After several days in 1883, this morning I woke up in my own bed. To my surprise I found everything just as it was a week ago when this whole thing began. My car is in my driveway, and my clothes are back to their normal state, thank goodness! I began to wonder if it was only a dream, but I know that this was no dream. Lying in bed this morning, I began to think about why I was sent back in time, to the year 1883. I had never really given a lot of thought to the Brooklyn Bridge. I was of course familiar with the bridge. After all, it is one of the most recognized American landmarks, but I don’t think many people know how the bridge got its start, and why it was so important to the progress of America during the Gilded Age. The significance of the bridge has a deeper and more important meaning than the surface lets on.
The completion of the bridge was a pivotal moment in history, and should be regarded as a milestone in which America would become highly respected around the world. The bridge wasn’t any ordinary bridge; it was an engineering marvel. Made of steel and masonry, it defied the laws of nature, and opened the door to more innovative building and technology. The bridge itself had all the making of a popular symbol. (Trachtenberg, 732) It is easy to see that the bridges span across the East River was a symbol of America’s leap across the continent. Montgomery Schuyler compared the Brooklyn Bridge to the cathedrals of Europe in the 13th Century. Schuyler wrote that the Bridge was an emblem of the Industrial Revolution, just as the Gothic Cathedrals of Europe were the symbols of the Medieval Age. The bridge represented the times through metal and the cathedrals with stone. (Billington, Mark 37) Although some regard the Brooklyn Bridge, as a high form of art, others like Schuyler criticized Roebling’s design. His opinion was Roebling’s use of the cables was not artistic; that it was caused by gravity, and natural law, therefore allowing the beauty to emerge without an aesthetic choice. (Schuyler, 173)
The idea for the bridge had been a long time coming. Almost one hundred years prior to the completion of the bridge, westward expansion began, and the demand for ideas and inventions to make travel easier and faster had become clearer. The invention of the locomotive and railroad system was the beginning of bringing America together, but the Brooklyn Bridge was the last thread needed. Roads meant economic survival of Americans; the fear being, that maybe the vast space of America and its territories would be its biggest downfall. The term “Cement the Union” had more than one meaning; it was figurative, but also had a literal tilt.
The Bridge became a national symbol for unity and prosperity. A Congressman from New York is quoted as saying, “There is no place where the great staple articles for the use of civilized life can be produced in greater abundance with greater ease, and yet as respects most of the luxuries and many of the conveniences of life the people are poor.”(Trachtenberg, 734) These people lacked these “luxuries” and “conveniences,” because they were isolated, and because without roads they would not have the access that the common people deserved.
Trachtenberg wrote that when “The first admirers of the Brooklyn Bridge hailed it as a threshold to the glorious future, an entire movement of thought echoed their claim. Internal improvements moved in the mind as well as on the land. In their symbolic function, they reinforced the popular notion that American history had begun a new.” (Trachtenberg, 736) Many historians agree with Trachtenberg, that this was the dawning of a new era, and a restoration of American pride after a long and brutal war that left the country torn apart.
Industrialization led to the celebration of mankind and scientific methods. In America this rapid industrialization, and the transportation revolution, led to celebration in America itself. The advancement of technology seemed to bring America closer to its “destiny.” However, Trachtenberg felt that not all Americans saw this revolution as a good thing, and industrialization created a contradiction between two ways of life, and two sets of values. Some people felt that the railroad would bring people to America, but would not contribute to the internal structure of America. Showing confidence in technology was essential to the success of the new inventions. It was extremely important that people believed these new developments would lead to benefits for all Americans. Without the support of the people it was sure to fall flat. (Trachtenberg, 739)
“Brooklyn Bridge stood in the minds of its beholders in 1883 for all the roads in America. It stood for the old ideal of mastering nature, and the new realities of the machine and the city. Looking at the bridge, Americans could fuse the separate parts of their national experience into one image: the bridge connected the past to the present, the land to the machine. It stood for passage, the main movement of American life.” (Trachtenberg, 741) The bridge was meant to make life easier, but it would stand long after the original surroundings had changed, and generations would pass.
The bridge is accredited for the development of Brooklyn and the area surrounding the bridge. With passage over the East River becoming more convenient, the bridge made it possible for people to live outside of Manhattan, while keeping productive in their job. After the Brooklyn Bridge’s success, three more bridges were built in the same area. To this day the City of New York reports that although the other bridges are newer, the Brooklyn Bridge gives the city less trouble than the newer ones, and with proper upkeep, the bridge will last at least one-hundred more years, if not more.
In Haw’s book Art of A Bridge: A Visual History; whether the bridges stands one-hundred, or one-thousand years, one thing is certain, “...writers will continue to write about it, artists will continue to make art of it, filmmakers will continue to make films about it, and the world will continue to walk over it. Cyclists will no doubt continue to shout at bewildered pedestrians who have unwittingly strayed across the white dividing line, and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will continue to pop up on the bridge every now and then to preach about the glories of his hometown, and remind us all that the Brooklyn Bridge remains one of New York’s great stages, for all the world’s Barnum’s, a place for pomp, politics, promotion, and pure pleasure, long may it all happily continue.” (Haw, 266)
David McCullough came to the most profound conclusion in his book The Great Bridge, writing that the bridge was not built in the past, nor should it be kept there. Although it wasn’t built in our time or our presence, it was built in the presence of the builders, and it will always remain that way. Although the New York City skyline has long since dwarfed the towers nothing holds a candle to the uniqueness of the towers themselves.
In 1964 the bridge was officially declared a National Historic Landmark. It carries more than 120,000 automobiles daily, and on a day when the weather is agreeable more than a thousand people go walking or bicycling on the promenade. One thing is for sure, the Brooklyn Bridge has had a lasting effect on American’s, and remains an American landmark in which tourists and immigrants seek out to take pictures of and stroll across. In my next trip to New York I will seek out the Brooklyn Bridge as well, and really study it as though I had actually watched it being built, brick by brick, in 1883. I eye witnessed a miracle! The stories I will have to tell my grandchildren.
(1) Billington, David and Mark, Robert. “The Cathedral and the Bridge: Structure
and Symbol.” Technology and Culture (1984) 37-52
(2) Haw, Richard. Art of The Brooklyn Bridge. New York, New York (2008)
(3) McCullough, David. The Great Bridge. New York, New York (1972)
(4) Schuyler, Montgomery, “The Bridge as a Monument” American Architecture and
(4) Schuyler, Montgomery, “The Bridge as a Monument” American Architecture and
Other Writings (1964) 17
(5) Trachtenberg, Alan. “Brooklyn Bridge and the Mastery of Nature” The
(5) Trachtenberg, Alan. “Brooklyn Bridge and the Mastery of Nature” The
Massachusetts Review, (1963) 731-741
