Brooklyn Bridge：An American Landmark

Brooklyn Bridge: An American Landmark

" It’s a perfect day to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, ” Paul said. He looked up at the enormous bridge that connected two very busy parts of New York City—Brooklyn and Manhattan. The bridge was pretty old now. But with its tall stone towers and strong-looking cables, it was still an amazing sight above the East River. “ Dad, who built this bridge?” Paul asked. “ A man named John Roebling, ” his father answered.

Now Brooklyn and Manhattan are part of the same city—New York. But they used to be two different cities. In the 1800s, boats would bring people back and forth across the East River to work, shop, or visit friends. The river was sometimes rough, and the boats were often late. One day John was on one of those boats with his son, and he got the idea to build a suspension bridge across the river. Many people said it couldn’t be done.

“ But one winter the East River froze, and the boats couldn’t get through. People from Brooklyn couldn’t get to work in Manhattan. Finally it was decided that a bridge should be built, connecting the two places. ” “ Was John Roebling an engineer like you?” asked Paul. “ Yes, he was. His son, Washington, was an engineer too. In 1869 they started to work on the bridge together. But sadly, a freak accident happened.

While John Roebling was on the Brooklyn side of the river, his foot got caught in the dock. An incoming boat crashed into the dock, injuring him badly. He died a month later. So Washington took over. ” “ Washington must have been sad when his father died, ” murmured Paul. “ Yes, he and his father were very close. But Washington was ready for the job. He started working right away, digging deep under the river mud to create supports for the two bridge towers.

This almost cost him his life. ” Paul gasped. “ You mean, Washington almost died too?” “ Yes, he designed something called a caisson to use for the underwater project. These caissons, which prevented the water from flooding the work area, were filled with compressed air. And at the time, people didn’t realize that working in compressed air can cause caisson disease, or decompression sickness.