The Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge connects Manhattan with New York's most populous borough, Brooklyn. The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge started in 1869 and took 14 years to complete. The driving force behind the project, John Roebling, was a German immigrant who had worked for the Prussian government as a bridge and road builder. He launched the idea of building a bridge across the East River after he had taken a ferry across the river that ended up stuck in the ice. Roebling would never get to see the bridge he had designed - he died after crushing his foot in an accident. He wasn't the only one to lose his life during the construction; 20 workers died while working on the bridge. Roebling's son, Washington Roebling, took over leadership of the project but he suffered from the caisson-disease as a result of the works on the pillars of the bridge and was on his deathbed during the inauguration. Roebling had not just made a bridge that looked incredibly strong, it also turned out to be just as strong in reality. A mesh of cables are anchored in the ground and keep the bridge from collapsing. Roebling even claimed that the bridge wouldn't collapse without any cables, it would merely sag. But even after the inauguration, many New Yorkers were not convinced the bridge was safe. So as to prove the doubters wrong, P.T. Barnum led a caravan of circus animals - including a herd of 21 elephants - across the bridge in 1884. The Brooklyn Bridge ranks as one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century and remains one of New York's most popular and well known landmarks. The impressive bridge spans the East river between Brooklyn and Manhattan and stretches for a length of 5,989 feet; the length between the large towers is 1,595.5 ft. This made the Brooklyn Bridge the world's largest suspension bridge. The most noticeable feature of the Brooklyn Bridge are the two masonry towers to which the many cables are attached. The towers with large gothic arches are 276 ft tall, at the time making them some of the tallest landmarks in New York.