooklyn Bridge Facts
Here are some known and unknown Brooklyn Bridge facts:
- It has received the tag of the longest suspension bridge in the world.
- During the 19th century, high-profile collapses took place and prevented suspension bridges from immediately catching on. Roebling also found a solution regarding how to stabilize them.
- Roebling has previously built four suspension bridges between the 1850s and 1860s which were built over the Ohio River and Niagara Falls and all of them were viewed so small in front of the Brooklyn Bridge.
- Around 20 people lost their lives in the bridge construction: In the year 1869, the first fatality took place when John A.Roebling, the designer of this bridge was doing the compass reading when his foot got crushed between some pilings and a boat. After a few weeks of this incident, his toes were cut off due to infection and he lost his life due to tetanus.
- Even the workers who fell off the 276-foot high towers were hit by falling debris or lost their lives due to Caisson’s disease.
- Brooklyn Bridge was over 1595 feet which was the longest bridge in the world but later in the year 1903, it was surpassed by the William Bridge with a difference of 4.5 feet.
- Celebration of the Great Gala Day: On 24th May 1883, a huge crowd of people was assembled for the grand opening of the bridge. More than 150,000 people streamed across the world within 24 hours of the opening.
- To the history of Brooklyn Bridge, a major tragedy hit it again after a week of its gala opening celebration. Around 20,000 people were present over there when a rumor was spread that the bridge was supposed to collapse.
- Twelve people lost their lives in the hotchpotch of people running here and there trying to save their lives.
- Initially, Brooklyn wasn’t a part of New York until 1898.
- Before the merger of the two cities, Brooklyn itself was the fourth most populous city in the country after New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia when it came to jobs in manufacturing sectors, churches, low crime rates, and good schools.
- Brooklyn attracted showmen and daredevils in various ways. In the year 1884, famous circus entertainer P.T. Barnum made 21 elephants walk over the bridge to showcase that it was completely safe to cross the bridge.
- Peregrine Falcons were found nesting over and near the Brooklyn bridge.
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The Brooklyn Bridge: A Cultural Sensation
This bridge has inspired many artists to make art and also many man-made structures in the United States of America. Because of its length and uniqueness in its design, it was also dubbed the eighth wonder of the world.
In the Western Hemisphere, it is still the tallest architectural design. John Roebling also revealed that he designed this bridge mainly for pedestrians but it also helped the heavy loads of vehicles to cross from one end to the other end.
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