Prior to the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883,what we now call Manhattan, was then simply called New York. With only ferry service to connect this city with Brooklyn, the two cities were very much separate metropolitan areas.
Despite the huge social and economic impact the bridge would ultimately have on the cities of New York and Brooklyn, obtaining approval of the project from New York's city government was no small feat. Ultimately it required sending a carpet bag filled with $50,000 in cash as a bribe to New York's infamous William Marcy (Boss) Tweed. |
To support the immense weight of the towers, the foundation was sunk as far below the East River floor as the towers rise above it. Workers digging the foundation needed to breath compressed air, which often caused the excruciating pain and bodily injury from what was later known as "the bends."
As a result of well-placed friends in the Bridge Company responsible for its construction, a Brooklyn businessman named J. Lloyd Haigh was given the contract for providing the wire used in the cables that support the weight of the bridge. For several months, Haigh secretly worked batches of wire that failed strength tests into the bridge. Eventually, Chief Engineer Roebling discovered this fraud, but by then it was impossible to remove the poor quality wire from the bridge. As a result it is there to this day.
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The Great Woman behind the Great BridgeCommemorated on a plaque on the New York (Manhattan) Tower, Emily Roebling, wife of Chief Engineer Washington Roebling, was instrumental in the Bridge's construction. After Washington became permanently disabled from the bends, Emily served as his secretary, nurse, and contact with the outside world. She learned so much about bridge construction from taking his dictation, many speculate that she may have made major bridge decisions on her own when he was to ill to make them himself.
Facts for this blog were obtained from, David McCullough's The Great Bridge
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At the time of the building of what was then called "The Great Bridge" (late 1870s) the two towers of the Brooklyn Bridge were by far the tallest structures in the New York Skyline.
Almost 150 years after Boss Tweed received his carpet bag full of cash, Megan Smeaton graces the steps of the building housing her Department of Education office, Tweed Hall.
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