Why Should the Brooklyn Bridge Be Considered an Engineering Marvel?
Put on some saxophone music in the background before reading this one
The Brooklyn Bridge connects Manhattan to Brooklyn and crosses the East River. It’s one of the top attractions in New York City, one of the oldest suspension bridges in the world, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
But building the bridge was a huge undertaking that took 14 years to complete and was fraught with tragedy.
We modern folks should know what an unimaginably complex and brutal undertaking, the construction of Brooklyn Bridge really was.
1. The Bridge Designer Died Before Construction Could Begin
John Augustus Roebling was born in Germany in 1806. He later went to Berlin to study industrial engineering, where he became known for designing suspension bridges.
When he was 25 years old, he immigrated to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania. Around this time, suspension bridges didn’t have the best reputations, and for a reason.
