Brooklyn Bridge's Birthday
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The Brooklyn Bridge turns 125 this month, and what started as an epic feat of engineering has taken on the status of top-tier New York City icon. We help mark the date with Francis Morrone, art & architecture critic and columnist for the New York Sun, by spanning the bridge's history from its conception to the current controversy over congestion pricing.
Comments [13]
Dear Brian. Inspired by you and Frank, I wrote the following on the Brooklyn Bridge.
In the twilight of time with the rosy glow of Brooklyn uniting the earth water and sky, the long arched span of the bridge stretches across space; like the infinite curve of our favorite female form, it creates a longing to gaze and immortalize the image in your heart. The suspended bridge seems to rise out of the water perfectly bisecting the skyline; so you stand in deep admiration of the heart, mind and hand that conceived and perfected this monument of human achievement. To see the might of the cables trapping the sun in its midst is to witness the whole steel structure glow with colors of wonder: a form within the formlessness of space. You are in the presence of the mighty power of the Brooklyn Bridge with its battle cry close to the heart of the every ambitious achiever: “They built the Brooklyn Bridge didn’t they?”
i'm from new orleans where people willjust stop by ea others house unannounced to say hi if theirin the neighborhood. and you're invited in and everybody hangs out. if you do that in nyc it's considered rude. if you're foolish enough to try it you're likely greeted with a scowling confusion and considered rue.
In most of this country, "Where did you buy the mattress and how much did you pay?" is a silly question. There is only one place to buy and the price is not negotiable.
So, O.K., Brian did mention music programming a couple of times in his pitch. But George Preston and John Schaefer have done actual recorded spots for the talk programming.
When, oh when, is music going to get some payback?
When are Brian and Lenny going to do spots for Evening Music, and when is someone going to remember wnyc2?
You know, listeners can listen to the talk programs on FM while keeping some nice music on for ambience on their computers. Revolutionary idea? Not really.
I didn't realize until hearing this that the bridge and I share a birthday ... where can we find out more about the events this evening and this weekend?
Just a correction from something Mr. Morrone said at the end of the segment. Caisson Disease which felled one of the designers of the bridge is not the same as nitrogen narcosis, as Mr. Morrone said. Caisson Disease is actually better known as the Bends or Decompression Sickness, which occurs when bubbles form in the blood stream of divers who surface too quickly. Nitrogen narcosis is another diving condition of intoxication that occurs due to the increased levels of nitrogen in the blood of divers at depth.
Nitrogen narcosis abates as divers return to shallower depths. The bends do not get better as the divers surface without special treatment.
My understanding is that quite a few of the workers on the Brooklyn Bridge ultimately died and were disabled due to what is now known as decompression sickness. At that time however, no one really understood the behavior of gases in the bloodstream that occurs in divers.
The majestical Queensborough bridge- no suspension just lots and lots of steel- beautiful.
not Nitrogen narcosis...
Caisson’s disease is actually the Bends
(I think) that the Brooklyn Bridge, like the other East River Crossings that are untolled, were all built before the reign of Robert Moses, who used creation of toll-collecting authorities to secure funding for the engineering projects he spearheaded.
I LOVE the Williamsburg Bridge. The steel work is open so you can see the structure. The towers have nice arches underneath. It has many lovely small architectural details visible while on the bridge, though some have been removed in the latest renovation.
What about the Verrazanno? That's a elegant looking bridge
is it true they walked an elephant across the Brooklyn Bridge the day it was opened to the public?
Someone once told me they did that, and then the bridge swayed a bit in the wind and everyone got scared and ran and the elephant stampeded. Urban legend?
If our critic was 100 years old, a "billion" views of the bridge would equate to 2739 viewing everyday of his life.
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.