Paper #1: Brooklyn/Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn was once considered to be its own city according to Carol von Pressentin Wright, author of the Blue Guide New York. Being home to one of the most diverse populations in the country, Brooklyn offers its own culture. With all the attractions Brooklyn has to offer, one structure stands out among all; The Brooklyn Bridge. “The Brooklyn Bridge is the oldest of the East River bridges in New York City Yegian, Arzoumanidis, Strohman, Kishore & Patel, 2009) It has been said that this bridge was once called one of the wonders of the world. More importantly Brooklyn offers much more. It is considered to be a piece of history which in turn has created a bond between the city and her people.

Before one can appreciate Brooklyn for the city it is today, one must first know its origins. At first Brooklyn consisted of six villages. “The Dutch first settled Brooklyn in the 17^th century, buying land from the Canarise Indians and Chattering five of its six.”( von Pressentin Wright, 2008) What made Brooklyn such a desirable area was its waterfront. People would travel by Ferry. The role of the Ferry would be replaced by the future landmark of Brooklyn; the Brooklyn Bridge. “From 1820-1860 , Brooklyn’s population nearly doubled every decade.” .”( von Pressentin Wright, 2008)

“When completed, in 1883 it was the world’s only steel suspension bridge and had a center span 40 percent longer than that of any other bridge.” (Yegian, Arzoumanidis, Strohman, Kishore & Patel, 2009) The authors of the article Appraising the Brooklyn Bridge also stated “Since 1883 it has remained one of the world’s most revered engineering achievements and one of the most recognizable and nationally celebrated landmarks. Its importance to the city and surrounding areas as an integral facet of infrastructure and to the country at large as a cultural symbol cannot be overstated.” The idea of the bridge came from an engineer by the name of John A. Roebling. He “had the conviction that that his suspension bridge would be the greatest in the world.”( von Pressentin Wright, 2008) However it was not until the year 1869 where they got the okay to carry out that plan. Tragically the same year Roebling’s plan was approved; the man was struck by tetanus and died. It was said that he had been determining the alignment of the bridge in the East River when an accident occurred.

“The task of designing and building the bridge fell on the shoulders of his son, Washington A. Roebling, a civil engineering graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.”(Yegian, Arzoumanidis, Strohman, Kishore & Patel, 2009) Construction for the bridge did not start until 1870. Shortly after, Roebling contracted Caisson disease. Doctors describe it as decompression sickness: a disease where compressed gas bubbles rise anywhere in the body. This disease confined Roebling at home. Roebling’s wife assisted her husband in directing the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. As it was stated before, Brooklyn’s population nearly doubled every year after the completion and opening of the Brooklyn Bridge. The idea that one could travel from the city to the suburbs with the crossing of the bridge, made Brooklyn a more desirable place to live. Shortly after the bridge was completed, New York wanted to merge with newly popular city. Brooklyn rejected that idea and later become its own city in 1884. The ever rising population brought people of different cultures and backgrounds. Slowly Brooklyn became its own melting pot. “The percentage of Foreign-born far exceeds that of other American towns .” (Fay, 1946) With the expanding population “Brooklyn gradually absorbed outlying towns: New Lots, Flatbush, Gravesend, New Utrecht, and Flatlands.”( von Pressentin Wright, 2008) At one point, Brooklyn was called the “City of Churches” because of the amount of people that created houses of worship.

After the bridge came vast improvements such as the Brooklyn, the Academy of Music, the Botanic Garden, and the Historical City. Other projects included the Prospect Park. All of these creations helped to form the culture that one can still feel in the Brooklyn today. In the late 1900’s Brooklyn “struggled with drugs, crime, the decay of infrastructure, and other urban problems.”( von Pressentin Wright, 2008) Now Brooklyn is considered to be one of the premiere places to be. Just how it was when it first opened, Brooklyn has again taken its place one of the top end places. Such places include DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, Brooklyn Bridge Park and Empire State Fulton Park. One previously stated that the other reason why Brooklyn and the bridge were important because of what it meant to the people that live there. As history showed, Brooklyn was and still is a very popular area to live and visit. Currently “over 2.5million people live in Brooklyn, the most populous of New York City’s 5 boroughs.” (Padilla, 2012) The building of the bridge brought people of all races creating a melting pot of cultures and races.

The last aspect is the relationship Brooklyn has with her people. According to Dianna K. Padilla the author of “Brooklyn Bridge park: a Win-Win for the People of Brooklyn and the Environment, the park will bring people back to connect with nature. “The Brooklyn Bridge Park plan rehabilitates formerly industrial shoreline and will remove old over-water structures, replacing them with functioning salt marshes and tidal areas and access to the shore for people” (Padilla, 2012). These new additions to the park will incorporate industrial eco and human-friendly waterfronts. Enhancing Brooklyn’s waterfront not only helps the human species but marine wildlife as well. “By producing restored marshlands and a tidal pool area, this park should enhance habitats for bivavles and other mollusks.”(Padilla, 2012)

Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Bridge have an enormous impact in New York and the people that inhabit it. From when it was built, not only was it a site to see, but it attracted many people and the cultures they brought. Because of the mixed populations, Brooklyn was able to flourish and become a place of living for the upper-class. Although it went through some bad times, it has since rebounded into a “city” of greatness once again. The culture that has been accumulated over the years, has been passed down to its current residents. Brooklyn is more than just a place where the people wear trendy clothes and eat fancy food. It is now an area where people can go back to their roots with nature. The parks enable the residents and others to step back from the hustle and bustle of the big city to a place of relaxation and peace.

References

Fay, W. (n.d.). The cities of america brooklyn. Saturday Evening Post.

Yegian, M., Azroumandidis, S., Strohman, B., Kishore, K., & Patel, J. (2009). Appraising the brooklyn bridge. Civil Engineering.

Padilla, D. (2012). Brooklyn bridge park: a win-win for the people of brooklyn and the environment. Design approaches to ecological restoration, 30(1).

Jones, J. (2011). Nyc pedestrian bridge blends tustic simplicity with urban modernism. Civil Engineering News ,81(7).