Construction was planned in 1855
Designed for 6 times the strength it needed to be, but only turned out to be 4 times
The designer was John Augustus Roebling
1867 - New York bridge company founded to take on spanning the east river
Opened for use in 1883, around 13 years after the start of construction
Costing 15.5 million dollars and took 27 lives
The bridge at the time was 50% bigger than all other bridges in the United States
Spanned 1,595 feet and 6 inches
The Brooklyn bridge was thought to be unstable, so Mr P T Barnum, took a parade of 21 elephants over the bridge to prove its stability.
Who remembers Denver's conclusion about Roebling (the bridge designer)and the ferry?
ReplyDeleteThe comment where the ferry may have killed Roebling, but he killed the ferry? The Brooklin Bridge was very impressive to me because it was a technological marvel then and still has the capability of supporting traffic today.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that this bridge is still standing and can support the weight of hundreds of tons of metal at any given time when it was only needed to support horse drawn carriages and earlier, smaller automobiles is really cool. I think, though the Brooklyn Bridge is not the largest suspension bridge, it set the standard for all suspension bridges to come.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ben about the comment that you ended your presentation on, it was very clever. I like how the Brooklyn Bridge is stable, even though you stated that it was only 4 times the strength it needed to be rather than 6 times. For something so old, it's very steady and still so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Luke, its amazing how they were able to create that strong of a bridge in 1855 that is still standing strong and in use today. I think its funny that they took 21 elephants across the bridge to test its stability. Its strange to think that there are so many old landmarks that are still in use today in a city of such constant change.
ReplyDeleteI remember learning about the Brooklyn Bridge in 2nd Grade, and building a model of it in my classroom with blocks. It was interesting to learn about the more technical details that I probably would not have been able to understand as a second-grader, like all the numbers and reasoning behind the suspension, etc. Also, fun fact: the George Washington Bridge was supposed to be covered with stone like the Brooklyn Bridge, but then they ran out of money and just left the skeleton, and decided it was a new look.
ReplyDeletehah Denver's closing line was hilarious. definitely goes down as one of the top comments during a presentation. what really caught my ear was that construction took 13 years. i think it was very funny as well that elephants were taken across it too prove that the bridge could hold 4 times what it had to, and its very impressive that this bridge is still powerful and reinforced today. Thanks Denver for teaching me this.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that the creation of this bridge killed 27 people and cost 15.5 million dollars. Along with that, the fact that this bridge has not been reconstructed since it was originally made is outstanding and says a lot about its original design and creation.
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