Brooklyn Bridge

Man: HARPER'S WEEKLY, 1883.

"IT SO HAPPENS THAT THE WORK "WHICH IS LIKELY TO BE OUR MOST DURABLE MONUMENT "AND TO CONVEY SOME KNOWLEDGE OF US TO THE MOST REMOTE POSTERITY "IS A WORK OF BARE UTILITY; NOT A SHRINE, NOT A FORTRESS, NOT A PALACE...

BUT A BRIDGE."

CAPTIONING OF THIS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND PUBLIC TELEVISION VIEWERS.

Man: IT'S THE SPIRIT BEHIND THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE AND THE SPIRIT WHICH IS IN THE STRUCTURE ITSELF-- A SPIRIT THAT YOU ANTICIPATE AND APPRECIATE EVEN IF YOU'VE NEVER STUDIED ENGINEERING EVEN IF YOU'VE NEVER STUDIED AESTHETICS.

IT'S THERE; IT'S THERE, AND IN ONE DEGREE OR ANOTHER PEOPLE WHO USE IT AND HAVE THEIR EYES OPEN RESPOND TO IT.

WHEN NEIL ARMSTRONG LANDED ON THE MOON THERE WAS AN INTERVIEW PUBLISHED IN ONE OF THE NEW YORK PAPERS WITH A WOMAN ON LONG ISLAND, AND THEY ASKED HER WHAT HER RESPONSE TO ALL THIS EXCITEMENT WAS AND SHE SAID IT WAS VERY INTERESTING, BUT IT WAS NOTHING COMPARED TO THE DAY THEY OPENED THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

SHE HAD BEEN THERE.

( fireworks exploding ) ( marching band playing ) McCullough: IT WAS THE BIGGEST BRIDGE IN THE WORLD.

EVERYONE IN BROOKLYN AND NEW YORK AGREED.

IT HAD ABSOLUTELY NO RIVALS.

THE BRIDGE WAS THE VISION OF JOHN A. ROEBLING-- AN IMMIGRANT, A GENIUS, A CIVIL ENGINEER-- AND IT WAS FINALLY COMPLETED UNDER THE MOST DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES IMAGINABLE BY HIS SON, WASHINGTON ROEBLING.

THE BRIDGE WAS HALF AGAIN AS BIG AS ANY BUILT BEFORE IT.

ITS TOWERS WERE TALLER THAN ANY STRUCTURE ON EITHER SHORE; TALLER THAN ANYTHING ELSE ON THE ENTIRE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT.

THE ROADWAY OF THE BRIDGE WAS AS SPACIOUS AS FIFTH AVENUE AND DOWN THE CENTER OF THE ROADWAY, ABOVE THE TRAFFIC WAS AN ELEVATED PROMENADE WHERE PEOPLE COULD GO TO ENJOY THE VIEWS OF THE BAY AND CITIES.

THE DISTINCTIVE NETWORK OF CABLES THAT SUSPENDED THE BRIDGE WAS MADE OF STEEL, THE NEW METAL OF A NEW AGE.

( train engine chugging ) McCullough: IT TOOK 14 LONG YEARS TO BUILD THE BRIDGE, FROM 1869 TO 1883-- YEARS DURING WHICH EDISON INVENTED THE LIGHT BULB AND THE PHONOGRAPH; ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, THE TELEPHONE.

THE BUFFALO WERE EXTERMINATED ON THE GREAT PLAINS.

THE CURVE BALL AND CATCHER'S MASK WERE INTRODUCED INTO BASEBALL.

PRESIDENT CHESTER A. ARTHUR INSTALLED PLUMBING IN THE WHITE HOUSE.

IN EUROPE, MARX DIED AND EINSTEIN, LENIN AND PICASSO WERE BORN.

Man, reading: HE IS AN EXTRAORDINARY MAN AND IF YOU PEOPLE IN BROOKLYN ARE WISE YOU WILL INTERFERE WITH HIS VIEWS AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE.

GIVE THE OLD MAN HIS WAY AND TRUST HIM.

Man, reading: HOW AND WHERE JOHN ROEBLING FOUND TIME TO DO ALL HE DID-- TO ATTEND CONVENTIONS AND WRITE VOLUMINOUSLY FOR SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS PRACTICE THE FLUTE AND THE PIANO, STUDY METAPHYSICS POUR FORTH HIS LUCUBRATIONS ON THOUSANDS OF PAGES OF MANUSCRIPT INVENT TOOLS AND MACHINERY, DESIGN CANALS AND BRIDGES AND HIMSELF SUPERINTEND THEIR CONSTRUCTION-- HOW HE ACHIEVED ALL THIS, I SAY, BEWILDERS IMAGINATION.

Actor as John Roebling: THE CONTEMPLATED WORK WHEN CONSTRUCTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH MY DESIGNS WILL NOT ONLY BE THE GREATEST BRIDGE IN EXISTENCE IT WILL BE THE GREATEST ENGINEERING FEAT OF THE CONTINENT AND OF THE AGE.

AS A GREAT WORK OF ART AND A SUCCESSFUL SPECIMEN OF ADVANCED BRIDGE ENGINEERING THIS STRUCTURE WILL FOREVER TESTIFY TO THE ENERGY, ENTERPRISE AND WEALTH OF THAT COMMUNITY WHICH SHALL SECURE ITS ERECTION.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED JOHN A. ROEBLING, SEPTEMBER 1, 1867.

McCullough: ROEBLING HAD GROWN UP IN THE WALLED VILLAGE OF MUHLHAUSEN, GERMANY.

THE FIRST MEMBER OF HIS FAMILY EVER TO LEAVE THE VILLAGE HE ATTENDED THE ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE IN BERLIN WHERE HE STUDIED ENGINEERING AND PHILOSOPHY AND WAS REPUTEDLY THE FAVORITE STUDENT OF THE GREAT GEORGE FREDERICK HEGEL.

ACCORDING TO FAMILY TRADITION, IT WAS HEGEL WHO INSPIRED THE YOUNG MAN TO GO TO THE NEW WORLD.

IN THE WESTERN REACHES OF PENNSYLVANIA HE FOUNDED THE VILLAGE OF SACHSENBURG A UTOPIAN AGRARIAN COMMUNITY.

IT WAS THERE, SIX YEARS LATER THAT HIS FIRST SON, WASHINGTON, WAS BORN.

Actor as Washington Roebling: TO ME, SACHSENBURG WAS THE FINEST PLACE IN THE WORLD.

BUT MY FATHER BEGAN TO REALIZE HE HAD NOT BEEN CUT OUT BY NATURE FOR A FARMER.

HE LACKED PATIENCE.

SO HE TOOK TO ENGINEERING AGAIN-- HIS TRUE VOCATION-- AND LET MY MOTHER DO THE FARMING WHICH SHE DID VERY WELL WHEN HE WOULD LET HER.

McCullough: FROM THE START JOHN ROEBLING WAS FASCINATED BY THE SUSPENSION BRIDGE FORM.

WITH THE TOWERS IN COMPRESSION AND THE CABLES IN TENSION HE SAW THE SUSPENSION BRIDGE AS THE PERFECT EQUILIBRIUM OF NATURE.

IN SOME FOREIGN SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS, ROEBLING HAD READ THAT BY TWISTING A NUMBER OF IRON WIRES TOGETHER ONE COULD PRODUCE AN IRON ROPE OF GREAT STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY.

HAVING SEEN TWO MEN DIE ON A PORTAGE CANAL BY THE FAILURE OF ORDINARY HEMP ROPE ROEBLING UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INVENTION.

IN A SMALL SHED BEHIND HIS HOUSE HE STARTED THE FIRST WIRE ROPE FACTORY IN AMERICA.

ULTIMATELY, IT MADE HIM RICH AND FREED HIM FROM THE DRUDGERY OF THE FARM.

