Brooklyn Bridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Brooklyn Bridge |
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| Coordinates | 40°42′21″N 73°59′47″W / 40.7057°N 73.9964°W |
| Carries | 5 lanes of roadway Elevated trains (until 1944) Streetcars (until 1950) Pedestrians and bicycles |
| Crosses | East River |
| Locale | New York City (Civic Center, Manhattan – Dumbo/Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn) |
| Maintained by | New York City Department of Transportation |
| ID number | 22400119 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Suspension/Cable-stay hybrid |
| Total length | 6,016 ft (1,833.7 m; 1.1 mi) |
| Width | 85 ft (25.9 m) |
| Height | 272 ft (82.9 m) (towers) |
| Longest span | 1,595.5 ft (486.3 m) |
| Clearance below | 127 ft (38.7 m) above mean high water |
| History | |
| Designer | John Augustus Roebling |
| Constructed by | New York Bridge Company |
| Opened | May 24, 1883 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 121,930 (2019) |
| Toll | Free (Manhattan-bound to FDR Drive, and Brooklyn-bound) Variable congestion charge (Manhattan-bound to all other exits) |
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Brooklyn Bridge
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| Built | 1869–1883 |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000523 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | January 29, 1964 |
The Brooklyn Bridge is a famous bridge in New York City. It connects the areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn by crossing over the East River. When it opened on May 24, 1883, it was the first bridge to cross the East River. It was also the longest suspension bridge in the world at that time!
The bridge is a mix of two designs: a suspension bridge and a cable-stayed bridge. Its main part is about 1,595.5 feet (486.3 meters) long. The deck, where cars and people cross, is 127 feet (39 meters) above the water. At first, people called it the "New York and Brooklyn Bridge" or the "East River Bridge." But in 1915, its name officially became the Brooklyn Bridge.
Today, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of four bridges that connect Manhattan Island to Long Island. It's a huge tourist spot and a symbol of New York City. The bridge is so important that it's been named a National Historic Landmark and a New York City landmark.
What Makes the Brooklyn Bridge Special?
The Brooklyn Bridge was one of the first bridges to use steel wires. It combines two bridge styles: suspension and cable-stayed. This means it has both straight-down cables and diagonal cables. Its tall stone towers look like old Gothic buildings with their pointed arches. The bridge was originally painted "Brooklyn Bridge Tan" and "Silver." Some say it was "Rawlins Red" at first.
The Bridge Deck
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To let ships pass underneath, the Brooklyn Bridge has long ramps on both sides. These ramps raise the bridge from the ground. The whole bridge, including these ramps, is about 6,016 feet (1,834 meters) long.
The Main Part of the Bridge
The main part of the bridge, between the two big towers, is 1,595.5 feet (486.3 meters) long and 85 feet (26 meters) wide. The bridge can actually get longer or shorter by 14 to 16 inches (36 to 41 cm) depending on how hot or cold it is! It's 127 feet (39 meters) above the water, which is high enough for most ships.
When the bridge was built, engineers didn't know much about how wind affects bridges. But John Roebling, the designer, made the bridge's support system super strong. He designed it to be six to eight times stronger than he thought it needed to be! Even though some bad quality wire was used at first, the bridge was still four times stronger than needed.
The main part of the bridge is held up by strong metal frames called trusses. These trusses run along the roadway and are 33 feet (10 meters) deep. They help the bridge hold a lot of weight. These trusses are supported by ropes called suspender ropes, which hang down from the four main cables.
There's a special path for people walking and biking that runs above the car lanes. It's about 18 feet (5.5 meters) higher than the cars. This path is usually 10 to 17 feet (3.0 to 5.2 meters) wide.
Bridge Ramps
Each side of the bridge has a long ramp leading up to it. The ramp from Brooklyn is about 971 feet (296 meters) long, and the one from Manhattan is longer, at 1,567 feet (478 meters). These ramps have cool Renaissance-style arches made of stone.
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Underneath the Manhattan ramp, there's a famous skate park called the Brooklyn Banks. Skateboarders love using the brick slopes and support pillars as obstacles. The Brooklyn Banks were closed for a while because the area was used for bridge repairs. Skateboarders have tried hard to save them, and some parts have reopened as a park called the Arches.
Bridge Cables
The Brooklyn Bridge has four huge main cables that stretch from the top of the towers and hold up the bridge deck. Each main cable is about 15.75 inches (40 cm) thick. They are made of 5,282 steel wires, all bundled together. This was the first time wires were bundled like this in a suspension bridge! Since the 2000s, these main cables have cool LED lights that look like a "necklace" at night.
Besides the main cables, there are also many smaller suspender cables that hang straight down. And there are about 400 diagonal cables that stretch from the towers. Both types of cables help hold up the bridge deck.
Anchorages
On each side of the bridge, there's a large stone structure called an anchorage. These structures hold the ends of the main cables firmly in place. Each anchorage is very heavy, weighing about 60,000 short tons (54,000 metric tons)!
Inside the anchorages, there are many hidden rooms and tunnels. Back in 1876, the city rented out these large vaults under the Manhattan anchorage to help pay for bridge upkeep. They were often used to store wine because the temperature stayed cool and steady. One vault was even called the "Blue Grotto." These vaults are now used to store maintenance equipment for the bridge.
Bridge Towers
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The bridge's two tall towers are 278 feet (85 meters) high. They are made of limestone, granite, and a special type of cement. The granite blocks came all the way from an island in Maine! Each tower has two pointed arches, like those found in Gothic cathedrals. The roadways pass right through these arches. There are 56 LED lights on the towers, making them shine at night.
