Location: New York, over the East River connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn
Opened: May 24, 1883
Type: Suspension bridge with cable-stays
Length: 1,825 meters / 5,989 feet
Designer: John Augustus Roebling
Engineer: Washington Roebling, and then Washington's wife, Emily Warren Roebling
About the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Designer John A. Roebling had designed important suspension bridges in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas. Tragically, Roebling was injured while surveying the property and died of tetanus before the bridge was built. His son, Washington Roebling completed the design and briefly supervised the engineering, but he also died. Fourteen years after it began, the project was completed by Washington Roebling's wife, Emily Warren Roebling.
When the Brooklyn Bridge opened, crushing foot traffic, fired by a rumor that the bridge was about to collapse, stirred a stampede that killed twelve and injured thirty-five people.
This photo of Brooklyn Bridge was taken before the World Trade Center Twin Towers (in background) were destroyed.
More About the Brooklyn Bridge
