| |
N0KFQ > TODAY 24.05.11 17:39l 84 Lines 4085 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 8142_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - May 23
Path: IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<JH4XSY<JE7YGF<F6CDD<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 110524/1505Z 8142@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.0.4
May 24, 1883:
Brooklyn Bridge opens
After 14 years and 27 deaths while being constructed, the
Brooklyn Bridge over the East River is opened, connecting the
great cities of New York and Brooklyn for the first time in
history. Thousands of residents of Brooklyn and Manhattan Island
turned out to witness the dedication ceremony, which was presided
over by President Chester A. Arthur and New York Governor Grover
Cleveland. Designed by the late John A. Roebling, the Brooklyn
Bridge was the largest suspension bridge ever built to that date.
John Roebling, born in Germany in 1806, was a great pioneer in
the design of steel suspension bridges. He studied industrial
engineering in Berlin and at the age of 25 immigrated to western
Pennsylvania, where he attempted, unsuccessfully, to make his
living as a farmer. He later moved to the state capital in
Harrisburg, where he found work as a civil engineer. He promoted
the use of wire cable and established a successful wire-cable
factory.
Meanwhile, he earned a reputation as a designer of suspension
bridges, which at the time were widely used but known to fail
under strong winds or heavy loads. Roebling is credited with a
major breakthrough in suspension-bridge technology: a web truss
added to either side of the bridge roadway that greatly
stabilized the structure. Using this model, Roebling successfully
bridged the Niagara Gorge at Niagara Falls, New York, and the
Ohio River at Cincinnati, Ohio. On the basis of these
achievements, New York State accepted Roebling's design for a
bridge connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan--with a span of 1,595
feet--and appointed him chief engineer. It was to be the world's
first steel suspension bridge.
Just before construction began in 1869, Roebling was fatally
injured while taking a few final compass readings across the East
River. A boat smashed the toes on one of his feet, and three
weeks later he died of tetanus. He was the first of more than two
dozen people who would die building his bridge. His 32-year-old
son, Washington A. Roebling, took over as chief engineer.
Roebling had worked with his father on several bridges and had
helped design the Brooklyn Bridge.
The two granite foundations of the Brooklyn Bridge were built in
timber caissons, or watertight chambers, sunk to depths of 44
feet on the Brooklyn side and 78 feet on the New York side.
Compressed air pressurized the caissons, allowing underwater
construction. At that time, little was known of the risks of
working under such conditions, and more than a hundred workers
suffered from cases of compression sickness. Compression
sickness, or the "bends," is caused by the appearance of nitrogen
bubbles in the bloodstream that result from rapid decompression.
Several died, and Washington Roebling himself became bedridden
from the condition in 1872. Other workers died as a result of
more conventional construction accidents, such as collapses and a
fire.
Roebling continued to direct construction operations from his
home, and his wife, Emily, carried his instructions to the
workers. In 1877, Washington and Emily moved into a home with a
view of the bridge. Roebling's health gradually improved, but he
remained partially paralyzed for the rest of his life. On May 24,
1883, Emily Roebling was given the first ride over the completed
bridge, with a rooster, a symbol of victory, in her lap. Within
24 hours, an estimated 250,000 people walked across the Brooklyn
Bridge, using a broad promenade above the roadway that John
Roebling designed solely for the enjoyment of pedestrians.
The Brooklyn Bridge, with its unprecedented length and two
stately towers, was dubbed the "eighth wonder of the world." The
connection it provided between the massive population centers of
Brooklyn and Manhattan changed the course of New York City
forever. In 1898, the city of Brooklyn formally merged with New
York City, Staten Island, and a few farm towns, forming Greater
New York.
73, K.O. n0kfq
Another old retired guy
N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: n0kfq@centurytel.net
Using Outpost Version 2.5.0 c21
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
