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It is estimated that over 50,000 people came in by the railroads alone, and swarms by the sound boats and roads alone, and swarms by the Sound boats and by the ferry-boats helped to swell the crowds in both cities.The opening of the bridge was decidedly Brooklyn's celebration. Now-York's participation in it was meagre, save as to the crowd which thronged her streets. Some of the Exchanges and business houses down town were closed; others stopped business about noon, but as a rule the stores were open as usual, and as a rule, too, patrons were as numerous as on the other days of the year ,when no Brooklyn bridges are opened. The crowd from outside, with curious New Yorkers, combined to give to the vicinity of Madison-square, to Broad-way, and to City Hall Park, the customary gala-day crowds.
The opening of the bridge was part of the knitting together of both what became the City of New York fifteen years later. More importantly it connected Long Island to the mainland. This movement of tying the country together by road continued into the Interstate Highway program and beyond. It has lead to the highest standard of living known to man.
NOTE: New York City (then just Manhattan and part of the modern Bronx) and Brooklyn were independent cities. Queens and Staten Island were a collection of villages, towns and unincorporated areas. Yes, Forest Hills and Kew Gardens were once actual municipalities. I believe Bronx later absorbed some towns and villages from modern Westchester County. All became New York City on, I believe, January 1, 1898 (link).
In April of 1882, my great grandfather brought his family to the US from Pomerania, landing in New York. His oldest son and namesake (about 18) decided that he would find his fortune in New York while the rest of the family went on to St. Louis and temporarily settled on a farm tending an orchard. The son found his way to Pennsylvania briefly before returning to NYC to try to find work on the Brooklyn Bridge. It was mostly built at that time, but he was hopeful. He was a rural farm boy that worked on the manor farms and not acquainted with city living. He rented a hotel room at the foot of the bridge the night he got there and when he went to bed, he blew out the gas lights as if they were candles. He accidentally asphyxiated himself that night and was found dead the next morning.
In April of 1882, my great grandfather brought his family to the US from Pomerania, landing in New York. His oldest son and namesake (about 18) decided that he would find his fortune in New York while the rest of the family went on to St. Louis and temporarily settled on a farm tending an orchard. The son found his way to Pennsylvania briefly before returning to NYC to try to find work on the Brooklyn Bridge. It was mostly built at that time, but he was hopeful. He was a rural farm boy that worked on the manor farms and not acquainted with city living. He rented a hotel room at the foot of the bridge the night he got there and when he went to bed, he blew out the gas lights as if they were candles. He accidentally asphyxiated himself that night and was found dead the next morning.
It is amazing to think how New York was able to build things like the Brooklyn Bridge, not to mention the Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburgh and Queensboro Bridge largely on its own with little help from the Federal government. Sadly, try doing that today.
Jbgusa, I am not sure if Kew Gardens and Forest Hills were ever separate municipalities themselves. They were to my knowledge, parts of the Town of Newtown (today commonly called Elmhurst) which was separate from New York City for hundreds of years until 1898.
Great read.. and there was an early 8os PBS documentary that basically accompanied the book. The documentary was cool & I remember a scene with some young Gen X New Yorkers building like a Lego Brooklyn Bridge..
It is amazing to think how New York was able to build things like the Brooklyn Bridge, not to mention the Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburgh and Queensboro Bridge largely on its own with little help from the Federal government. Sadly, try doing that today.
Jbgusa, I am not sure if Kew Gardens and Forest Hills were ever separate municipalities themselves. They were to my knowledge, parts of the Town of Newtown (today commonly called Elmhurst) which was separate from New York City for hundreds of years until 1898.
My understanding and I could be wrong is that Newtown was the town with incorporated villages.much the way the Town of Rye, in which I live, contains the village of Port Chester, the village of Rye Brook, and an area that covers a sliver of the Village of Mamaroneck. The remainder of the Village of Mamaroneck is in the Town of Mamaroneck, which also contains the Village of Larchmont. To make matters even more confusing, only part of the Village of Rye Brook is served by the Blind Brook-Rye Union Free School District. Part of the Town of Mamaroneck is served by Scarsdale schools, and is known as the Mamaroneck Strip. A jigsaw puzzle would not do New York municipalities justice.
I've read that book. I remember the account of the wild frenzy that New Yorkers whipped themselves into to celebrate the opening of the bridge. But I, an avowed introvert, agreed with one of the members of the bridge-building team. He didn't want to see a huge fuss made about it, with all the partying and assorted goings-on. His suggestion was simply to pull down the barriers, post a sign saying "Bridge is Open," and call it a day.
Not far from where I live, work crews are replacing an old bridge along U.S. 1 over some railroad tracks. The span is maybe 200 feet long, if that. They've been working on it for the past five years, and with the new span in place and essentially complete, they've just yesterday announced that they've hit a snag: it's an inch too low.
Hard to imagine that this is the same country that used to build incredible feats of engineering like the Brooklyn Bridge.
We can do great things. We decide to send men to the moon and mars -- we? somebody, anybody?
I recall the construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel built in the 1960s. It was constructed by American companies. The current project of tunnel dualization (@Thimble Shoal) was awarded to a German company and is apparently delayed now to 2027.
If the projections are true on climate change, our national challenge and the accompanying bill will probably eclipse what we have done in the past. German companies will possibly be busy saving Germany.
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