Caissons
The towers stand on huge underwater boxes called caissons. These caissons are made of wood and filled with cement. Workers built the towers inside these caissons deep under the water. The caisson on the Manhattan side is a bit bigger and deeper than the one on the Brooklyn side. They were built extra strong to be very safe.
How the Bridge is Used
Cars and Other Vehicles
When the Brooklyn Bridge first opened, horse-drawn carriages used its roadways. For a few years in the 1920s, regular cars were actually banned from the bridge!
After 1950, the main roadway had six lanes for cars, three in each direction. In 2021, one lane was changed into a special two-way bike lane, so now there are five car lanes. Big trucks and buses are not allowed on the Brooklyn Bridge because of its height and weight limits.
You can get onto the bridge from different streets in Brooklyn and Manhattan. For example, in Brooklyn, you can enter from Tillary/Adams Streets. In Manhattan, you can get on from the FDR Drive or Park Row.
Trains and Trolleys (Past Use)
The Brooklyn Bridge used to carry trains and trolleys too! Cable cars and elevated trains used the bridge until 1944. Trolleys ran until 1950.
Cable Cars and Elevated Trains
A cable car service started on the bridge in 1883. These cars were pulled by a cable system powered from a station in Brooklyn. This was because the designer, Washington Roebling, thought steam trains would be too heavy for the bridge.
At first, only single cable cars ran, but soon, so many people wanted to cross that they added more cars and even more tracks. Later, electric wires were added, and the old steam system was removed.
After New York and Brooklyn joined together in 1898, a company called the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) took over the train service. Elevated trains from Brooklyn would uncouple from their steam engines and be pulled across the bridge by the cable cars.
Over time, new subway lines and bridges opened, offering other ways to cross the river. This meant fewer people used the Brooklyn Bridge for trains. The elevated train services stopped completely in 1944.
Trolleys
Trolleys started running across the Brooklyn Bridge in 1898. They shared the middle lanes of the roadway with other traffic. When the elevated trains stopped using the bridge in 1944, the trolleys moved to the protected center tracks. But on March 5, 1950, the trolleys stopped running too. After that, the bridge was only for cars.
The Walkway
The Brooklyn Bridge has a special elevated path for people walking and biking. It's about 18 feet (5.5 meters) above the car lanes. This path is usually 10 to 17 feet (3.0 to 5.2 meters) wide. However, in some spots, like where the main cables come down, the path gets narrower. These "pinch points" are popular for photos, which can make them crowded. In 2016, the city planned to make the walkway wider.
In 1971, a line was painted down the middle of the path to separate walkers from bikers. This was one of the first bike lanes in the city! In 2021, the city created a brand new bike path by closing off one of the car lanes. Now, cyclists use this new path, and the upper promenade is mostly for pedestrians.
You can get onto the pedestrian path from Tillary Street in Brooklyn or from Centre Street or Park Row in Manhattan.
Emergency Use
The bridge's walkway has been very important during emergencies. When transit workers went on strike in 1980 and 2005, many people walked across the bridge to get to work. Even the mayors, Ed Koch and Michael Bloomberg, walked across to show support. People also walked across the bridge during big power outages in 1965, 1977, and 2003, and after the September 11 attacks.
During the 2003 blackout, some people crossing the bridge felt it sway. This was because so many people were walking on it, and their footsteps sometimes matched the bridge's natural sway. Engineers said the bridge was designed to handle this and that its strong design makes it very safe. John Roebling, the original designer, even said the bridge would sag but not fall, even if one of its support systems failed.
Bridge Awards and Plaques
The Brooklyn Bridge is a very important historical site. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. It's also a New York City designated landmark and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. In 2017, it was even suggested to be a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
You can find bronze plaques on the bridge. One is on the Manhattan side, where the first U.S. presidential mansion once stood. Another plaque on the Manhattan side of the walkway shows that the bridge is a city landmark.
The Bridge in Culture
The Brooklyn Bridge is so famous that it's part of American sayings. For example, "selling the Brooklyn Bridge" means trying to trick someone into believing something totally unbelievable. Some con men in the early 1900s might have actually tried to "sell" parts of the bridge to new immigrants!
Many couples visit the Brooklyn Bridge to attach "love locks." They write their names and a date on a lock, attach it to the bridge, and throw the key into the water. This is a symbol of their love. However, this is actually against the rules in New York City, and workers have to remove the locks regularly.
The city once thought about building a Brooklyn Bridge museum. Even though it wasn't built, many old drawings and documents about the bridge were found and are now kept in the New York City Municipal Archives.
The Bridge in Media
The Brooklyn Bridge often appears in movies and TV shows, especially in wide shots of the New York City skyline. It's also been featured in many books, songs, and poems. For example, the poet Hart Crane used the Brooklyn Bridge as a main idea in his famous book of poems, The Bridge.
People have praised the bridge's amazing design. An architecture critic once wrote that the bridge is "our most durable monument" and a "work of bare utility." Another critic, Lewis Mumford, said the bridge was a source of "joy and inspiration" for him as a child. Many people now see the Brooklyn Bridge as a work of art, not just a way to cross the river.
You can learn more about how the Brooklyn Bridge was built in books like David McCullough's The Great Bridge and in documentaries like Ken Burns's Brooklyn Bridge.
See also
In Spanish: Puente de Brooklyn para niños
- Brooklyn Bridge Park
- Brooklyn Bridge trolleys
- List of bridges and tunnels in New York City
- List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City