Man, reading: YOU DRIVE OVER A SUSPENSION BRIDGE AND DIVIDE YOUR MISERY BETWEEN THE CHANCES OF SMASHING DOWN 200 FEET INTO THE RIVER BELOW AND THE CHANCES OF HAVING A RAILWAY TRAIN OVERHEAD SMASHING DOWN ON YOU.

EITHER POSSIBILITY IS DISCOMFORTING TAKEN BY ITSELF BUT MIXED TOGETHER, THEY AMOUNT IN THE AGGREGATE TO POSITIVE UNHAPPINESS.

MARK TWAIN.

McCullough: THE MOST STRIKING FEATURES WERE THE CABLES RADIATING FROM THE TOWERS.

IN AN AGE WHEN ONE OUT OF EVERY FOUR BRIDGES BUILT WAS COLLAPSING THESE DIAGONAL STAYS GAVE A ROEBLING BRIDGE ITS STRENGTH AND BEAUTY.

JOHN ROEBLING'S NEXT BRIDGE WAS OVER THE ALLEGHENY RIVER AT PITTSBURGH.

THERE HE WAS JOINED BY HIS SON WASHINGTON WHO HAD COMPLETED A DEGREE IN ENGINEERING AT RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND WAS TO BECOME HIS FATHER'S FAVORITE ASSISTANT.

WASHINGTON WENT ON TO RECEIVE HIS PRACTICAL TRAINING AS A BRIDGE BUILDER DURING THE CIVIL WAR.

IN URGENT NEED OF BRIDGES THE UNION ARMY WAS IMPRESSED WITH HIS ABILITY AND TOLERANT OF HIS INEXPERIENCE.

THREE BRIDGES AND EIGHT BATTLES LATER, INCLUDING GETTYSBURG THEY PROMOTED HIM TO THE RANK OF COLONEL.

WHEN PEACE CAME WASHINGTON ROEBLING MOVED DIRECTLY TO CINCINNATI, OHIO WHERE HIS FATHER WAS BUILDING THE BIGGEST SUSPENSION BRIDGE IN THE WORLD.

Washington Roebling: THE SIZE AND MAGNITUDE OF THIS WORK FAR SURPASSES ANY EXPECTATIONS I HAD FORMED OF IT.

IT IS THE HIGHEST THING IN THIS COUNTRY.

IT WILL TAKE ME A WEEK TO GET USED TO THE PROPORTIONS OF EVERYTHING AROUND HERE.

McCullough: INCREASINGLY, IT WAS WASHINGTON ROEBLING WHO ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BRIDGE FREEING JOHN ROEBLING TO PURSUE HIS NEXT GREAT PLAN.

Woman: JANUARY 1867, BROOKLYN EAGLE.

"IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE EXTREME COLD WEATHER "NEW YORK HARBOR HAS BEEN FROZEN OVER "SO PERSONS, AND EVEN TEAMS "HAVE CROSSED FROM THE CITY TO BROOKLYN.

"THE NEWSPAPERS HAVE BEEN FILLED FOR WEEKS "WITH VEHEMENT DEMAND FOR THE BRIDGE "WHICH ALL AGREE MUST BE BUILT AT ONCE FROM NEW YORK TO BROOKLYN."

McCullough: FOR JOHN ROEBLING ALSO, THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE HAD BECOME THE OVERRIDING PASSION OF HIS LIFE.

IN JUST THREE MONTHS, HE PRODUCED ALL THE DRAWINGS THE CROSS SECTIONS AND LOCATION PLANS MADE PRELIMINARY SURVEYS, TOOK SOUNDINGS ESTIMATED COST AND WROTE HIS PROPOSAL.

IN PLAN, EVERYTHING WAS DONE WITH EXACTING PRECISION UNTIL THE PROPOSED STRUCTURE CONFORMED WITH BOTH HIS MATHEMATICAL AND SPIRITUAL IDEAL OF PERFECTION.

THAT APRIL, LEGISLATION WAS PASSED IN ALBANY CREATING THE NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN BRIDGE COMPANY AND ITS TRUSTEES APPOINTED JOHN ROEBLING CHIEF ENGINEER.

THE COMMON COUNCIL APPROPRIATED $1½ MILLION TO START THE WORK AND IN EARLY JUNE OF 1869, CONSTRUCTION FINALLY BEGAN.

Man: BROOKLYN EAGLE.

"AN ACCIDENT OCCURRED ON THE 28th OF JUNE "WHILE MR. ROEBLING WAS ENGAGED IN SURVEYING FOR THE BRIDGE.

"HE WAS STANDING ON A STRING PIECE "INSIDE THE FULTON FERRY RACK.

"ON SEEING A BOAT APPROACH, MR. ROEBLING STEPPED BACK "BUT A KNOTTY PROTUBERANCE CAUGHT ONE OF HIS FEET AND THE PRESSURE OF THE ONCOMING BOAT CRUSHED IT."

Washington Roebling: MY FATHER WAS A HYDROPATHIST AND HAD DECIDED IDEAS OF HIS OWN.

HE REFUSED TO LISTEN TO THE SURGEON I BROUGHT AND PROCEEDED TO CURE HIMSELF WITH WATER UNTIL HE DIED 17 DAYS LATER IN THE HORRIBLE AGONIES OF LOCKJAW.

McCullough: JOHN ROEBLING HAD PROCLAIMED THAT HIS BRIDGE WOULD BE THE GREATEST IN EXISTENCE.

ALL HIS SON HAD TO DO NOW WAS BUILD IT.

Roebling: HERE I WAS, 32 YEARS OLD, SUDDENLY IN CHARGE OF THE MOST STUPENDOUS ENGINEERING STRUCTURE OF THE AGE WITH ONLY PREPARATORY PLANS, NOTHING FIXED OR DECIDED.

THE PROP ON WHICH I HITHERTO LEANED HAD FALLEN.

HENCEFORTH I MUST RELY ON MYSELF.

WASHINGTON ROEBLING.

Roebling: CAISSONS, 1869 TO 1872.

APRIL 9, 1870.

FOR THOSE NOT ACQUAINTED WITH THE PROCESS WE MAY SAY THAT A CAISSON IS AN INVERTED WOODEN BOX ON WHICH THE TOWERS ARE CONSTRUCTED.

AS IT RESTS ON THE RIVERBED A HOLLOW SPACE CALLED "AIR CHAMBER" IS FORMED BENEATH IT.

COMPRESSED AIR IS FORCED INTO THE CHAMBER UNTIL THE WATER IS ENTIRELY DISPLACED.

THE CHAMBER IS ENTERED BY LABORERS WHO UNDERMINE THE EDGES OF THE CAISSON WHILE MASONRY IS BUILT ON TOP OF IT CAUSING IN THIS WAY A STEADY AND GRADUAL DESCENT THROUGH THE RIVERBED, UNTIL IT'S GROUNDED ON BEDROCK.

McCullough: IN THEORY, IT WORKED.

SMALL CAISSONS HOLDING ONE OR TWO MEN HAD BEEN USED IN EUROPE.

BUT THE DIFFICULTIES IN SINKING A CAISSON HALF THE SIZE OF A CITY BLOCK COULD HARDLY BE FORESEEN.

UNCERTAIN THAT SUCH CAISSONS COULD EVEN BE BUILT THE SHIPBUILDERS WHO WERE TO CONSTRUCT THEM REFUSED TO GUARANTEE THEIR SAFE DELIVERY AND DEMANDED ALL THE MONEY IN ADVANCE.

THE FIRST CAISSON WOULD BE BUILT FOR THE BROOKLYN SIDE OF THE RIVER.

Man, reading: 70,000 TONS OF STONE AND BRICK WORK ARE TO BE PILED UPON THE CAISSON WHICH NOW FLOATS LIGHTLY ON THE SURFACE OF THE EAST RIVER.

