Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 June 1883 — UNITING GREAT CITIES. [ARTICLE]

UNITING GREAT CITIES.

Opening of the Suspension Bridge Over East liiver. rhe Greatest Structure of the Kind in the World. The completion bt the great suspension bridge over the East river, between New York and Brooklyn, has been looked*orward to with a great deal of Interest all over the country, and the formal ceremonies of opening the structure to the public traffic were witnessed by an immense throng. The building df a bridge to connect the two cities was first suggested by Thomas MoElxath, of the New York Tribune, nearly half a century ago, but it was not seriously entertained, however, and nothing was done then. In January, 1867, Mr. John A. Bo«tvling, a Brooklyn engineer, acted on bf the state of popular teeling. suggested the construction of a suspension bridge, to cost #2,(00,000, With a roadway 20J feet above highwater mark, that Should be available both for vehio.es and pedestrians, and on on which trains shou d run from shore to shore at short intervals This may bet aid to have been the first definite proposition blade. Three years later, in April, 1800, the same gentleman ttited his views in the columns of the Architect »’ and Mechanic»' Journal. He then animated the cost at #4.000,000, ad the annual revenue derivable from a 8-ceut to l, which should include the fare over in the oars, at # 1,1)00,000. Six years more elapsed, and then Mr. Wiliiam O. Kingsley, of Brooklyu who had taken up the project warmly, and who was seconded by Henry C. Murphy (since deceased) and Congressman William E. Robinstn, began to work zealously for the acoomp ishment of what many dbnsideie t an impossible design. A bill was introduced into Congress, empowering a company that had been formed to build the bridge, and it passed in March, 1869 The work was commenced under the auspices of the company, which, like others, was at first a privat ) corporation. But as it progressed it became evident that its cost would largely exceed the estimate. Objections were oJeo raised to gaoh an undertaking being in the hands of the company. The result was that in 1875 a bill was passed by the*Legislature of this State, authorising the cities of New York and Brooklyu to buy out the etoek, the former to the extent of onethud and the la.ter to that of two-thirda This anangement was ca:ried into elect, and a Board of Trn tees was appointed by the Mayors of tho two cities, under whose direction the work has been car. ied out Operations were commenced on Jan. 3, 187 u, so that the work has gone on for nearly thirteen years and five month - . Tae approaches to the bridge are not 1 63 complete, but they ate soon to be. lire total lengtii of the bridge is 5,989 feet, the span between the two columns being 1,595 feet 6 inches long. . . The summits of the towers that support the great struoture are 278 feet above high water, and their foundations po down on the Brooklyn and New York sides respectively 45 and 78 feet The clear height of the bridge above high water In the center is 135 feet, the grade of the roadway is feet in lix), and tare width of the bridge 85 feet No less than 14,3(51 miles of wire were used tor tie cables, each single wire being 3,•> < 9 feet long. These cables, which are four in number” weigh 3,588% ton 5 . The ceremonies attending the opening of the great bridge were under the direction of the Brooklyn authorities, and were of an imposing character. Business was generally suspended in both cities President Arthur and his Cabinet Ministers and a large number of other distinguished persons graced the occasion with their presence, and the parading of the crack local military regiments added eclat to the affair. Gen. James Jourdan was Marshal of the day. At night there was a pyrotechnic display on the bridge, and the public buildings of the two cities were illuminated. The completion of this grand structure marks another decided advance in the construction of this cla*,s of bridges, as this is the largest of its kind In the world, and probably in all material respects the most notable one. It certainly Is the most remarkable one In this country, in regard to the length of span and the amount of material used In its construction. At the time of its construction the suspension bridge built by RoebUng at Niagara was regarded, with respect to Its single span, its elevation above the water, and the daring involved in its construction, as an additional wonder of the world. This was in 1855; and, however great may have been Its prominence at that date, U has since become so dwarfed by greater constructions that it is now scarcely noticeable. In 1860 the bridge at Cincinnati was completed with a span of 1,057 feet, or nearly 200 feet mors than the Niagara bridge, and it at ono# sup. planted the Tatter as a work of art, to™* matter of magnitude. Then Roebllng bull! 1 the upper bridge at Niagara, with a span of 1,250 feet, some 400 leet more than the tort Niagara; and then the Cincinnati structure fell back to second plaoe. And nowßoebBng has once more excelled himself by constructing a bridge, with a si*»#rl* 1,000 feet, nearly double that ofhis first work, and a third larger than the Cincinnati 6tt There is no suspension bridge in Btjrops that is at all comparable to any of them, unless it be to the first one built by Roebling at Niagara There is one at Fribourg in Switzerland, which has a span of 870 feet, some 50 more than the Niagara span; end there are three or four bridges of the kind in England which have spans of DO twees 600 and 700 feet