[Music] my favorite New York landmark isn't a skyscraper or a statue it's a bridge the Brooklyn Bridge I see it every day but I bet you recognize it - its Gothic architecture stone towers an unusual cable design have made it a symbol of New York for over 130 years the bridge which connects Brooklyn and Manhattan is almost 6,000 feet long 85 feet wide and weighs over 14,000 tons when it was built it was the only bridge across the East River it was much longer and a lot taller than any other bridge in the world and
the story of its construction is as epic and inspiring as the bridge itself I've come here to the Brooklyn Museum to find out more about the building of the bridge John Augustus Roebling the man who designed the bridge was an immigrant from Germany he started the bridge in 1867 but died in a tragic work accident two years later his son Washington who was also an engineer took over the project but he too suffered tragedy during the bridges construction he had an accident which left him paralyzed fortunately his wife Emily who had also studied engineering was
able to help she became the link between her husband and the construction managers and workers today there's a plaque dedicated to the roebling's here at the bridges entrance the workers that built the bridge were only paying $2 a day if they hadn't worked as hard as they did the bridge would never have been finished but it was and the Brooklyn Bridge opened on May 24th 1883 there were some rumors that the bridge wasn't strong enough but if the bridge hadn't been strong enough it surely would have collapsed when a circus owner marched 21 elephants across
it I use the bridge every day and I'm not the only one more than 120 thousand vehicles 4000 pedestrians and 2,600 cyclists crossed the bridge every single day this massive amount of traffic couldn't possibly have been predicted by the roebling's but amazingly they built the bridge six times stronger than was necessary at the time today it is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the world however over the years the bridge has changed until 1944 trams called streetcars used to run along the bridges central lanes today the bridge has six lanes for vehicles and a
central walkway for pedestrians some vehicles like buses and commercial trucks can't cross the bridge because they're too heavy in the 1980s the bridges floodlights were switched on and this night view became one of the most famous sights of New York whether viewed by day or night the Brooklyn Bridge is a magnificent structure it is a global icon that has often been called the eighth wonder of the world [Music]
