One of our goals while visiting New York was to take a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge, so one afternoon, my mom, dad, and sister traveled to the Financial District to do just that.
We arrived just outside of the Manhattan Municipal Building.
The Municipal Building was built in 1914 as a massive project dedicated to building a single united municipal building for New York City's five boroughs. To this day, it is one of the largest government buildings in the world, with around 1 million square feet of interior space and 2,000 employees.
On March 24, 1883, a world wonder was unveiled. The Brooklyn Bridge was an architectural and engineering marvel - it was, at the time, the longest suspension bridge in the world. Spanning the East River, it connected the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, forever changing the landscape and daily life of New York City.
Designed by John A. Roebling in the late 19th century (the same man who designed Waco's iconic suspension bridge) and completed by his son, Washington Roebling decades later, the bridge stretches over 1,500 feet and is still an impressive sight to behold today.
The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge was not without its hardships. Washington Roebling, the project's chief engineer, suffered debilitating injuries from decompression sickness ("the bends") due to spending too long in the caissons (underwater air-filled chambers) deep under the river where the bridge's support towers were built.
Bedridden and confined to his home to recuperate, he oversaw the construction of the bridge through a telescope by his bedside, conveying directions through his wife, engineer and suffragist Emily Warren Roebling. Emily became a champion of the project, relaying his instructions and ensuring the completion of the bridge.
It was super cool to see such a famous landmark up close. It was pretty crowded on the afternoon we visited, so we didn't end up walking the entire way, but I really enjoyed the time we spent on the bridge. It's amazing that such a monumental work, which was built over a century ago, still stands as a testament to human industry and ingenuity.
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