THINK INDEPENDENTLY – Creating a ‘great avenue’
Type: Suspension Bridge
Total Length: 1824m
Main Span: 79m
Height: 83m
Completed: 1883
Building a bridge between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York City was considered impossible for many years. This was due to the turbulence of the East River (more a tidal strait than a river) and heavy vessel traffic.
Then, John Roebling, the ingenious inventor of steel rope and a bridge builder, proposed and designed a suspension bridge. Brooklyn Bridge was anchored across the lower East River, by two neo-Gothic towers and a delicate lacework of steel-wire cable. The soaring lines of the bridge have inspired countless architects, engineers and poets to pursue their own expression of creative excellence.