Brooklyn bridge New York

When I got down from the hop on hop off Bus in New York City at Brooklyn bridge stop I planned to spend an hour at the most and later on go to other places by the next bus.

But the cold hit me like a sledge hammer and I literally was thrown back by the chilly wind ,I wound my scarf tighter around my shoulders 
 my hands were getting number because I had removed my gloves in the heated bus .

With gloves monkey cap muffler multiple layers of dresses starting from inner thermals to a couple of shorts and padded windcheater I had bought from Taipei a couple of woollen socks and a high Clark boots but my face was still exposed to the elements and the wind took its revenge .

I would have preferred to be in the top storey of the bus and seen the sights from its heated insides but Brooklyn Bridge was too iconic for me to miss.

There was a small booth of hot dogs and the Indian vendor was enclosed in its cocoon of warmth, I bought one and bit it through standing on a sheltered doorway and later walked towards the bridge.

I tried to fix my mobile on my selfie stick for the photos but my hands were literally frozen and I heard a snap of the sticks hold breaking that's it ,no more selfie stick for now !There was a big crowd of tourists thronging the bridge.

 

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the construction of the Brooklyn bridge was started in 1869 and completed in 1883 
 the bridge was started to connect Manhattan with Brooklyn across the East side river


A hybrid cable stayed suspension bridge it was 469.3 meters long

During construction the spaces under bridge was rented out for storing wine to make some income for the construction as the temperature below was steady it was called Blue Grotto as there was a shrine for Virgin Mary near the opening .

Bridge was designed by German immigrant Engineer John Augustus Roebling .

He had a unfortunate start as when on surveys his foot was pinned between the ferry to a piling and he  had his toes amputated  but later tetanus set in and he expired leaving the job to his son Washington Roebling !!

During the construction several workers suffered from Caissons disease or the Bends due to high pressure under the water,
Washington Roebelling  the son too was left with a paralysis due to Caissons disease and later had to work from his apartment overlooking the bridge, his wife Emily Roebeling for the next eleven years was his assistant not only for communication to the engineers on site, she learnt higher mathematics, calculation of catenary curves strength of materials, bridge specifications and the intricacies of cable constructions .

A book was written on this bridge construction called the Great Bridge by David Mc collough its shown in a couple of documentaries too

On its opening day with great fanfare Emily Roebling was the first to cross the bridge more than 1800 vehicles and more than 150000 people crossed the bridge on that day while Washington Roebling had to celebrate it from his apartment

It cost around US 15.5 million $ in 1883 and was the longest suspension bridge at that time

A 507 million US $ project for renovating the bridge and making it stronger and safer was done in 2010 and completed in 2015
All sort of weird happenings dot the bridge ,
a plane flew under it once by a dare devil pilot
several jumpers  jumped from it some were never heard of some died too .

 

I walked along the pedestrian and bicycle walkway in the centre of the bridge and on two sides at a lower level one could see the speeding traffic

if the weather was better I would most surely have spent more time here and walked right across to Brooklyn and back

maybe next time but Brooklyn Bridge wasn't to be missed

no way