ALL THE WEIGHT OF EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN THIS CITY WOULD BE BUT A FRACTION OF THE WEIGHT OF BUILDING MATERIALS THIS WOODEN CAISSON WILL HAVE TO BEAR.

McCullough: FEW PEOPLE IN NEW YORK AT THAT TIME REALIZED HOW COMPLEX THE CAISSONS ACTUALLY WERE; THAT WASHINGTON ROEBLING DESIGNED EVERY FEATURE.

HE DEVISED AN AIRLOCK FOR ADMITTING THE WORKMEN AND AN INGENIOUS METHOD OF REMOVING THE EARTH AND ROCK WITHOUT ALLOWING THE COMPRESSED AIR INSIDE TO ESCAPE.

A SHAFT WAS PASSED THROUGH THE ROOF OF THE CAISSON.

IT WAS FILLED WITH A COLUMN OF WATER-- THE WATER HELD PRECARIOUSLY IN PLACE BY THE FORCE OF THE AIR INSIDE.

THROUGH IT, A GIANT CLAMSHELL DREDGE COULD MOVE FREELY AS IT CARRIED THE DEBRIS UP AND OUT OF THE CAISSON TO WAITING BARGES.

EACH DECISION WAS DESCRIBED IN A DRAWING-- PAINTED WITH METICULOUS CARE, OFTEN BY ROEBLING HIMSELF-- FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE CRAFTSMEN WHO COULDN'T READ OR SPEAK ENGLISH.

ON PAPER, IT ALL WORKED PERFECTLY.

Roebling: JUNE 1870-- THE BED IS SO ROCKY THAT IN PLACE OF ONE MONTH, FIVE ARE REQUIRED TO DO THE WORK AND THESE ARE FIVE MONTHS OF INCESSANT WORRY AND TOIL EVERLASTING BREAKING DOWN AND REPAIRING AND CONSTANT STUDY WHERE TO IMPROVE IF POSSIBLE.

McCullough: FOR ROEBLING AND THE MEN WORKING INSIDE THE CAISSON-- WITH ALL THAT WEIGHT BEARING DOWN OVERHEAD AND THE RIVER OUTSIDE-- IT WAS A TERRIFYING AND EERIE EXPERIENCE.

THE FORCE OF THE COMPRESSED AIR MADE PULSES RACE MADE VOICES THIN AND UNNATURAL AND MADE THE DANGER OF FIRE VERY SERIOUS.

FLAMING CALCIUM LAMPS LIT ONE CHAMBER WHILE THE REST OF THE CAISSON LAY DARK AND SLIMY WITH RIVER MUD.

OFTEN, EXPLOSIONS OF COMPRESSED AIR ESCAPING UNDER THE EDGES PLUNGED THE MEN INTO TOTAL DARKNESS AS SEVERAL FEET OF WATER RUSHED IN.

IT WAS SAID THAT WASHINGTON ROEBLING WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO KEPT HIS HEAD.

Roebling: JUNE 15, 1870-- RATE OF DESCENT NOT HALF A FOOT THIS WEEK.

Man, reading: THE CAISSON OF THE EAST RIVER BRIDGE WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED BY FIRE YESTERDAY.

I DON'T BELIEVE ANY MAN NOW LIVING WILL CROSS THAT BRIDGE.

Roebling: I AM THE CHIEF ENGINEER AND I AM IN CONSTANT ATTENDANCE EXCEPT TIME FOR SLEEP.

A FIRE BROKE OUT THURSDAY EVENING AND I STAYED DOWN UNTIL ABOUT 5:00.

I FELT I SHOULD BE PARALYZED IF I STAYED ANOTHER MINUTE.

I WAS PARTIALLY PARALYZED AND AM NOT QUITE OVER IT NOW.

McCullough: THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE FIRE WAS REPAIRED AT HUGE COST AND EFFORT.

THE BROOKLYN CAISSON WAS COMPLETED ON MARCH 11, 1871 AND FILLED WITH CONCRETE.

ITS FINAL POSITION WAS 44 FEET, SIX INCHES BELOW WATER LEVEL.

THE SECOND CAISSON NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION FOR THE NEW YORK SIDE WOULD HAVE TO SINK ALMOST 60 FEET DEEPER.

IT WAS BEING LINED WITH BOILER PLATE TO PREVENT FIRE BUT THE INCREASED AIR PRESSURE REQUIRED INSIDE WOULD CAUSE EVEN GRAVER PROBLEMS.

THE JOURNAL OF DR. ANDREW H. SMITH SURGEON TO THE BRIDGE COMPANY.

Actor as Smith: THE PATHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF HIGH ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE I PROPOSE TO CALL "THE CAISSON DISEASE."

FROM THE 25th OF JANUARY WHEN I ASSUMED MEDICAL CHARGE OF THE MEN 110 CASES OF SICKNESS OCCURRED DUE TO COMPRESSED AIR.

HUGH ROURKE, MARCH 12-- HAD SUFFERED PREVIOUSLY FROM SEVERE PAINS IN THE CHEST AND LIMBS WHICH COMPELLED HIM TO GIVE UP WORK.

SOMETIME AFTERWARD, WHEN THE PRESSURE WAS FOUR ATMOSPHERES HE RESUMED WORK FOR A SINGLE DAY THE LABOR BEING EXCESSIVELY SEVERE.

HE SUFFERED NO INCONVENIENCE APPARENTLY, HOWEVER AND AFTER LEAVING THE CAISSON WASHED HIS HANDS AND FACE AS USUAL.

A MOMENT AFTER, HE FELL SENSELESS AND IN 15 MINUTES HE WAS DEAD.

McCullough: AS THE CAISSON DESCENDED DEEPER INTO THE RIVERBED THE THREAT OF THE DISEASE INCREASED.

Roebling: WHEN THE TEST BORINGS ON THE NEW YORK TOWER SITE REVEALED THAT THE CAISSON WOULD HAVE TO DESCEND TO THE APPALLING DEPTH OF 106 FEET BELOW WATER LEVEL ALL OTHER ENGINEERS SHRANK BACK AND I HAD TO FACE THIS DANGEROUS TASK SPENDING ALMOST TWO YEARS IN COMPRESSED AIR AND NEARLY LOSING MY LIFE.

Woman, reading: COLONEL ROEBLING WAS BROUGHT UP OUT OF THE NEW YORK CAISSON NEARLY INSENSIBLE.

ALL THAT NIGHT, HIS DEATH WAS HOURLY EXPECTED.

McCullough: THEY WERE SUFFERING FROM WHAT IS NOW CALLED "THE BENDS"-- CAISSON DISEASE-- AN EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL AFFLICTION CAUSED BY NITROGEN BUBBLES IN THE BLOODSTREAM.

Woman: BY DECEMBER, COLONEL ROEBLING FOUND HIMSELF TOO ILL TO GO DOWN TO THE BRIDGE.

Roebling: AT FIRST I THOUGHT I WOULD SUCCUMB BUT I HAD A TOWER TO LEAN UPON-- MY WIFE, A WOMAN OF INFINITE TACT AND WISEST COUNSEL.

McCullough: WASHINGTON HAD MET HIS BRIDE EIGHT YEARS EARLIER DURING THE CIVIL WAR.

Roebling: WE JUST HAD THE MOST SUCCESSFUL BALL EVER GIVEN BY ANY ARMY OR BY ANYONE.

MISS EMILY WARREN, SISTER OF THE GENERAL CAME SPECIALLY FROM WEST POINT TO ATTEND.

IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I EVER SAW HER AND I AM OF THE OPINION THAT SHE HAS CAPTURED MY HEART AT LAST.

Actress as Emily Warren: HE IS UNPRETENTIOUS IN MANNER AND ONE MIGHT SCAN HIM FOR HOURS AND SEE NO TRAITS EXCEPT HIS CONTINUOUS QUIET AND STRONG SELF-COMPOSURE.

