Why the Brooklyn Bridge used Elephants to Prove its Safety - IT'S HISTORY
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- čas přidán 5. 06. 2024
- As one of America’s most well-known tourist destinations, there is little question of the sizeable impact it has had not only on New York but the country as a whole. But few know just how far back its roots run. By far, it was one of the most ambitious projects of its time-and yet there is much more to this giant of architecture beyond its incredible length and massive towers. In today’s episode of It’s History, we’ll uncover the rich history beyond the bridge that unites Brooklyn and Manhattan.
IT’S HISTORY - Weekly tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.
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For brands, agencies and sponsorships, please contact us at itshistory@thoughtleaders.io
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» CREDIT
Scriptwriter - Imana Schoch
Editor - Piotr Kubiak
Host - Ryan Socash
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:43 - New York in the 19th century
03:50 - Who designed the Brooklyn Bridge?
06:23 - What came before the Brooklyn Bridge?
07:08 - How was the Brooklyn Bridge funded?
08:50 - The Roebling tragedy
09:47 - Brooklyn Bridge’s new engineer
10:23 - What were working conditions like during Brooklyn Bridge construction?
12:50 - The unsung hero of the Brooklyn Bridge
13:34 - Disaster and tragedy during construction of the Brooklyn Bridge
14:29 - The Brooklyn Bridge’s towers
15:10 - The Brooklyn Bridge during dangerous winters
16:21 - The opening of the Brooklyn Bridge
17:55 - The Decoration Day Tragedy on the Brooklyn Bridge
20:07 - Stunts on the Brooklyn Bridge
21:24 - Brooklyn Bridge conmen
22:03 - People who have climbed the Brooklyn Bridge
23:18 - Modern-day Brooklyn Bridge
» SOURCES
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» NOTICE
Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.
The fact that this bridge still stands after so long and with so much traffic going over it nowadays shows how well this thing was built.
They thought ahead how much demand could be needed when the growth continued. Railway, check. 6 lanes for cars and truck we didn't knew existed yet, check. Room for pedestrian , check.
Modern brides get constructed for the current demand and are often already maxed out when opened.
David McCullough's "The Great Bridge" is a masterpiece of detail that is worth reading (as is generally all his books). The substandard wires snuck into the bridge's cables by shady suppliers were not removed, but the suppliers were forced to furnish additional wire that was added to obtain the required strength.
When I was a kid I walked across both the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges quite often and the heights are dizzying
Men literally died making this bridge! This was genius. God bless them all for their bravery and ambition. Thanks to them we have options to travel to and from Brooklyn. Although I no longer live in NYC, I will always be a proud born and raised Brooklyn girl. I believe they are now doing construction on the Bridge to revive it. It had a lot of wear and tear. Well after all it's over 100 years old. Still one of the best Bridges made in history.
You failed to mention the secret rooms of the Brooklyn bridge. From Inhabitat, "Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage is a series of eight rooms found on the Brooklyn side that were designed by the bridge’s architect, John Roebling. The space was originally destined to be developed into a shopping area, but the project never came to fruition, and instead was used as storage until being closed out of security concerns in 2001."
Roebling also knew that there were language and literacy barriers, so he drew diagrams and pictures of how certain work was to be carried out to transcend those barriers.
Been to NYC twice, both times walked across it and I'd say the panoramic view of the city from center of span is the Best overall. 1 can See most of Manhattan, the other great bridges, Miss Liberty ,parts of NJ and the Verrezano Narrows Br., which also held title of worlds longest 4 awhile.
Bayonne Brdg. is my fav.
Liberty Is. is partly in NJ.
@@danielmarsala849 Tappen zee is my favorite
@@danielmarsala849 I remember as a rumbucuis little rascal getting escorted to the bayone bridge NY a cop and told to stay outa bayone lol
Awesome guys!! Something to watch while I wait on the turkey!
You shouda fixed ham, that way you could be eating while u watched...
Don’t you just wonder how expensive it was to get elephants on the bridge
Elephants are paid peanuts.
I really like your work guys!
