And if you believe that, have a bridge to sell you: The expression evokes only one bridge, the Brooklyn. Probably no other bridge has been sold so many times to unsuspecting tourists, proving W. C. Fields's enduring adage that "you can't cheat an honest man." (Early in the twentieth century, at least two con men, William McCloundy and George Parker, were sentenced to Sing Sing for selling the bridge, an even more potentially profitable purchase before tolls were abolished in 1911.)Whatever designs confidence men had on the bridge and its neo-Gothic granite towers, it had been envisioned by urban planners and civic leaders for decades. The culmination of political and mechanical engineering feats, when it finally opened on May 24, 1883, it linked two separate cities--New York and Brooklyn (then the fourth largest behind New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia) - and would speed the consolidation of Greater New York into a single city fifteen years later. Each city's ambivalence about the link was reflected in the original evenhanded names: the New York and Brooklyn Bridge and the East River Bridge. But city officials formally named it for Brooklyn in 1915, two years after the adjacent Manhattan Bridge was completed.The bridge was designed by John Roebling, but his fatal injuries left constructon in the hands of his son, Washington, and Washington's wife, Emily. Construction took fourteen years, involved six hundred workers daily, and cost $15 million (over $360 million in today's dollars). Its main span stretching 1,595.5 feet, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, until it was overtaken by the Williamsburg Bridge in 1903. A few days after it opened, a stampede precipitated by a panic that it might collapse led to the death of at least twelve people. A year later, P. T. Barnum scotched doubts about the bridge's durability by leading Jumbo and twenty other elephants across the span.Originally, a central elevated walkway for pedestrians was flanked by roadways for horse-drawn traffic, streetcars, and elevated trains between Sands Street in Brooklyn and Park Row in Manhattan. Just ten days before the formal opening, bridge trustees imposed fares of one cent for people on foot, five cents for railway passengers, and rates that ranged from two cents for a sheep to ten cents for a horse and wagon. Tolls were abolished in 1911 by Mayor William J. Gaynor, who declared, “I see no more reason for toll gates on the bridges than for toll gates on Fifth Avenue or Broadway.”On an average weekday, the bridge now carries about 120,000 vehicles and thousands more pedestrians. "When the Brooklyn Bridge was opened," Mayor George B. McClellan, Ir., declared two decades later, “Greater New York was born.”TEXT FROM SAM ROBERTS 101 OBJECTS

The first and longest steel-wire suspension bridge in the world, the Brooklyn Bridge spanned 1,595 feet and reached 275 feet above the high water mark. With 16 inch diameter cables and caissons 78 feet below water, the bridge was an epochal feat of engineering that rose higher than any building in Manhattan.<a href="https://culturenow.org/people/the-skyscraper-museum?name=The_Skyscraper_Museum">[1]</a>&nbsp; The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. At the time of its completion, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world spanning 1596 ft. and the first steel-wire suspension bridge. Originally called the New York and Brooklyn Bridge, it was dubbed the Brooklyn Bridge in 1867. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964. The construction of the bridge was a family affair; John Roebling died from a tetanus infection contracted when his toes were crushed in an accident surveying. His son Washington took over; he developed the bends or decompression sickness and ended up being confined to his bed. His wife, Emily ended up helping to complete the project. In 1883, the 1st publicly operated cable powered lines installed on the Brooklyn Bridge.&nbsp;

Aerial view of New York City behind, through which the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center are visible  

Stereograph print taken between 1873 and 1880  

The great East River suspension bridge, Connecting the cities of New York and Brooklyn. View of Brooklyn Bridge with many sailing craft, including a large paddle-wheeled steamer

Diagonal view of the crowded street with scribbled figures on sidewalks and wagon on the street. Sketch from 1909 

The grand display of fireworks and illuminations: at the opening of the great suspension bridge between New York and Brooklyn in the evening

Originally, a central elevated walkway for pedestrians was flanked by roadways for horse-drawn traffic, streetcars, and elevated trains between Sands Street in Brooklyn and Park Row in Manhattan. Just ten days before the formal opening, bridge trustees imposed fares of one cent for people on foot, five cents for railway passengers, and rates that ranged from two cents for a sheep to ten cents for a horse and wagon. Tolls were abolished in 1911 by Mayor William J. Gaynor, who declared, "I see no more reason for toll gates on the bridges than for toll gates on Fifth Avenue or Broadway."<a href="https://culturenow.org/people/4eafcdc1-1796-4ef0-bae0-08e86de8b95c?name=A_History_of_New_York_in_101_Objects">[1]</a>

Brooklyn Bridge

Author and historian Jeff Richman shares the captivating story of how the Brooklyn Bridge, a structure of unprecedented size and technology, was built during an age of remarkable innovation and urban development. Spanning the East River, the bridge connected the then-independent cities of Brooklyn and New York by roadway for the first time. People could now travel high above one of the busiest waterways in the world, journeying across by foot, horse-drawn carriage, or railway, getting to where they needed to go while enjoying magnificent views. This event was recorded on January 13, 2022.

The Roebling family legacy, tied to the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, is honored with a steel sculpture at Anchorage Plaza on Old Fulton and Front Street. Designed by artist Keith Godard and unveiled in 1983 for the bridge's centennial, it features silhouettes of John, Washington, and Emily Roebling, the key figures behind the bridge's creation. The figures are depicted admiring the bridge, symbolizing their collaborative efforts, although they never had the chance to do so together in life.

Roebling Family Monument

 John Augustus Roebling  was a German-born American civil engineer. He is famous for his wire rope suspension bridge designs, in particular, the design of the Brooklyn Bridge. 

 New York entrance of Brooklyn Bridge, and insert of head-and-shoulders portrait of J.A. Roebling  

John A. Roebling

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