Brooklyn Bridge

Hello I'd like to sell you this bridge.

Because there were so many subcontractors involved with the BB it is probably appropriate to list some or all of the subcontractor companies such as Edge Moor and John A. Roebling's Sons' Co. The fact remains that the man who made the original design (Julius Adams) is not mentioned, and the man who made most of the drawings (Wilhelm Hildenbrand) is not mentioned. Under the circumstances it seems a bit inappropriate for the website to list John A. Roebling as "builder" when he was deceased prior to the project and wasn't involved with the actual building of the bridge.

Someone should correct the error (with full citation) on Wikipedia if Cold Spring is indeed correct. I own the authoritative print source on Brooklyn Bridge, "The Great Bridge" however I don't have it with me right now, so I have to rely on the Internet to refresh my memory. Google Books is useful, for those who have the time to deal with its clumsy interface. Half the time I get blocked by Google because I download all the books instead of using their online reader.

You might be able to argue removing John Roebling's name as an actual engineer, but since the company name was John A. Roebling Sons Company you are still going to end up with his name to some extent.

Emily Warren Roebling was born in Cold Spring NY Sept 23, 1843. She was from the USA, not Canada. The authority for her birthdate and birthplace is her own genealogy which she published in 1903. We are living in a curious electronic age when errors are being propagated on a daily basis (for example by "Wikipedia" which currently averages about 50% in error) while at the same time more accurate original texts are readily available via Google Books. Refer to the prefaced genealogical explanations and also Page 446 in the Appendix of "The Journal of the Reverend Silas Comfort" published by Lippincott in Philadelphia 1903 wherein Mrs. Roebling gives her own genealogy. Emily surely deserves praise, but all the hype released by ASCE at the time of the BB centennial was politically correct, producing an unfortunate side effect of diminishing the credit due to the engineers who actually performed the work via the instructions channeled to them via Emily (for example C.C. Martin). The fact remains: John A. Roebling's name ought to be deleted and appropriate credit given to those deserving individuals who actually designed and built the BB.

Actually, if you read the history, the person who does not receive due credit in most discussions is Emily Roebling, Washington Roebling's wife. The truth is that all three were critical to the completion of Brooklyn Bridge. John Roebling's previous work on the Covington and Cincinnati served to aid in the design of Brooklyn Bridge, and Washington and Emily together helped make the Brooklyn Bridge a reality. By the way, Emily Roebling was a Canadian, born in Brampton, Ontario. Also, her level of involvement in such a project during this period of history was actually quite a win for womens rights, although she often had to work behind the Washington name. Either way, the Brooklyn Bridge is a wonderful symbol of unity and cooperation.

Although this bridge was conceived by John A Roebling, he died before construction began. His original design was altered significantly by his son Washington A. Roebling who was Chief Engineer when the bridge was built.

I respectfully suggest deleting the name of John A Roebling as a builder of the Brooklyn Bridge. It is time to give proper credit to Washington A. Roebling.

The highlight of my trip to New York City last week was to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge - which we did on a cold rainy windy day. My wife thought I was nuts. She wanted to go to some stupid Broadway show.

The Brooklyn Bridge, GTA IV style. :)

Thank you for show photo. Happy Brithday to Brooklyn Bridge on May 24, 2008. It is 125 year old. They already put many green light bulbs on bridge. Thank you.