Brooklyn Bridge

The first steel-wire suspension bridge, linking Manhattan and Brooklyn with Gothic-arched granite towers.

When it opened, its main span of about 486 metres was the longest of any suspension bridge in the world, and it was an early example of a bridge held up by steel-wire cables. More than 150,000 people walked across it within its first day. Today cars use the roadways, while walkers and cyclists use a raised promenade above them. The bridge is a U.S. National Historic Landmark and one of the best-known sights of New York.

Who built it

The bridge was designed by the engineer John A. Roebling, but he died in 1869, weeks after a boat crushed his foot, before building had even begun. His son Washington Roebling became chief engineer. Washington was later partly paralysed by caisson disease, so he followed the work through a telescope from his home, while his wife, Emily Warren Roebling, carried his instructions to the builders and helped manage the project for about 11 years. When the bridge was finished, Emily was given the very first ride across it, holding a rooster as a symbol of victory.

How it was built

Construction began in January 1870 and took about 14 years. To build the foundations for the towers, workers dug the riverbed out from inside giant boxes called caissons, which sank deeper as they dug while air was pumped in to keep the water out. The Manhattan caisson went down about 24 metres below high water. Coming back up from that high air pressure too quickly caused caisson disease, also called "the bends", and more than 100 workers fell ill. An estimated 27 people died during construction. Each of the four main cables is about 40 centimetres thick and is made of 5,282 steel wires.

On the globe

The model shows the bridge's granite towers with their pointed Gothic arches and the steel cables that carry the road between Manhattan and Brooklyn. Zoom in to look through the arches in the towers.