A pioneer for women in engineering, Emily Warren Roebling is celebrated today as one of the first female engineers and feminist models of her time. Emily Warren Roebling initially worked running messages and instructions from her bedridden husband in his Brooklyn Heights apartment, but eventually took a much more hands on role.Įmily took charge of the projects design, construction, workers and more. In 1872, the bridge took its toll on the younger Roebling after Washington came down with the Bends, preventing him from leaving his bed for the remainder of the construction.Īfter her husband became ill, a third Roebling again picked up the enormous project. The workers in these caissons would have to undergo decompression to ensure they were not afflicted with decompression sickness, or the Bends, after working at such depths. Since the water was pumped out with compressed air, the pressure the laborer’s worked under could be immense.
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One such improvement was the design of pneumatic caissons, large air-tight spaces which can be pumped free of water, allowing the workers a dry environment to work in, even 10 meters deep. Roebling’s partner and son, Washington Roebling, was named chief engineer of the bridge.īringing fantastic new innovation to the project, Washington improved and developed upon his fathers’ plans. While the Brooklyn Bridge story could have ended before it had truly begun, Mr. Roebling succumbed to tetanus infection, and died only 24 days after the accident, without ever seeing his greatest creation completed and shaping and transforming the Brooklyn Bridge story and history forever. Refusing treatments beyond “water therapy”, Mr. The injury resulted in an emergency amputation of his toes. Roebling’s foot became pinned by an arriving ferry. In 1869, while taking measurements and surveying the location at the end of a dock, Mr. Roebling’s suspension cables, the great bridge finally became a possibility.
Wood and iron all posed their own sets of problems, but with Mr. While the idea of connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn had been around for decades (some had even considered a “Flying Pendant Lever Bridge”) the large amount of boat traffic, and tidal forces that affect the East River made conventional bridge-building challenging if not impossible. Roebling Suspension Bridge) in Ohio, the Waco Suspension Bridge in Texas, and the Roebling’s Delaware Aqueduct in Pennsylvania.
Roebling gained worldwide renowned as he built a number of famous bridges including the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge (also known as the John A. Having developed his own method of winding wire cables, Mr. What we today know as the Brooklyn Bridge, was once no more than an idea of the famed German immigrant, architect, and engineer John Augustus Roebling.
While the Neo-Gothic arches and beautiful cable lines which serve as a major artery connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan have become commonplace to those who cross every day, the history of the Brooklyn Bridge is more compelling than one would expect. This also was one of Walt Whitman’s favorite Brooklyn spots to people watch. – Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, Walt Whitmanīefore the bridge that has become an American icon was built, Whitman’s description of crossing the East River by ferry was the reality for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, visitors, and new Americans every year. On the ferry-boats the hundreds and hundreds that cross, returning home, are more curious to me than you suppose,Īnd you that shall cross from shore to shore years hence are more to me, and more in my meditations, than you might suppose. Brooklyn Bridge Storyįlood-tide below me! I see you face to face!Ĭlouds of the west-sun there half an hour high-I see you also face to face.Ĭrowds of men and women attired in the usual costumes, how curious you are to me! Not to mention, the Brooklyn Bridge is also one of the best spots for views of the New York skyline from Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Bridge is not only one of the most famous bridges in NYC, but it’s also one of the most recognizable and iconic landmarks of the city.īesides being beautiful and one of the most photogenic locations in the city, a popular filming location, and most visited tourist attractions, this architectural wonder of the world also has a very interesting backstory and a few fun facts about the Brooklyn Bridge. Want to learn some of the most interesting Brooklyn Bridge facts and the Brooklyn Bridge story? We’ve got you covered.
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