Stine Megan. - Where Is the Brooklyn Bridge?

In the 1860s, Brooklyn was a separate city. It did not become part of New York City until 1898. In fact, Brooklyn had grown to be the third largest city in the country.

Everyone knew that New York City was a much more exciting place, but not everyone could afford it. Besides, New York City was very crowded, except for open pastures far uptown where no one ever expected to live. Downtown, there were low houses and other buildings covering nearly all the land. If more people wanted to live in New York, where would they go?

No one could imagine that someday New York City would be full of skyscrapers. The city would grow up! Toward the sky! Back in the late 1800s, everyone thought that when New York was full, people would spill into Brooklyn. There was plenty of room in Brooklyn for new houses, factories, and shops.

The only problem was those ferries. In bad weather, they were slow. Sometimes they didnt run at all!

For years and years, people had hoped for a bridge across the East River. But there were difficulties. First of all, the river was always full of boats and tall ships. The boats were extremely important. They brought food, lumber, tools, and people to the city each day. If a bridge were to be built across the river, it would have to be very tall, so the ships could sail under it.

People also worried about the cost of a bridge and how the city would pay for it. A bridge would cost millions of dollars. Back then many workers earned only one or two dollars a day.

Most of all, people worried about whether a bridge would be safe. Was it possible to build a sturdy, strong bridge that would reach all the way across the wide river? One that would be high enough over the water to allow for all the boats sailing under it?

The only kind of bridge that would be high enough for all the boats was called a suspension bridge. A suspension bridge holds up a roadway with huge, thick cables. Many suspension bridges had been built all over the worldbut none were as long as a bridge over the East River needed to be. And a lot of them were falling down! The engineers who designed and built them were making mistakes. One out of every four bridges collapsed!

In France, a suspension bridge had collapsed while soldiers were marching across it. Two hundred men died.

In America, a small bridge in Kentucky collapsed while a herd of cattle was crossing it. And everyone knew about the problems with a bridge in Wheeling, West Virginia. In 1854, just five years after it was built, a big wind came along. The whole bridge twisted up into the air like a ribbon in the wind!

But John Roebling was sure he could build a bridge that wouldnt fall. He owned a wire company. And using wirethick, strong ropes of itwas one of the keys to building a good suspension bridge. He had already built three wonderful bridges using wire. If he could just show people his other bridges, he felt sure they would have faith in his plan.

In April 1869, Roebling took a group of twenty-two people on a trip called the Bridge Party. The group included engineers who thought the Brooklyn Bridge couldnt be built. It also included businessmen and politicians who very much wanted it. By train, they traveled to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Niagara Falls. They went to see the three suspension bridges that John Roebling had built using huge cables made out of wire.