The Roebling suspension bridge in Cincinnati really puts me in the mind of this bridge. It was and still is a huge deal with connecting KY to OH. I consider it in being the baby Brooklyn bridge.
Been over it many times and never knew the same guy designed it!!! Pretty interesting!
The Waco TX bridge is another Roebling bridge that was considered a modern marvel. John Roebling was born in the Pittsburgh area north of the city ( Saxonberg PA).
I wish people from 1800 could see NYC now just to see their reactions.
In the 1800’s Brooklyn was once a small town.
This is my favorite of all Bridges in NY. I always enjoyed biking over it.
Ryan, your It's History series is phenomenal. I enjoyed the Brooklyn Bridge piece immensely. I do have a question about the part regarding the Barnum elephants. At 20:31time stamp, you stated that special event occurred in 1834. Wasn't the event in 1884 (May 17th)? The bridge wasn't opened until May 18, 1883 as you have articulated so well in your You Tube posting.
time has no place in history
Not to mention he called Barnum as Burnam.
Accuracy has no place in history.
I love all of your videos, they are very interesting and it's really cool seeing all of the old pictures. I wish you would do a series on all of the states. It would be cool to see more history on my home state of Oregon
Another great video Ryan and company. Keep em' coming.
When I first saw this bridge three days before 911, and I was driving by on the Queen's Expressway, I thought what a beautiful bridge. it was a sight to see! Very impressive, and something everybody should see in their lifetime.
Fascinating history about NYC and Brooklyn Bridge 👍🏼
Great job!
Anyone else see the “U need a Biscuit” sign? Lol
Civil engineers have realized that the Brooklyn Bridge is a combination if being both a suspension and a cable stay bridge. The corruption of Boss Tweed iswhat resulted in the substandard wire rope scandal. Roebling had specified that all wire rope be galvanized coated. The substandard wire rope was not sufficiently coated in the zinc mixture so it broke down quickly. Part if the political problem was that Roebling, being the major holder of the Roebling Wire Rope Co, and was charged with overpricing the wire rope ( he wasn’t), as he fully coated the wire rope sufficiently, that it has withstood all conditions to this day.
I just love this channel
Happy Thanksgiving 😊
Oh wow guess I can raise the price of my painting of the New York Skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge. Cha ching! My family moved from Sicily in 1875. My great grandmother made hats for wealthy New York ladies. She had the Women's Haberdashery on Fifth and Madison Avenue. It was still there when I worked on 57th Street as an Executive Secretary for the SJ Kessler & Son Architects. I had a hand-sewn jumper/dress with a cashmere sweater I received as an end of year gift from my boss Melvin J Kessler.
You'll have to advertise far more than this my friend 🙏
This is great. Loving each video you make. Is it possible to make a video on the Mackinaw bridge?
At least the Brooklyn Bridge along with the Empire State Building & the Statue of Liberty hasn't been gentrified to Hell & back along with the rest of New York.
Yes, it's quite obvious that I am not a fan of gentrification of a popular city historic architectures.
Great vid as always. What about something interesting about NYC subway next time?
2 dollars an hour! That's 50 bucks an hour in our time right now!
No such thing as inflation? Ya right!
Lol 😆😆
I think that was a mistake. He probably meant a day.
Hey Ryan!
CZcams just gave me this channel as a option to watch. I start the first film, and who do I hear? The great voice of Ryan from Kult America! Great to see You are doing sth new and have a lot of viewers!
Cheers from Kraków and keep up the good work!
Fun Fact:
The love-locks you see at 23:40 are from the Deutzer Brücke or Deutzer bridge from cologne germany.
Beacause of this love-locks are fairly common in germany.
The love locks placed on the brooklyn bridge are removed on a continuous basis.
I think that is a really cool idea.
@@_Grego_ What a ray of sunshine you are, hahahaha 😆.
We're kinda proud of our suspension bridge here in Waco, Texas. From an article "The bridge was wide enough for stagecoaches to pass each other, or for cattle to cross one side of the bridge, and humans to cross the other side. Being the only bridge to cross the Brazos at the time, and the primary river crossing for the north-south travel through Texas (including cattle drives on the Chisholm Trail), the cost of building the bridge, which was estimated to be $141,000, was quickly paid back. Tolls were 5 cents per head of cattle that crossed, along with a charge for pedestrian traffic."
but the salsa I have comes from New York City
In Boston, I worked for The Harding Company, making Wire Rope.
