The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1883-07-05
Crossing Brooklyn Bridge.

crossed over the brooklyn DTluSe,
for the first time, the other day. 1t is
considerably more than one mile long,
from the top of the hill where the station
is being built, in Brooklyn, to Chatham
street The large station in Brooklyn
is to be used by the steam-drum cars
for waiting g-rooms, ETC., and smaller
building of that kind is being framed at
the New York end. / am afraid that
foot-passengers are not going to have
the most perfect view of the river, if
they pass through the middle of the
bridge, which | understand to be their
avenue, leaving the sides TO vehicles.
The cars, / understand, are to run on
the second floor of the bridge. l was
admitted at gate, and put on an as
phaltum walk in the middle of the
Brooklyn approach, along which | went
for thousand feet or more, and then
climbed down ladder, or crude steps,
to the northern flooring, in which
crack occurred here and there, showing
the frightful chasm below, one glimpse
of which was enough to make man
finch. The flooring On this side was of
planks, but, the parapets being up, there
was no danger.
When / reached the east tower, the
magnificent character of the arch, there
seemed to show more wonderfully than
from the surface of the river below. 1t
is fact that on the top of each of the
towers, two houses can be built of 20
feet front and 123 feet depth. Any man
who owns a house and lot of the fun
depth, in New York, can look out of his
back window on his yard and his neigh
boris, 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 imagine.
| Nearly the whole river, from Governor S
Island to Blackwell's Island, lies under
| the eye, and it seems to be the princi-
pal thing in New York landscape; and
those buildings which border it, espec-
ially up toward Williamsburg, rise en-
ormously from their great bulk, in gen-
eral, sugar refineries. New York itself
seems, from the Brooklyn end of the
bridge, like town on hill which rises
to certain profile or parapet, and be-
yond that is smoke and vagueness.
The four great cables, that droop as
modestly from their towers as fonT
whitewashed Bologna sadsages, do not
attract much remark, since the rushing
objects beneath, the long line of barges,
the white sails of coasters, many sorts
of steamboats, and lighters, all wonder
fully exposed to notice, since their decks
and upper works are, for the first time,
fully visible to every spectator, turn the
eye to other things. None of Roebling'
bridges seems lighter than this, the inn
posing nature of the towers and the
breadth of the bridge making one al
most forget that it is the cables that are
doing the work. The bridge is as solid
as turnpike road in the middle of the
country; it neither rattles nor trembles
and, however nervous one is stepping
over it, at first, hesoon feels secure, anC
feasts his eyes on the ever-opening pano-
ramas. Though. ] creesssTT11e the wind
Inc 5rrugJ Was s1tiiI 81 Carpenters, paint
ers, bolt-drivers; and | understand thai
the rolling-stock for the cable-railroaC
is finished BroadaCay Eoumger, IN
NeU York Tribune.