Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-04-26
CrOssln0 BrOOHLUIa BTid1e.

broadway Lounger in New York Tribune.
1 crossed over the Brooklyn bridge for
the first time on Tuesday last; it is con-
siderably more than one mile long, from
the top of the hill where the station is be-
ing built in Brooklyn, to Chatham street.
The large station in Brooklyn is to be
used by the steam-drum cars for waiting
rooms, ETC., and smaller building of that
kind is being framed at the New York end.
l am afraid that foot passenger are not
going to have the most perfect Wow of the
river if they pass through the middle of
the bridge, which l understand to be their
avenue, leaving the sides to vehicles. The
cars, understand, are to run on the sec
ond floor Of the bridge. I was admitted at
gate and put on an asphaltum walk in
the middle of the Brooklyn approach,
along which I went for a thousand feet or
more, and then climbed down ladder, or
crude steps, to the northern flooring, in
which a crack occurred here and
there, showing the frightful chasm below,
one glimpse of which was enough to make
a man finch. The flooring on this side
was of planks, but the parapets being up
there was no danger.
When l reached the east tower, the mag
nifcent character of the arch there seemed
to show more wonderfully than from the
surface of the river below. 1t is a fact
that on the top Of each of the towers
two houses can be built, of twenty feet
front and 125 feet depth. Any man who
owns house and lot of the full depth in
New York can look out of his back window
on his yard and neighbors, and consider
that both of them do not cover as much
space, by another half building lot, as the
top of these bridge towers. The East
river assumes beauty of color and extent
from the bridge that one could hardly i'm
agine; nearly the whole river, from Cover
nor's island to BlackwelPs island, lies I'M
der the eye, and it seems to be the princi-
pal thing in the New York landscape and
those buildings which border it, especially
up toward Williamsburg, rise enormously
from their great bulk, in general sugar
refineries. New York itself seems
from the Brooklyn end of the bridge
ike a tows on a hill which rises
to certain profile or parapet, and beyond
that is smoke and vagueness. The four
great cables, that droop as modestly from
their towers as four whitewashed Bologns
sausages, do not attract much remark
SAASO IhO OJOONo OOAS1NA3 viz AOAS
line of barges, the white sails of coasters
many sorts of steamboats, and lighters. al
wonderfully exposed to notice, since their
decks and upper works are, for the frs
time, fully visible to every spectator, turn
the eye to other things. None of Roeb
ling bridges seem lighter than this, the
imposing nature of the towers and thu
breadth of the bridge making one almos
forget that it is the cables which are doing
the work. The bridge is as solid as e
turnpike road in the middle of the country
it neither rattles nor trembles, and howeve
nervous one is. stepping over it at first, HI
soon feels secure and feasts his eyes on thu
ever opening panoramas. Though
crossed IN rather raw March day, hardl..
observed the wind. The bridge was full
of carpenters, painters, bolt-drivers, and
understand that the rolling stock for thu
cable railroad is finished.