What was the special about the Brooklyn Bridge?

Answer 1

The Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world from its opening until 1903, the first steel-wire suspension bridge, and the first bridge to connect Manhattan to the mainland.

Answer 2

Before the Brooklyn Bridge was built, there was no way to cross the East River from Brooklyn to Manhattan, or Manhattan to Brooklyn, except by boat. Traveling between them was extremely inconvenient.

There was a ferry system, but it was unable to accommodate large numbers of people. The ferries were simply too small and too slow, and there were not enough of them (and adding more of them to the fleet would have overcrowded traffic on the river). So it was impossible for people to commute back and forth on a significant scale.

Furthermore, in the winter, the East River sometimes froze, making ferry travel impossible. Since the ice rarely froze solid enough to walk over, traveling over the river was virtually impossible. It was said that it was easier to travel from Albany to Manhattan (Albany is the state capital, in upstate New York) than it was to travel between Brooklyn and Manhattan in the winter.

The Brooklyn Bridge changed all that. It made commuting much easier; it was now possible for large numbers of people to live in Brooklyn, but work in Manhattan. This was impossible before the bridge was built, since the ferry system wasn't equipped to carry large numbers of commuters at once, and because in the winter, ferry service was limited or nonexistent.

It is not a coincidence that the five boroughs -- which at the time were separate counties or cities -- incorporated into one city in 1898, only 5 years after the bridge opened. The Brooklyn Bridge helped bind the boroughs together into one city.
The Brooklyn bridge was built because people needed a better way to get from Upper New York to Manhattan.

Answer 3

There are so many interesting facts about the iconic Brooklyn Bridge that it might be easier to ask what isn't interesting about it. Here are just a handful:

At the time of its opening on May 24, 1883, The Brooklyn Bridge was …

* … the longest suspension bridge in the world (its length end-to-end is 5,989 feet (1825 m), or 1.13 miles); * … fifty percent longer than any suspension bridge then in existence; * … the first ever bridge to connect Manhattan to Long Island; * … the first ever steel cable suspension bridge; * … the first bridge to use pneumatic caissons for construction …

The Brooklyn Bridge remains one of the oldest and longest suspension bridges in the U.S. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964. Visit the Related Links below for lots more information, and ask your librarian for David McCullough's wonderful book, The Great Bridge (1972), Simon & Schuster. This is not the only book on the Brooklyn Bridge, but it's one of the best.

Answer 4

The Brooklyn Bridge was a marvel in engineering. In its time, the center span of 1,595, feet was the longest ever attempted. 13,128 wires were strung separately to make the four great supporting cables.

Answer 5

this is so residants can cross the river without any weather conditions

Answer 6

cause its the longest bridge in South Dakota

Answer 7

The Brooklyn Bridge is made of cable wire.