4:14 That structure on the canal is a "lock" not a "plane" (not to be confused with the love locks).
I’ve been on the 6th street bridge in Pittsburgh and the Brooklyn bridge. It’s crazy I never knew the connection.
Great video!… I just think that bridge is beautiful!!
Great commentary
I had heard about the elephants but not about the panic and people dieing . It's sad that a historic bridge had so much tragedy.
Good stuff
At the 20 minute mark, we see the Fulton Ferry terminal of the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad underneath the roadway which was the first El train line in Brooklyn that opened in May 1885.
Lol, "The EASTERN River"
I don't even live there and I know that one.
My hometown Brooklyn ❤️ thank you
How do you pronounce Roebling's name two different ways? Do you not notice this as you record it?
Seeing old pics where the bk bridge is the tallest thing in the nyc skyline is so wild to see
Great story about the Brooklyn Bridge! The iconic bridge is now 138 years old.
This bridge was a combination of both suspension and cable stayed bridge in one. This make the bridge so unique. This year marks the 140th anniversary of this iconic bridge.
"P.T.Bernum?" make that P. T. BARN-UM"
Their was a location in New Jersey where old builds were relocated to that you could visit. I remember visiting it as a child, but don’t remember the name. Do you know of it?
My favorite NYC bridge is the Manhattan Bridge. Love riding the train over the river 🌃
that was wonderful
The Sydney Harbour Bridge used steam locomotives to test the Strength of the Harbour Bridge before opening in 1932
"The rise of the city flourished!" Good grief! That's right up there with "he got on his horse and rode off in all directions! " :-)
Well i love wine and song, the third is too crazy to love XD
The bridge with the exposed ironwork is the manhattan bridge - not that it matters. Great vid, thanks.
In the loop in down town chicago a pilon peire timber was being pounded into the river bed when suddenly it had penetrated into an abondoned tunnel dug beneath the chicago river and water from the river began pouring into the basements of tall buildings. People were evacuated. As city workers figured out how to stop the freak flooding. Make an interesting documentary. The tunnelscwere used as turn of the century postal delivery tunnels to avoid traffic on street level. The tunnels were converted to accomodate other purposes as new structures penetrated the abandoned tunnel systems.
Grew up skirtin back and forth down river road passing Griffith Pipe US Steel and the little town of Roebling a tiny bit south of Trenton and Bordentown
Can you do an episode of the Erie Canal I live in Cincinnati and on central parkway there’s a mural homage to it that reads “PLAN. BUILD. PROSPER”
16:18 that’s not the Brooklyn bridge. That bridge is called today the Manhattan bridge which connects from canal street in Manhattan to Tiffany st in downtown Brooklyn by the bqe
That was the Etika Bridge named after a CZcamsr who jumped off the bridge back in 2019 where he committed suicide. The Manhattan Bridge opened in 1909 which was New Year’s Eve into 1910 which is a subject for another video.
Would love if you did the Mackinac bridge in my home state of Michigan.
Modern Marvels has a documentary about the construction,and completion of the Mackinac bridge.
@@timothyokane9710 but that’s not it’s history! Lol
The Erie canal doesn't end in Buffalo. The Niagara River is between the canal, and Buffalo.
Good research, but you've added photos of the Manhattan Bridge along side the Brooklyn Bridge. Why would you do that???
I was there
I believe you
I wonder if those that were arrested for climbing it, got their cameras back, maybe a few photos. Be nice to see them. (Bet not many had an IPhone in their pocket). 🤔🤷♂️😅
(The Mackinac Bridge is spectacular with a great view in Northern Michigan. Be wise to wait until June 🥶☃️).
I wonder if they make Divorce Bolt cutters for the love locks?
In what year did p.t.barnum take the across the bridge, 1834?
For people mesuring distances in body parts, mesuring weight in elephants seems appropriate
Dude got life wow
wait, there is such a thing as a horse powered ferry?
and there are wine cellars under the ends of the Brooklyn Bridge???
