Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1883-06-01
TWIN CITIES.
New York and Brooklyn at
Last United by the East
River Bridge.
The Great Structure Formally
tOpened to the Public.
The Imp posing Ceremonies Witnessed
by Vast Crowds o. Spec
tators.

!
whistling of a thousand steamers, anc
the plaudits of great masses of citizens
the Brooklyn bridge was formally pre-
seuted to the cities Of New York ACC
Brooklyn. The president of the Uui
ted States and officers of his cabinet
the governor Of the state of New York
| and staff, senators and representative
from many states and territories, anG
the mayors Of both cities were approx
| ing witnesses of the ceremony.
HISTORY OF THE STRUCTURE.
The bridge whose completion was
| celebrated, is from mechanical and
engineering point ~ view one of the
great achievements Of the century. |,
| dwarf5 everything else of the kind in
the world. 1t has taken a long time to
| build, but it has been built for the ages
| to come. Its towers will stand for all
time, like the pyramids, as the monu-
ments of the engineering genius of the
nineteenth century.
Tie chief benefit that is expected to
sccrue to both cities from this gigantic
undertaking may be summed up In
the statement that it is estimated the
bridge will practically move 400 900 Of
the people of Brooklyn as rauch nearer
to New York as one can travel in a
quarter Of an hour. This estimate
caves opt of consideration the deten-
tons on the ferry due to ice and fogs.
The larger the city the more CONVEX
lent, quick and safe must be the means
of communication in il, if it is to COM
| pete with other large centers of popu-
Iation, and the effect of the Brooklyn
bridge in bringing nearer together two
great center1 OF population, must at
once be benehcially felt in both cities.
About the close Of the war and a
year or two after it the country ex.
perienced two or three unusually
severe winters. Tuere were days VIII n
people might about aa we'll attempt an
Arctic jOarney as brave the East river
ice in q ferry boat. The newspapers
were filled with reports of ice-gorges
and of terry-boats held in midstream
for two or three hours. All the Brook
lynites and many New YorkeIs began
to clamor for bridge, and all agreed
that le bridge mus. be built at onca
The idea that was in everybody's
thought took practical shape in the
minds of two foremost cit IL ms of
Brooklyn, William C. Kingsley and
Henry G. Murphy. Mr.. Kingsley took
the first action, and has been virtually
at the head of the enterprise from the
start. Mr.. Murphy was president OF
the company from the beginning until
his death, last year. In 1865 Mr.. King
6ley matured the bridge project in his
mind, settled its termiul, hired an
engineer to draw 81 plan and make
estimates, paid him out of bis own
pocket, and then called his moneyed
friends about him. The original idea
was to make the enterprise largely a
business investment of private capital,
and it was not until 1871 that the
bridge was made IL public work, and
the original Subscriptions that had
paid for years of planning and of toll
were paid back to the Subscribers.
Although it was in 1865 that Mr.
Kingsley submitted his plans to his
friends, it was not until April 16, 1867
that tie legislature incorporated the
New York Bridge company, empow er-
ing 1t to construct and maintain a per-
manent bridge over the East river,
and authorizing the two cities to sub
scribe to the capital stock. The COM
pany had flexible capital of SIS co.,
600, and among the private subscrib-
ers were Messrs Kingsley, Murphy,
John I. Huffman. S. B. Chittenden.
Smith Ely, Jr., Henry G. Stebbins, and
Andrew H. Green. The next month
John A. Roebling, who had success
fully bGllt the two largest-span bridges
in existence, at Niagara and Clncin-
natl, was appointed chief engineer. He
was four months in preparing there
port which he submitted Sept. l, 1867.
He recommended q suspension bridge
with 600 feet span, and substantially
outlined the present structure, and set
forth its practicabilities His project
was novel and daring. 1t contemplated
length of span that was 80 per cent,
greater than any heretofore attempted
1t presented SO important en interest
and so large investment that the direc-
tors deemed it advisable to obtain an
Endorsement from other members of
The profession. Accordingly in May,
1869 a report was presented d to the
beard by Horatio Allen, B. II. Latrohe,
W. ]. McAlpine, James P. Kukwood,
and other eminent engineers, VINO
after careful examination, substan-
tally.
APPROVED OF THE PLANS
in general and detail. In the same
month commission of three govern
ment engineers was appointed, IN COM
pl!ance with an act OF congress, to re-
port with regard to the bridge being
an obstruction to navigation. These
gentlemen likewise indorsed the scheme
in the main, bat recommended an il
crease of five feet for the clear head
way under the central span.
Arrangements were st once made to
begin work, and on Jan. 8, 1870, the
ground was broken by tearing out the
north slip of Falton ferry to prepare
TOR the foundation of the Brooklyn
tower. From that day until the pies
ent time the work has been constantly
10 progress, altnough at times parts OF
the work have been greatly delayed by
the failure of the steel contractors to
furnish msterial as it wss needed. It
has taken thirteen years and half to
build the Brooklyn bridge.
The first work was the laying Of the
foundations tor the two huge stone
towers on which the bridge was to swing.
It was necessary of course, to rsst the
foundation on bed rock, and to do this
ns required in Brooklyn to exca-
v. 10 depth of forty-five feet below
the water line, and in New York to a
depth Of seventy-eight feet. OF course,
ordinary methods Of evcavsting were
impossible, as it was necessary to e1ca-
vate the bed OF the river. To do this
the water ST the bottom of the river Is
driven out from under vessel or cais-
son of the sizs of the contemplated
foundation by means of compressed
air, thus enabling the men to work, as
it were, In s large diying-bell. Taese
great inverted boxes were made OF
tough southern pine, fastened by bolts
and oists. O.. top OF each csisson the
huge Foundation was built by a scien-
tific laying of massive granite blocks
whose weighs gradually sunk the cais-
son to its resting place on the bottom
of the river. When the work had reach
ed this stsge the water in each caisson
was pumped out, compressed sir being
turned In st the same time to keep
water from entering and lien workmen