Brooklyn Bridge in New York

New York's Brooklyn Bridge is not only the longest bridge in the United States, but it is also the world's largest bridge. The length of the bridge is calculated as 6016 feet. The bridge extends over the East Rive and connects the Manhattan and Brooklyn boroughs.

History

John Augustus Roebling from Ohio was the architect of this bridge. He was the one who designed the bridge connecting Cincinnati and Covington. The bridge was built in 1883 and took almost 14 years to become available for the public. It took so long because the Augustus fell ill and passed away and the project had to be postponed.

After the death of Augustus, his son, Washington Roebling took charge of the project but unfortunately; he also fell ill and died. Later, his wife, Emily Warren Roebling took over the project. The bridge was opened may 1883 for general public. Emily was the first to cross the bridge. Later on the first day, 1,800 vehicles and 150,300 people crossed the bridge.

After a first week of opening, a rumor that the bridge was going to collapse caused the stampede, about twelve people crushed and killed due to stampede.

In early years, the means of conveyance were based on trolleys, streetcars and horses, but late automobiles and cyclists become active. However, the bridge was not mended to hold such large traffic, yet the architecture design of John A. Roebling is enough to serve its job.

The Structure

Brooklyn Bridge is 6016 feet long and 85 feet wide. It is 1595 feet above the East River. It has two high stone towers and each tower is equipped with Neo-Classical archways. Four steel cables hold the weight of the bridge; each cable is 3578.50 feet long. The Brooklyn Bridge is two times longer than the second longest suspension bridge of the world.

The Bridge in Popular Culture

Brooklyn Bridge is a sign of cultural heritage in the United States. You might have seen it in several movies like "Deep Impact" and "Gang of New York" and also in "The Fantastic Four". Many documentaries have featured this bridge like Ken Burns documentary is based on this bridge. It is also a kind of inspiration for major artists like Hart Crane, George O'Keefe, Walt Whitman and Frank Lloyd Wright. It is also a discussion topic in David Cullough non-fiction book. Recently, several festivals were held to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge. The festival was held on May 22, 2008 and the major event was Brooklyn Philharmonic at the Empire-Fulto Ferry State Park.

Visiting the Brooklyn Bridge

This bridge has six traffic lanes and it takes 20 minutes to cross the bridge. It is a great fun to visit this bridge; especially at night it will give a magnificent view as the lighting done on this bridge since 1980 is superb. You can see many famous buildings in Manhattan while traveling across the bridge. The building includes: Empire State Building and Woolworth Building. There are many parks and restaurants nearby the bridge where you can sit and enjoy the view.