Yes, called a Team Ferry, it was powered by a pair of horses. Beneath the ferry's decking there was a circular turntable deck. The horses, in stalls on the edge of the ferry, would move the turntable by walking on it. The horses pointed in different directions to get the proper results. This turntable was geared to a main fore-aft shift that turned crosswise shafts leading to a pair of paddle wheels. A rudder, and possibly reverser gears on the paddle wheels, allowed for turning / maneuvering. They weren't particularly large or fast, but they served their purpose.
I am not aware of any current tenants under the bridge these days. These areas have been structurally reinforced in recent decades due to today's heavier vehicles placing added stresses on the aging structure.
@@ajkleipass Buse are not allowed on the bridge and the last trolley crossed the bridge in 1950. No heavy trucks are allowed also.
Fun fact: Al Capone from Brooklyn
10:40 it was $2 per day... not per hour as narrator stated
the coolest thing about Da Bk bridge are the banks underneath
London Bridge, Because "London Bridge is falling down,,, falling down,,, falling down..."
Correction typo P.T. Barnum not Burnam.
In late 1988 graffiti brothers SANE SMITH painted their names on the bridge and it sparked chaos throughout the city. why did you leave these 2 out? ????I know for a fact while you were doing your research, you saw the names smith sane somewhere.
Elephants? What elephants? I don't see any elephants.
The twin towards
the elephants stampeded over the bridge and down broadway killing dozens in 1929 during the stock crash
PT Barnum wasn’t leading elephants across the bridge in 1834. The bridge wasn’t even built. It was 1884. Also, PLEASE stop saying “masonary” and “bystandards”
16:14 is the manhattan bridge lol
Me and the homie had this girl looking like the Brooklyn bridge 🌉 the other day
Where are those ppls pictures though?
Like so many others. I tried to buy the Brooklyn Bridge. But the Nigerian Prince who owned it wanted more than the $36 I had saved for it. Damn shame and lost opportunity. Again.
What if it was a combination lock?
Where’s the little guy who used to do the medieval stuff?
His name is P. T. Barnum not But am
Meanwhile the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River was tested with a balloon elephant filled with helium 🎈🐘🌉
Do "Passeur-buyers" buy things from Québécois smugglers?
Sad how humans destroyed a beautiful landscape
It's PT BARNUM not PT Burnum.
'PASSERSBY' NOT 'PASSERBUYERS'!!
"P. T. Burnam?" Your date of 1834 for Barnam predates the bridge. And Roebling was mispronounced several times as "Robling." These silly errors mar an otherwise fine episode.
At 4:22 he pronounces it both incorrectly then correctly within 4 seconds.
23:39 The lock picking lawyer will have to say about that!!
What is inside. Dead workers who died from the benz.
it is a shame that wire cages were constructed for suicide jumpers
P T Barnum.
I since a young boy had a special affection for the b.b my sweetheart lives in Brooklyn so we take lovely romantic walks across the bridge
PT BAR-NUMB - not PT BER-NUMB. :(
NY made a bridge because there’s too many immigrants to fit ferries. Look at HK! It’s a land of refugees lol. Other than the Tsingma bridge, the ferries take in 10 times that! It’s sad really, because HK lives under the shadows of China, so even with one country two systems, even without all the drama the past 3 years, many of the problems itself stems from water disputes. When you’re in Cantonese water, you’re basically stuck. You can’t technically make your own decisions. Lol.
Shout out to the wife.
0:20 The 'Eastern River?' C'mon man!!!! It's these little tiny mistakes that make your videos lose credibility. Your videos are so well done but "Eastern river??" It's called THE EAST RIVER. You say it correctly several times later on.
💥💥A lot of them People who put them locks on that bridge probably aren't even together anymore and probably a divorced
With all of the immigration we read about we never hear of the English. Despite the WASP elite and the mother tongue being English we're never told how these English ever travelled to the New World, good luck to you Irish, Scots, Italians, Russian, Polish, German and even a few Spaniards (I'm told?) 😉 Happy Advent *
Is climate change causing the bends?