The Bridge remained a subject of endless fascination
for almost everybody who saw it. For the millions
of immigrants arriving in New York through the
1880's and 1890's, and on into the new century, it was
on of the first things to be seen of the New World as they
came up the bay. It was one of the landmarks that all
looked for, the great world-famous symbol of
faith that was literally moving mountains....
In truth, there is really no end to the number
of things the bridge meant to people. (1)
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A great historian, Andrew Meyers, once said, "Every single time an individual crosses the Brooklyn Bridge, he or she has a completely novel, awe-inspiring experience." |
The Brooklyn Bridge captivates the people throughout New York and all of America. It stands as a local and national emblem of pride and achievement. It gave 19th century Americans a new perspective on themselves and the world; similar to the perspective landing on the moon gave in the 20th century. For the first time, the average citizen could look out over his city from a height previously unattainable. The Brooklyn Bridge was not only a link between two different societies, it was a union between the present and future. Lewis Mumford, a critic who had many different reviews of the Brooklyn Bridge wrote during the 1920's, "In this structure, the architecture of the past, massive and protective, meets the architecture of the future, light, aerial, open to sunlight, an architecture of voids rather than solids." (2)
The bridge was suggested during a time when America was under a Manifest Destiny spirit; when the idea of the frontier and expanding onto new land was desirable. A time of urbanization, receding rural areas, and technology was on the rise in New York. It just needed a trigger: the Brooklyn Bridge. When the fusion of society and technology was brought to new heights with the Brooklyn Bridge, New Yorkers saw it as a stepping-stone. They realized they could build taller, use more expertise, create more of a shock. The Brooklyn Bridge was the catalyst for the phenomenon of the skyscraper in New York City. The idea of a bridge foreshadowed a new standard of life; it was the seed of industry and development. David McCullough noted in his book, The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge, "Even before the bridge was opened it had become a symbol of something impossible to define that made New York different from every other city on earth. The bridge dominated the imagination the way it dominated the skyline." (3)
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The Brooklyn Bridge is the essential symbol of the American dream of success
through hard work and perseverance. The bridge overcame uncertainty and distrust
and rose to stand out as one of the most important aspects of city culture during
the turn of the twentieth century. Not to mention it was designed and developed
by a German immigrant. The bridge was the perfect balance between the tangible
and the ideal. It was tangible proof to the inhabitants of Brooklyn and Manhattan
that the two cities could be united and transportation between the two made
unproblematic. It also had the ideal air that somehow touched the lives of many
people, the heart of culture in New York City. It has been inspiration; for
artists to create works of art and literature,
and to city officials to consolidate the area into
the Greater New York.
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"The great towers ... will be ranked as national monuments. As a 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." --John Augustus Roebling (4) |