HE IS A GOOD CLASSICAL SCHOLAR, A FINE LINGUIST AND AS A MINERALOGIST HE IS NEARLY AS WIDELY KNOWN AS HE IS AS AN ENGINEER.

McCullough: NOW CONFINED TO HIS BED WASHINGTON CONTINUED THE WORK WITH EMILY'S HELP.

SHE BEGAN BY TAKING DICTATION.

AS TIME WENT ON, AS SHE GREW FLUENT IN ENGINEERING SHE BECAME HIS MOST VALUED EMISSARY-- HIS EYES, HIS EARS, HIS GOOD RIGHT ARM A DIPLOMAT AND A SOOTHER OF DAMAGED EGOS.

SHE WAS ALSO THE ONE PERSON WHOSE COMPANY HE COULD TOLERATE.

FROM FOSSILS BROUGHT UP OUT OF THE RIVERBED ROEBLING DETERMINED THAT THE STRATA UPON WHICH THE CAISSON NOW RESTED HAD NOT SHIFTED IN SEVERAL MILLION YEARS.

FACED WITH THE INEVITABILITY OF ANOTHER YEAR'S DIGGING AND THE LOSS OF PERHAPS 100 LIVES HE WEIGHED THE INCALCULABLE RISK OF A WEAK FOUNDATION AND STAKING HIS REPUTATION ON HIS OWN JUDGMENT HE HALTED THE CAISSON'S DESCENT ALMOST 30 FEET SHORT OF BEDROCK.

THE DECISION, ENTIRELY ROEBLING'S WAS THE MOST DARING AND DIFFICULT OF THE WHOLE PROJECT AND TO THIS DAY THE NEW YORK TOWER DOES NOT STAND ON BEDROCK, BUT ON SAND.

Roebling: TOWERS, 1870 TO 1876.

McCullough: WHILE THE NEWSPAPERS AND THE PUBLIC WERE TRANSFIXED BY THE DRAMA INSIDE THE CAISSONS THE TWO STONE TOWERS GREW EVER MORE CONSPICUOUS.

IF THE CAISSONS WERE THE TEST OF ROEBLING'S COURAGE AND INTELLIGENCE AS AN ENGINEER THE TOWERS WERE THE TANGIBLE PROOF THAT THE BRIDGE WAS GOING UP.

Man: BROOKLYN EAGLE, SEPTEMBER 28, 1872.

"EVERYTHING POSSIBLE IS DONE BY STEAM.

"THE STONE IS STORED AT RED HOOK "AND A SCOW BRINGS IT TO THE STRUCTURE.

"THE STONES ARE LIFTED FROM THE SCOW BY STEAM "AND PLACED ON TWO CARS ON A TRACK.

"STEAM DERRICKS RAISE THEM AND PLACE THEM IN POSITION.

"THE SPACES ARE FILLED UP WITH CONCRETE.

EVEN THIS IS MIXED BY MACHINERY."

Man, reading: A COMMUNICATION FROM THE STONECUTTERS ASKING FOR AN INCREASE OF FIVE CENTS AN HOUR TO THEIR WAGE WAS REFERRED TO A COMMITTEE.

Roebling: THE PAY OF THE LABORERS IS AS FOLLOWS: MASONS, 30 CENTS AN HOUR; DAY LABORERS, 12½ CENTS AN HOUR; RIGGERS, 15 CENTS AN HOUR.

Man, reading: JUNE 25, 1876-- GENERAL GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER KILLED AT THE LITTLE BIGHORN BY FORCE OF 4,000 INDIANS.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS ARE ANXIOUSLY AWAITED THROUGHOUT THE NATION.

McCullough: WASHINGTON ROEBLING WAS NOT SEEN ON THE BRIDGE SITE AGAIN.

HE SURVIVED THE CAISSON DISEASE, BUT HE NEVER REALLY RECOVERED.

HE REMAINED A RECLUSE SUFFERING FROM PAIN, NERVOUSNESS, FAILING EYESIGHT AND TERRIBLE PHYSICAL WEAKNESS.

Roebling: I AM AN INVALID, CONFINED TO THE HOUSE AND MINERALS ARE THE ONLY THINGS WHICH DO NOT TIRE OR EXCITE ME.

McCullough: FOR THE DURATION OF THE CONSTRUCTION ROEBLING LIVED ON BROOKLYN HEIGHTS WHERE HE COULD SUPERVISE THE WORK FROM HIS WINDOW.

HE TRANSMITTED HIS INSTRUCTIONS THROUGH EMILY.

Emily Roebling: IT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED BUT FOR THE UNSELFISH DEVOTION OF HIS ASSISTANT ENGINEERS.

THEY WORKED WITH ALL THEIR ENERGIES TO HAVE THE JOB DONE PROPERLY ACCORDING TO COLONEL ROEBLING'S PLANS.

McCullough: THE AVERAGE AGE OF THE ENGINEERING STAFF-- ROEBLING INCLUDED-- WAS ALL OF 31 YEARS.

COLONEL WILLIAM PAINE, AT 41, WAS THE OLD MAN OF THE STAFF WHILE GEORGE McNULTY WAS BARELY 20.

Roebling: FEBRUARY 1875.

THE WORK THAT SHOULD BE PRESSED FORWARD WITH ALL DISPATCH IS THE NEW YORK ANCHORAGE, IN ORDER THAT IT BE COMPLETED BY THE TIME THE MASONRY OF THE TOWERS IS READY FOR CABLE MAKING.

McCullough: LOCATED 900 FEET INLAND ON BOTH SHORES TWO MASSIVE STONE ANCHORAGES WOULD BE CONSTRUCTED TO SECURE THE ENDS OF THE FOUR GREAT SUSPENSION CABLES.

THE CABLES WOULD BE FIXED TO CHAINS OF LONG IRON "I" BARS THAT DISAPPEARED INTO THE ANCHORAGE AND WERE IN TURN TIED TO FOUR CAST-IRON ANCHOR PLATES EMBEDDED DEEP WITHIN THE GRANITE.

Roebling: WHEN I PLACE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DEAD WEIGHT IN THE SHAPE OF GRANITE ON THE ANCHOR PLATES I KNOW IT WILL REMAIN THERE BEYOND ALL CONTINGENCY.

McCullough: IN 1871, THE NOTORIOUS WILLIAM MARCY TWEED WAS NEW YORK'S SCHOOL COMMISSIONER THE ASSISTANT STREET COMMISSIONER PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS A NEW YORK STATE SENATOR CHAIRMAN OF THE DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE GRAND SACHEM OF TAMMANY HALL AND A TRUSTEE OF THE NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN BRIDGE COMPANY.

Man: THE TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM MARCY TWEED.

Actor as Tweed: MR. MURPHY, A BROTHER SENATOR, CALLED ON ME AND STATED THAT HE WAS PRESIDENT OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE AND DESIRED TO HAVE THE COMMON COUNCIL AUTHORIZE $1½ MILLION FOR THE BENEFIT OF THAT BRIDGE.

I CONVERSED WITH A GENTLEMAN ON THE BOARD AND HE SAID THE APPROPRIATION COULD BE HAD BY PAYING FOR IT.

EITHER $55,000 OR $65,000 WAS AGREED UPON.

MR. MURPHY TOLD ME TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE THE NEGOTIATIONS.

McCullough: WITH BOSS TWEED IN JAIL A PALL OF SARCASM AND SUSPICION FELL OVER EVERY PUBLIC ENTERPRISE IN THE CITY.

Man, reading: THE BROOKLYN TOWER OF THE EAST RIVER BRIDGE WAS COMPLETED ON THE 16th OF DECEMBER.

IT IS VERY IMPOSING IN APPEARANCE.

WE HOPE IT WILL NOT PROVE A TOWER OF FOLLY.

Emily Roebling: NOVEMBER 8, 1876.

