Modern Marvels: Building the Brooklyn Bridge

Modern Marvels: Building the Brooklyn Bridge

It was an engineering feat of almost miraculous proportions and a design of spectacular elegance. Rare photographs and behind-the-scenes stories recall the politics, the struggles.

The view of Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan.

The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River.

It was also the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its opening, with a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m) and a deck 127 ft (38.7 m) above mean high water