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Michelle Spencer
COR 390 01
September 18th 2014

The Impact of the Brooklyn Bridge
Of all the engineering advances in the 1800s, the Brooklyn Bridge stands out as perhaps
the most famous and most remarkable. It was John Roebling who finally had the dream to
connect Brooklyn to Manhattan but along the way required the assistance of his family. The
design was to include innovative bridge building techniques such as erecting towers with a
nomadic caisson method and anchorages for securing the wire cables. Caissons are large wooden
boxes that serve as the foundation for the bridges two towers. A very unfortunate sequence of
events that led to Roeblings death, his son Washington Roebling was placed in charged. Later to
follow, Washington too was struck with a debilitating illness. It was now in the hands of Emily;
the wife of John Roebling. Emily was forced to study construction, mathematics, and
engineering and finish pursuing the dream of her late. Similar to the various technological
advancements today, the bridge significantly affected the economy and environment. The
Brooklyn Bridge is one of the tallest structures in the world and is said that if you imagine it in
the other direction it would be one of the worlds largest skyscrapers. . (Russo & Cullinan,
2014, p.208) The Bridge opened to the public on May 24, 1883 and is seen as such a giant leap
forward in innovation.

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The construction of the bridge took a grueling 14 years to construct and cost around 15
million to complete and has greatly impacted the Brooklyn, Manhattan. People were surprised
by the size of the big and how it cross from Brooklyn to Manhattan. It took 600 workers and
provided very unsafe work conditions. However; during those 14 years building this bridge 27
workers died of decompression sickness. ." (Russo & Cullinan, 2014, p.208) The workers that
died had the more dangerous of constructions jobs. They were called "sand hogs" which are also
known as miners. (Clifton, 1993, p.12) The sand hogs were working with massive wooden
airtight chambers or caisson that laid the foundation for the bridge. ." (Russo & Cullinan, 2014,
p.202) "The caisson sickness or bends resulted mostly when workers travelled two or from the
caissons which are filled with compressed air." (Russo & Cullinan, 2014, p.202)The air made it
possible for the workers to breathe, there was a lot of gas that entered the workers bloodstream.
The workers suffered from joint pain , numbness of the limbs and speech impediments The
sandhogs had a role as well in building a large portion of New York city , to include subways,
sewers , water tunnels ,Lincoln ,Holland , midtown and also Brooklyn battery tunnels which are
all very commonly used today for means of transportations . ." (Clifton, 1993, p.12)
Back in the 1800s, it was normal practice to use ferry service to get from Brooklyn to
Manhattan. Often times very difficult to travel due to the inclimate weather due to cancellations
in ferry service. (Russo & Cullinan, 2014, p.202)The Brooklyn Bridge made Transportation for
New Yorkers less stressful and easier for them to travel to their various destinations.
The Brooklyn Bridge is prominent as well because of its effect on the population. The
Brooklyn Bridge made New York City the most important commercial metropolis in the United
States. (Innovation, p3.) By connecting the independent cities of New York and Brooklyn, the
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Brooklyn Bridge transformed Brooklyn into a borough of New York City and increased
Brooklyn's population from 580,000 inhabitants to 1 million over the 15 years since it was
opened. (Innovation, p3.) The bridge solved the problem of the lack of housing on the narrow
island of Manhattan as people are now able to live in their homes in Brooklyn and commute
safely and quickly to their jobs in New York City. (Innovation, p3.) The bridge was free to
cross, which made it easier for those of the poor working class to travel and find jobs. It help
people travel and move to different environments bringing different cultures together and
growing as a society
Today, the Brooklyn Bridge is now one of New Yorks main attractions, it has 1.1 miles
in length. The bridge is made out of steels and has two towers support it on both ends. The
towers have gothic arches and are 276ft tall. It is one of New Yorks tallest landmarks. . (Russo
& Cullinan, 2014, p.208) This is a historical monument for more reason than one. One fun fact
being that the bridge receives accolades for its stability over all of these years after not one
repair. The work of a woman; takes her time to get the job done right.
Even in the most dark or rotten of eras, great things can be done by exceptional people
of integrity. That's really the story of this bridge McCullough states, who had strong beliefs that
we are greater; as well as we perform greater as a whole. Architecture is an art, a talent and a
complex beauty.
Today the Brooklyn Bridge is still standing tall and shares its beauty to tourist. It
represents the future. The Brooklyn Bridge shows man power and man success. The bridge is
modern transport. The bridge shows what man is capable of doing and building this is an
advancement for the future and humanity.
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Works Cited
Hood, Clifton. 722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New
York. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993

McCullough, David. The Great Bridge Classic Edition. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.
Print.

Russo, M., & Cullinan, M. (2014). Essential New York . New York: Ars Omnia Press

The Progress and Status of The Bridge- Brooklyns Hopeful Future. Brooklyn Daily Eagle [Brooklyn] 5
June 1878: n. page. Brooklyn Public Library. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http:
http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Skins/BEagle/
Client.asp?Skin=BEagle&AW=1265836275812&AppName=2&GZ=T>.