SAMUEL TILDEN HAS WON THE POPULAR VOTE BUT THEY SAY THAT GOVERNOR HAYES OF OHIO WILL BE THE PRESIDENT.

McCullough: IN 1876, AMERICA'S 100th BIRTHDAY WAS MARKED BY A WORLD'S FAIR IN PHILADELPHIA-- A GAUDY CELEBRATION OF TECHNOLOGY.

JOHN ROEBLING'S SONS HAD AN EXHIBITION IN A HALL WHICH ENCLOSED 13 ACRES OF BRAND-NEW MECHANICAL INVENTIONS.

BUT THE CENTENNIAL ALSO BROUGHT THE INFAMOUS CONTESTED ELECTION OF RUTHERFORD B. HAYES; A DISASTROUS BRIDGE COLLAPSE IN ASHTABULA, OHIO; AND AN UNDERLYING STRAIN OF DOUBT AND DISILLUSIONMENT IN THE FACE OF THE CELEBRATION.

Man, reading: IT WOULD BE FOOLISH, IF NOT WICKED, TO SPEND ANY MORE MONEY ON A BRIDGE THAT IS NOT CALLED FOR VERY SERIOUSLY DAMAGES THE COMMERCE OF THIS HARBOR TAXES THE FINANCIAL ABILITY OF THESE TWO CITIES TO THE UTMOST AND CANNOT FAIL TO BE TAKEN DOWN BY THE MANDATE OF THE COURTS OR DEMOLISHED BY THE WINDS.

Man: CABLES, 1876 TO 1878.

McCullough: AS JOHN ROEBLING HAD INTENDED THE FOUR MAIN SUSPENSION CABLES WOULD BE CONSTRUCTED IN PLACE HIGH ABOVE THE RIVER.

NUMBER-EIGHT-GAUGE WIRES, LESS THAN 1/4 INCH IN DIAMETER WERE PULLED STRAND BY STRAND FROM SPOOLS FIXED ON THE BROOKLYN ANCHORAGE.

A TRAVELER ROPE TOOK THE WIRE OVER THE BROOKLYN TOWER OUT OVER THE RIVER, OVER THE OTHER TOWER AND DOWN TO THE FAR ANCHORAGE WHERE IT WAS LOOPED AROUND THE ANCHOR CHAIN AND THEN RETURNED TO THE BROOKLYN SIDE.

THE WIRES WERE LAID UP PARALLEL LIKE PENCILS BOUND BY RUBBER BANDS.

EACH FINISHED CABLE CONTAINED 6,289 SUCH WIRES OVER 3,500 MILES, BUNDLED TIGHTLY TOGETHER 331 WIRES TO A STRAND, 19 STRANDS TO A CABLE.

JOHN ROEBLING'S SONS, INCORPORATED, HAD PIONEERED CABLE MANUFACTURING IN AMERICA AND WAS UNQUESTIONABLY THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS.

BUT JOHN ROEBLING'S SONS DID NOT MAKE THE CABLES FOR THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

SEIZING AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISPLAY HIS INTEGRITY ABRAM S. HEWITT, A TRUSTEE, WHO ALSO MANUFACTURED WIRE REFUSED TO BID ON THE CABLES AND THREATENED TO RESIGN IF ROEBLING'S SONS DID.

Man, reading: MR. HEWITT'S MAGNANIMITY IS ALL A SHOW AS THE FIRM OF COOPER AND HEWITT HAVE NO FACILITIES WHATEVER FOR MAKING STEEL WIRE.

AND IF YOU RECEIVE A BID FROM A MR. HAIGH OF SOUTH BROOKLYN IT WOULD BE WELL FOR YOU TO INVESTIGATE A LITTLE.

Man, reading: THE WORK OF MANUFACTURING THE CRUCIBLE STEEL WIRE IS NOW IN ACTIVE PROGRESS AT THE FACTORY OF MR. J. LLOYD HAIGH IN SOUTH BROOKLYN.

IT IS A MATTER OF GREAT SATISFACTION THAT SUCH A SUPERIOR QUALITY OF WIRE IS BEING FURNISHED.

McCullough: ON THANKSGIVING OF 1877 A SMALL WIRE SNAPPED.

THE INCIDENT SEEMED OF LITTLE CONSEQUENCE BUT COLONEL PAINE SENT A SECTION OF THE WIRE TO ROEBLING.

Roebling: IT IS WORTHLESS AND THE MOST DANGEROUS MATERIAL THAT COULD BE EMPLOYED.

IS THIS DUE TO A WRONG SYSTEM OF INSPECTION, IN YOUR OPINION?

WASHINGTON ROEBLING.

McCullough: AS ROEBLING HAD FOREWARNED, HAIGH WAS RESUBMITTING THE SAME GOOD WIRE FOR INSPECTION WHILE SENDING HUNDREDS OF REJECTED SPOOLS DOWN TO THE BRIDGE SITE.

Man, reading: WHAT IS DISTRESSING IS THAT ALL THE REJECTED WIRE HAS BEEN WORKED INTO THE CABLES AND CANNOT BE REMOVED.

WE KNOW THAT THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR TWO MONTHS AND IT PROBABLY EXTENDS AS FAR BACK AS LAST JANUARY.

McCullough: AT HAIGH'S EXPENSE, 150 WIRES WERE ADDED TO EACH CABLE.

THE TRUSTEES TRIED TO KEEP THE INCIDENT QUIET AND AWARDED THE NEXT CONTRACT FOR SUSPENDERS TO JOHN ROEBLING'S SONS.

Woman: SEPTEMBER 1880, BROOKLYN EAGLE.

"MR. J. LLOYD HAIGH "WHO FIGURED MORE OR LESS IN CONNECTION WITH THE BIG BRIDGE IS BREAKING BOULDERS IN SING-SING."

Woman, reading: THE HEALTH OF COLONEL ROEBLING IS CONSIDERABLY IMPROVED BUT HE IS STILL UNABLE TO LEAVE HIS HOME.

ALTHOUGH AN INVALID HIS ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS OF THE BRIDGE IS AS KEEN AS EVER AND ALL MATTERS OF IMPORTANCE PASS UNDER HIS REVISION.

Man, reading: MAN IS, AFTER ALL, A VERY FINITE BEING IN CAPACITIES AND POWERS OF DOING ACTUAL WORK.

BUT WHEN IT COMES TO PLANNING, ONE MIND CAN, IN A FEW HOURS THINK OUT ENOUGH WORK TO KEEP 1,000 MEN EMPLOYED FOR YEARS.

Man: ROADWAY, 1878 TO 1883.

McCullough: IN 1879, AT THE TEN-YEAR MARK ALL THAT REMAINED TO BE CONSTRUCTED WAS THE SUPERSTRUCTURE, THE ROADWAY BETWEEN THE TWO CITIES.

EVERYTHING THAT HAD GONE BEFORE IT THE CAISSONS, THE TOWERS, THE CABLES AND THE ANCHORAGES-- ALL THESE WERE BUILT TO SUPPORT AND SUSPEND THE ROADWAY.

Man, reading: AUGUST 10, 1881.

A LIGHTER LOAD OF STEEL ARRIVED YESTERDAY BUT IT DID NOT INCLUDE THE SECTIONS FOR WHICH WE ARE WAITING.

UNTIL THE FLOOR BEAMS ARE RECEIVED NOT MUCH PROGRESS CAN BE MADE WITH THE SUPERSTRUCTURE.

Man, reading: SEPTEMBER 7, 1882.

IT IS OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED THAT NO STEEL WAS RECEIVED LAST WEEK.

WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH THE EDGE MOOR COMPANY THIS TIME?

Man, reading: ONE END OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN OF OLD AGE BUT THEY HOPE TO COMPLETE THE OTHER END IN TIME TO MAKE SOME REPAIRS ON THE FIRST END BEFORE THE OTHER END FALLS DOWN ALSO.

McCullough: THE DELAYS WERE INCREDIBLE AND EMBARRASSING.

