See also Brooklyn Bridge and World Trade Center page

Brooklyn Bridge Commentary

"...it is Roebling's 1840 patent for the in-situ spinning of wire rope that has to be recognized as one of the decisive breakthroughs in modern suspension bridge technology. This patent brought John Roebling a commission to build a cable-suspended, wooden aqueduct over the Allegheny River in 1845. Roebling built a number of such aqueducts before receiving two major bridge commissions in his mid-career: his 821-foot-span Niagara rail bridge of 1841-55 and his 1,000-foot span Cincinnati Bridge of 1856-67; both of which were prototypes for the 1,600 foot Brooklyn Bridge, whose construction ran through two generations of Roeblings between 1869 and its completion in 1883. The twin masonry support towers of this vast span necessitated the building of foundations 78 feet below the water level...

Kenneth Frampton and Yukio Futagawa. Modern Architecture 1851-1945. p31.

Details

Length of river span: 1595.5 feet

Total length of bridge: 5989 feet

Wdith of bridge floor: 85 feet

Suspension cables: four, each 15.75 inches in diameter and 3578.5 feet long, containing 5434 wires each, for a total length of 3515 miles of wire per cable

Foundation depth below high water, Brooklyn: 44 feet 6 inches

Foundation depth below high water, Manhattan: 78 feet 6 inches

Tower height above high water: 276 feet 6 inches

Roadway height above high water: 119 feet (at towers)

Total weight, not including masonry: 14,680 tons

Community

See more pictures of Brooklyn Bridge at Wired New York Forum

Pictures of Brooklyn Bridge

See larger picture Brooklyn Bridge and downtown Manhattan. The view from Manhattan Bridge in May of 2002.

See larger picture Brooklyn Bridge walkway. 12 June 2004.

See larger picture Brooklyn Bridge - 4 July 2003.

See larger picture The view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the corner of Pearl and Dover Streets.

See larger picture On the Brooklyn Bridge, with the shadow of Woolworth Building on the left.

See larger picture Brooklyn Bridge, FDR drive and downtown Manhattan. The view from Manhattan Bridge on a rainy November day.

See larger picture Brooklyn Bridge, FDR drive and downtown Manhattan. The view from Manhattan Bridge in May of 2002.