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES NOW RUN BY SEVERAL NEWLY ELECTED REFORM POLITICIANS WAS WORRIED ABOUT BAD PRESS AND EAGER TO PLEASE THE PUBLIC WITH POSITIVE ACTIONS.

BUT THEY HAD NO REAL INTEREST FOR THE BRIDGE ITSELF AND LITTLE OR NO COMPREHENSION OF THE HUMAN EFFORT THAT HAD BROUGHT THE PROJECT THIS FAR.

MANY OF THEM HAD NEVER EVEN MET THE CHIEF ENGINEER.

Man, reading: I AM CONVINCED THAT AT EVERY POSSIBLE POINT THERE IS A WEAKNESS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

THE ENGINEERING PART OF THE STRUCTURE THE MOST IMPORTANT IS IN THE HANDS OF A SICK MAN.

McCullough: HE WAS THE PERFECT SCAPEGOAT: HE HADN'T BEEN SEEN AT THE BRIDGE SITE FOR 11 YEARS.

ONLY THE ASSISTANT ENGINEERS KNEW HOW CRUCIAL HE WAS TO THE SUCCESS OF THE BRIDGE AS HE STILL CARRIED THE ENTIRE RESPONSIBILITY.

Roebling: YOU MUST TRUST ME INSOFAR THAT THE MOMENT I AM UNABLE TO DO FULL JUSTICE TO MY DUTIES AS CHIEF ENGINEER I SHALL GIVE YOU AMPLE WARNING.

McCullough: FINDING NO BETTER EXCUSE FOR THE DELAYS SEVERAL TRUSTEES ATTEMPTED TO REMOVE WASHINGTON ROEBLING.

THEY WERE, BY THE NARROWEST OF MARGINS, DEFEATED.

Man, reading: PROBABLY ONE REASON WHY PERFECT HARMONY DID NOT EXIST IN THE BOARD WAS THAT THERE WERE FOUR CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR ON IT.

McCullough: IF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES HAD FORGOTTEN THAT IT WAS THE BRIDGE THAT MATTERED, ROEBLING HAD NOT.

HE GOT HIS FLOOR BEAMS, AND FOR SEVEN MORE MONTHS HE QUIETLY AND CAREFULLY SUPERVISED THE FINISHING WORK.

AND THEN, IN EARLY MAY OF 1883 THE BRIDGE WAS READY TO CARRY ITS FIRST PASSENGER.

IT WAS EMILY ROEBLING.

SHE RODE ACROSS IN AN OPEN CARRIAGE, CARRYING A ROOSTER A SYMBOL OF VICTORY.

Emily Roebling: THE EAST RIVER BRIDGE WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC THURSDAY, MAY 24 AT 2:00.

COLONEL AND MRS. WASHINGTON A. ROEBLING REQUEST THE HONOR OF YOUR COMPANY AFTER THE OPENING CEREMONIES UNTIL 7:00.

McCullough: THE COMPLETED BRIDGE WAS SO GRAND SO STATELY AND MAGNIFICENT, SUCH A SOURCE OF PRIDE THAT ALL WAS FORGIVEN.

THE WIRE FRAUD, BOSS TWEED, THE DELAYS AND DOUBTS ALL THE CRITICISM OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER-- ALL WERE SWEPT AWAY BY THE IRREFUTABLE FACT OF THE BRIDGE ITSELF.

IT WAS THE GREATEST CELEBRATION EVER SEEN IN NEW YORK.

EVERYBODY HAD THE DAY OFF, EVERY BUSINESS CLOSED.

PRESIDENT CHESTER A. ARTHUR PRESIDED WITH SOME 50,000 OTHERS FROM OUT OF TOWN AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF NEW YORKERS AND BROOKLYNITES.

AFTER DARK, 14 TONS OF FIREWORKS EXPLODED FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR.

AND THE CHIEF ENGINEER WAS AT LAST THE UNCHALLENGED HERO.

Man, reading: "LO, SOUL, SEEST THOU NOT GOD'S PURPOSE FROM THE FIRST?

"THE EARTH BE SPANNED, CONNECTED BY A NETWORK THE LANDS BE WELDED TOGETHER."

WALT WHITMAN.

♪ LIKE THE FOLKS YOU MEET ON ♪ ♪ LIKE TO PLANT MY FEET ON ♪ ♪ THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ WHAT A LOVELY VIEW FROM ♪ ♪ HEAVEN LOOKS AT YOU FROM ♪ ♪ THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ I LOVE TO LISTEN TO THE WIND THROUGH HER STRINGS ♪ ♪ THE SONG THAT SHE SINGS FOR THE TOWN ♪ ♪ I LOVE TO LOOK UP AT THE CLOUDS IN HER HAIR ♪ ♪ SHE'S LEARNED TO WEAR LIKE A CROWN.

♪ BROOKLYN.

BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

YOU SEE THAT BRIDGE?

I THOUGHT ABOUT IT LOTS OF TIMES LOOKING AT IT OUT OF MY WINDOW.

PEOPLE COME FROM EVERYWHERE JUST TO LOOK AT IT.

IF A GUY JUMPED OFF THAT BRIDGE THE WHOLE WORLD WOULD KNOW ABOUT IT.

Bugs Bunny: THIS IS THE FAMOUS BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

133 FEET HIGH, 1,500 FEET LONG.

CONTAINS HUNDREDS OF MILES OF CABLE.

FROM IT, STEVE BRODY MADE HIS SENSATIONAL LEAP INTO THE EAST RIVER.

HEY, IT IS LOVE.

CAN'T I TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR GIRL?

THAT'S THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE!

SURE-- THAT'S MY PIN-UP GIRL.

THAT'S THE FIRST MISTAKE WE'VE MADE SINCE WE BOUGHT THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

THAT WAS NO MISTAKE.

THAT BRIDGE WILL BE WORTH PLENTY.

IF THE BRIDGE ISN'T PART OF OUR LIFE IF IT DOESN'T ADD TO THE QUALITY OF OUR THOUGHT IT REALLY DOESN'T EXIST.

NOTHING REALLY LASTS EXCEPT WHAT CAN BE TRANSLATED INTO TERMS OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND THE HUMAN MIND.

IF IT DOESN'T MAKE ITS IMPRESSION ON A MIND IT WILL VANISH NO MATTER HOW MUCH POWER OR RICHES IS BEHIND IT.

THIS IS THE WORK OF AN ENGINEER WHO WAS ALSO A GREAT ARTIST A MAN WHOM ONE MIGHT DARE TO MENTION ALMOST IN THE SAME BREATH AS LEONARDO DA VINCI.

McCullough, interview: PEOPLE FORGET HOW MUCH WASN'T KNOWN AT THE TIME IT WAS BUILT.

IT WAS BUILT IN AN AGE WHEN MATERIALS WERE BROUGHT UP TO THE BRIDGE IN A HORSE AND WAGON; WHEN RIVETS WERE HAND THROWN; WHEN THERE WAS NO TELEPHONE TO SIGNAL FROM THE TOP OF THE CAISSONS DOWN INTO THE INTERIOR WHERE THE MEN WERE WORKING.

WHEN THEY WERE USING BLACK POWDER DOWN INSIDE THE CAISSON; WHEN THERE WERE NO JACKHAMMERS TO WORK WITH; WHEN DERRICKS WERE MADE OUT OF WOOD.

IT WAS BUILT IN THE HORSE-AND-BUGGY DAYS AND IT WAS BUILT BY HAND.

AL SMITH USED TO SAY, "THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE WAS HAND-MADE."

WELL, HE WAS RIGHT; IT WAS.

THE THING ABOUT THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE IN THE END IS THAT IT IS JUST SO BEAUTIFUL.

AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT'S MOVED POETS, SCULPTORS, PAINTERS NOT TO MENTION ARCHITECTS TO SING ITS PRAISE FOR ALL THESE NEARLY HUNDRED YEARS SINCE IT'S BEEN FINISHED.

THE BRIDGE IS THE ARCHETYPAL MONUMENT, REALLY; IT'S ALL WE WANT OF A MONUMENT.

I THINK IT HAS GREAT, NOBLE SCALE WHICH A MONUMENT MUST HAVE YET IT ALSO HAS SOMETHING TO RELATE IT TO HUMAN SCALE AND IT FEELS LIKE A PUBLIC PLACE.

IT'S A PLACE FOR ALL OF US AND I THINK THAT'S CRUCIAL TO GOOD MONUMENTAL ARCHITECTURE; THAT IT MUST HAVE SOME RELATIONSHIP TO THE SHARED NEEDS OF SOCIETY.

Man: I BORN IN 1873, THE 17th DAY OF MARCH.

I WAS BETWEEN TEN AND 11 YEARS OF AGE.

I WAS A WATER BOY.

I HAD TWO PAILS IN MY HAND AND A HOOK.

AND PUT SALT AND LEMON IN THE WATER IN THE SUMMERTIME.

DON'T DRINK NO WATER LEST YOU PUT SALT AND LEMON IN THERE.

THEY PAID ME A DOLLAR AND TEN CENTS A DAY AND THEY PAID ME GOOD BECAUSE A WHOLE LOT OF YOUNG BOYS DIDN'T GET THAT-- NOT THAT I WAS THE SMARTEST FELLOW IN THE WORLD BUT I WAS VERY ACTIVE.

BROOKLYN BRIDGE FIRST BELONGED TO THE LEG.

IT WAS A TEMPTATION TO WALK OVER THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

TO BE ABLE TO WALK OUT ON THAT BRIDGE WAS A THRILL WE HAVE TO USE OUR IMAGINATION TO APPRECIATE.

IN A DAY WHEN A SIX-STORY BUILDING WAS CONSIDERED TALL PEOPLE WERE SUDDENLY ABLE TO WALK UP OUT OVER A RIVER HIGHER THAN THEY'D EVER BEEN IN THEIR LIVES ABOVE GROUND-- TO LOOK OUT OVER THE HARBOR TO BE OUT WHERE SEAGULLS SWEEP BELOW THEIR FEET UNDERNEATH THE BRIDGE.

IT WAS LIKE... LIKE CLIMBING A MOUNTAIN, IN THEIR IMAGINATION.

YOU WERE CLIMBING A RIVER WHEN YOU WALKED OVER THE BRIDGE.

CAN YOU TAKE ME TO THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE?

THIS CAB WILL TAKE YOU ANYPLACE YOU WANT TO GO.

HOLD IT, HOLD IT-- STOP, THIS IS IT, HERE IT IS.

McCullough, interview: I LOVE TO WALK ACROSS THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

TO BE STANDING OUT IN THE CENTER OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE ON A GOOD SPRING DAY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK IS ONE OF THE GREAT PLACES IN AMERICA.

IT'S LIKE THE RIM OF THE GRAND CANYON AND NOBODY SHOULD MISS IT.

AND THE FACT THAT IT'S A MAN-CREATED ENVIRONMENT TO ME MAKES IT ALL THE MORE EXCITING.

Mumford: I'M REALLY A DOWN-TO-EARTH SORT OF MAN SO I'VE HAD VERY FEW SUCH EXPERIENCES.

I HAVE FRIENDS WHO HAVE TRANSCENDENTAL VISIONS OFTEN BUT I'VE HAD THESE VERY RARELY.

ONE OF THEM, AND IT MADE A DEEP IMPRESSION ON ME WAS IN A WALK OVER THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

I'VE WALKED OVER ALL THE BRIDGES BUT THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE IS MY FAVORITE AND ONE MARCH AFTERNOON I STARTED OVER ON THE BROOKLYN SIDE.

THE WIND WAS BLOWING THERE WERE HEAVY CLOUDS IN THE SKY, MOVING AROUND BUT THE SKY WAS LIGHT ENOUGH TO GIVE A COMPLETE SILHOUETTE OF THE SKYSCRAPERS ON THE NEW YORK SIDE.

I BEGAN WALKING OVER AND IN THE COURSE OF IT I HAD A SENSE OF THE GREAT STIR OF LIFE THE VITALITY, THE POWER THAT LAY BENEATH EVERYTHING.

THERE WERE THE SHIPS AND TUGS GOING UP THE EAST RIVER THERE WERE LITTLE CURLS OF STEAM COMING OUT OF THE SKYSCRAPERS.

THERE WAS THE SOUND OF TRAFFIC ON THE BRIDGE ITSELF AND I WAS WALKING, YOUNG AND FEELING HAPPILY ALONE AND I HAD A SENSE ALMOST OF MY WHOLE CAREER OR THE WORLD THAT I WAS GOING TO LIVE IN BEING LAID OUT BEFORE ME.

I HAD A SENSE OF THE POWER AND GLORY OF THE PRESENT WORLD.

McCullough: IN THE SPRING OF 1926 IT WAS OBVIOUS TO EVERYONE THAT HE WAS FAILING RAPIDLY.

BY MAY HE WAS DOWN TO LESS THAN 100 POUNDS.

"THINK NOT THAT I AM IMPROVING," HE WROTE "GROWING WEAKER DAILY.

"HEAD BOWED DOWN IN SHEER APATHY "BONES CRACK WHEN ROLLED OVER "FALL DOWN WHEN I TRY TO STAND.

PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE AND IN PEACE."

BUT THEN HE ADDED A P.S.

: "A SURPRISE.

"FOR SEVERAL YEARS, TEN "A NIGHT-BLOOMING CEREUS STALK HAS BEEN KNOCKED ABOUT "IN THE GREENHOUSE.

"LAST NIGHT IT SUDDENLY BLOOMED.

"IT WAS BROUGHT TO MY BEDSIDE AT 10:00 P.M. "A DELICATE ODOR FILLED THE ROOM "A WONDERFUL FLOWER, MUCH LARGER THAN A ROSE.

"THIS MORNING IT IS GONE TO SLEEP THE SLEEP OF AGES AGAIN."

HE LINGERED ON FOR TWO MORE MONTHS.

THE ONLY THING HE HAD LEFT, HE SAID, WAS HIS BRAIN.

AND FOR THAT, HE ADDED, HE WAS EXTREMELY GRATEFUL.

WE'RE BUILDING THE TOWER OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

LOOK AT THE BRIDGE.

YEAH, SEE?

IT GOES...

I KNOW, BUT WE CAN'T MAKE THAT POINT BECAUSE IT'S TOO HARD.

THERE'S NO POINT.

YES, YOU... OH, OH, BUT CAN YOU PUT SOMETHING DOWN HERE?

SEE?

IT'LL GO LIKE THAT.

OH, I SEE.

NO, ADAM!

WRONG.

THE ROADWAY'S HERE AND THEN THE WALKWAY'S GOING TO GO RIGHT HERE.

I'M DOING IT LIKE THE REAL BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE MY IDEA.

Mumford: THERE WAS A MOMENT WHEN, IN MY GENERATION BACK IN THE '20s, THE GENERATION OF THE '20s WHEN THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE DAWNED ON US.

EACH ONE OF US SAW THE DAWN FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE BUT THERE IT WAS, AND IT DECLARED ITSELF IMPORTANT AND THIS WASN'T SOMETHING THAT WAS EXCLUSIVE TO LITERARY PEOPLE OR INTELLECTUALS.

IT WAS SOMETHING THAT THE ORDINARY MAN FELT, TOO BECAUSE HE'D WALKED BACK AND FORTH OVER THE BRIDGE.

Man: IN 1924, THE POET HART CRANE MOVED TO 110 COLUMBIA HEIGHTS IN BROOKLYN TO THE SAME ROOM THAT WASHINGTON ROEBLING OCCUPIED AS HE DIRECTED THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

THERE CRANE WORKED ON HIS EPIC POEM ABOUT AMERICA.

Man, reading: "TO BROOKLYN BRIDGE."

HOW MANY DAWNS CHILL FROM HIS RIPPLING REST THE SEAGULL'S WINGS SHALL DIP AND PIVOT HIM SHEDDING WHITE RINGS OF TUMULT BUILDING HIGH OVER THE CHAINED BAY WATERS LIBERTY-- THEN WITH INVIOLATE CURVE FORSAKE OUR EYES AS APPARITIONAL AS SAILS THAT CROSS SOME PAGE OF FIGURES TO BE FILED AWAY; --TILL ELEVATORS DROP US FROM OUR DAY...

I THINK OF CINEMAS, PANORAMIC SLEIGHTS WITH MULTITUDES BENT TOWARDS SOME FLASHING SCENE NEVER DISCLOSED, BUT HASTENED TO AGAIN OR TOLD TO OTHER EYES ON THE SAME SCREEN; AND THEE ACROSS THE HARBOR SILVER PASTE AS THOUGH THE SUN TOOK STEP OF THEE YET LEFT SOME MOTION EVER UNSPENT IN THY STRIDE --IMPLICITLY THY FREEDOM STAYING THEE!

PEOPLE WORKING DURING THE '20s WHO HE KNEW AND KNEW WELL-- JOSEPH STELLA IN PAINTING, GEORGIA O'KEEFFE IN PAINTING IN PHOTOGRAPHY, ALFRED STIEGLITZ, BERENICE ABBOTT IN LITERATURE, JOHN DOS PASSOS, WALDO FRANK-- ALL FRIENDS OF CRANE-- WERE ALL INVOLVED IN THIS SAME EFFORT TO SEE THE LINKING VALUE OF A BRIDGE THAT MEANT MORE THAN JUST A WAY TO GET SOMEBODY FROM BROOKLYN TO MANHATTAN AND BACK AGAIN.

Mumford: SO, IT'S THE GROWING CONSENSUS VISIBLE THROUGH PEOPLE'S ACTS AND THEN GRADUALLY SEEPS INTO THOUGHTS AND BECOMES PART OF THEIR...

THE TEXTURE OF THEIR LIVES; IT GOES INTO PICTURES, IT GOES INTO POEMS AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THERE IT IS-- UNESCAPABLY GRAND AND SOLID AND INDESTRUCTIBLE IN THE WAY ORDINARY WORKS OF ART ARE NOT.

♪ IF YOU'VE BEEN A ROVER ♪ ♪ JOURNEY'S END LIES OVER ♪ ♪ THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ DON'T LET NO ONE TELL YOU ♪ ♪ THAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO SELL YOU ♪ ♪ THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

♪ ♪ YOU'LL MISS HER MOST WHEN YOU ROAM ♪ ♪ 'CAUSE YOU'LL THINK OF HER AND THINK OF HOME ♪ ♪ THE GOOD OLD BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

♪ THE TOWERS OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE ARE A SORT OF GOTHIC MONUMENT.

THEY REALLY TIE THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE TO THE MASONRY CITY OF THE 19th CENTURY WHILE THE GREAT ROADWAY IN EFFECT SYMBOLIZES THE MORE MODERN CITY OF THE 20th CENTURY.

FOR A GATE, FOR A SYMBOL ONE NEEDS MORE THAN A SHEER PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY; ONE NEEDS SOMETHING THAT EXPRESSES CULTURAL MEANING AS WELL AND A GREAT GOTHIC ARCHWAY IS A VERY NOBLE ENTRANCE TO A CITY.

( old-fashioned police sirens ) DID YOU HEAR THAT SIREN?

( car horns honking, people complaining ) TARZAN... ( crowd gasps ) I REMEMBER LOUIS KAHN, THE GREAT AMERICAN ARCHITECT WHO DIED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO TALKED OF GREAT ART AS NOT THE FULFILLING OF A DESIRE BUT THE MAKING OF A NEW DESIRE.

HE SAID THE WORLD NEVER NEEDED BEETHOVEN'S FIFTH SYMPHONY UNTIL HE WROTE IT; NOW WE COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT.

IT'S THE SAME WITH THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

WE DIDN'T REALLY NEED IT; WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN ACROSS THE RIVER EITHER IN BOATS OR IN SOME VERY DIFFERENT-LOOKING BRIDGE BUT NOW THAT IT'S THERE WE COULDN'T IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT IT.

I FEEL THAT THE BRIDGE MAKES ONE FEEL BETTER ABOUT BEING ALIVE.

I THINK IT MAKES YOU GLAD THAT YOU'RE PART OF THE HUMAN COMMUNITY.

THAT YOU'RE PART OF A SPECIES THAT COULD CREATE SUCH A STRUCTURE.

WE ARE BUILDERS, AND WHEN WE SEE SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BUILT WELL OUR HATS ARE OFF.

WE STAND THERE AND SAY: "ISN'T IT MARVELOUS?"

BUT ISN'T IT MARVELOUS THAT IT WAS BUILT BY PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND I PEOPLE LIKE... WE WOULD LIKE TO BE, AT LEAST.

AND BRAVE, COURAGE, THE TENACITY OF THOSE PEOPLE THE CONFIDENCE-- ALL OF THOSE ARE...

THEY SOUND LIKE PLATITUDES; THEY'RE TRUTHS THEY'RE SIMPLE TRUTHS, BUT SOME TRUTHS NEED REPEATING GENERATION AFTER GENERATION AFTER GENERATION AND THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE CONTINUES TO REPEAT TRUTHS THAT WE NEED TO REMEMBER.

THERE'S NOTHING ONE CAN SAY ABOUT THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE THAT THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE HASN'T ALREADY IMPRESSED UPON US.

SO OUR MINDS HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY IT EVEN WHEN WE'RE UNCONSCIOUS OF IT AND IT'S PART OF OUR REAL INHERITANCE.

WE REALIZE EVENTUALLY THAT THE SCENES AND ACTIONS OF EVERYDAY LIFE HAVE A FURTHER FUTURE NOT IN A REMOTE HEAVEN, BUT IN THE MINDS OF COUNTLESS PEOPLE AND THAT THESE SCENES AND ACTS AND DREAMS THEN BECOME TRANSFORMED AND PERMANENTLY PART OF THE HUMAN HERITAGE.

ALTHOUGH WE COULDN'T SINGLE OUT ANY ONE PERSON IN A CROWD AND SAY, "THAT'S THE MAN WHO'S BEEN AFFECTED BY THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE"-- BUT MILLIONS OF US HAVE.

SEE, THE CITY IS FUNDAMENTALLY A PRACTICAL, UTILITARIAN INVENTION, AND IT ALWAYS WAS.

AND SUDDENLY YOU SEE THIS STEEL POETRY STICKING THERE-- IT'S A SHOCK.

IT...

IT PUTS EVERYTHING TO SHAME AND IT MAKES YOU WONDER WHAT ELSE WE COULD HAVE DONE THAT WAS SO MARVELOUS UH... AND SO UNPRESUMPTUOUS; IT CARRIES ITS WEIGHT, IT DOES WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO DO AND YET-- I MEAN THEY COULD HAVE BUILT ANOTHER MANHATTAN BRIDGE COULDN'T THEY?

AND HE DIDN'T.

HE REALLY ASPIRED TO DO SOMETHING GORGEOUS.

SO, IT MAKES YOU FEEL THAT MAYBE YOU TOO COULD ADD SOMETHING THAT WOULD LAST AND BE BEAUTIFUL.

Captioned by The Caption Center WGBH Educational Foundation ANYTHING MORE YOU WANT TO KNOW?

NO.

THAT'S ENOUGH, SON.

I'LL BUY IT.

PRESENTATION OF THIS P