The Brooklyn Bridge: Tragedy Overcome (Part 2)
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› Part 2 26 TheStructuralEngineer Professional guidance April 2015 Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge: tragedy overcome (part 2) Sean Brady concludes the story of the Brooklyn Bridge, detailing how Emily Roebling defi ed the odds to see the project to completion. People’s Day It became known as the People’s Day. From early morning on 24 May 1883 crowds began to descend on New York and Brooklyn1. Over 50 000 people arrived into the city by train, with a similar number arriving by boat. By noon all the hotels had sold out. It was a clear, ISTOCK sunny day and the East River was thronged with boats waiting for the spectacle that was Emily was simply representing her husband, Figure 1 NBrooklyn Bridge as it stands today about to unfold. Shops sold pictures of John who couldn’t attend because of illness, all and Washington Roebling, buildings were changed when Congressman Abram S. draped in red, white, and blue banners, and Hewitt took to the podium and publically Emily visited her brother and attended a fl ags fl ew along Fifth Avenue and Broadway. proclaimed Emily’s role in what had been military ball. There she met a shy young At 12:40pm, Chester A. Arthur, the 21st one of the most signifi cant engineering engineer, Colonel Washington Roebling. The President of the USA, walked out of the Fifth achievements ever undertaken. attraction between them was immediate. Avenue Hotel and the waiting crowd went To many it was a revelation, but to Over the course of the war they would wild1. The President, along with New York those intimately involved in the bridge’s correspond regularly, and in 1865 they Governor, Grover Cleveland, Congressman construction, there was little surprise in the married. Henry Slocum, and New York Mayor, Franklin praise being aff orded to Emily. To them, her Both their lives would be changed Edson, began the procession along Fifth contribution had been staggering, and all dramatically when Washington’s father, John Avenue to 14th Street. The ‘Dandy’ Seventh the more remarkable given the barriers to Roebling, was appointed chief engineer for Regiment and its band led the way, crowds women taking such an active role in society, the Brooklyn Bridge. Tragically, he would were immense, and the procession turned especially in the male-dominated profession die as a result of injuries sustained in a onto Broadway. As they approached the New of engineering. freak accident, leaving Washington, then York side of the newly completed Brooklyn only 32 years old, as chief engineer with the Bridge (Figure 1), the President was greeted Prelude responsibility for fi nishing the bridge. Emily by William Kingsley, a wealthy contractor. Emily Warren was born in the village of Cold rekindled her interest in mathematics, but For 14 years, the residents of New York Spring in upstate New York in 18432. She this time extended her studies to learn about and Brooklyn had watched the bridge take was the 11th of 12 children, and although strength of materials, stress analysis, cable shape above the city’s skyline, and when the they were not wealthy by Hudson River construction, and calculation of catenary President took his fi rst step onto its span, the standards, they were a distinguished family. curves3. She was of the view that knowledge guns of nearby Fort Hamilton and the Navy She attended Georgetown Visitation Convent of such subjects would be of assistance to Yard erupted in celebration. in Washington D.C., with her studies including her husband – quite an understatement given While thousands of people would spend algebra, geometry, astronomy, chemistry what was to transpire. the afternoon and evening walking this and geology2. She became an expert engineering marvel, the formalities continued horsewoman – a pursuit she continued into Tragedy with over three hours of speeches being her adult life, despite it being viewed as The shock of seeing her husband carried delivered to an invited crowd of 6000 ‘inappropriate’ for the 19th century lady. But into their Brooklyn home after his second guests. Among the guests was Emily Emily paid little heed to the limitations society and more severe attack of the bends in Warren Roebling, wife of the chief engineer imposed on her. 1872 would have been horrifying. He had (Figure 2). While it may have looked like With the American Civil War under way, presided over the sinking of the New York TTSE40_26-28SE40_26-28 BrookBrook bridgebridge v3.inddv3.indd 2626 119/03/20159/03/2015 116:316:31 www.thestructuralengineer.org 27 and Brooklyn caissons, and had successfully Trenton house, almost 100km from New I would succumb, but I had a strong tower defeated the fi re that threatened the York – distance from the bridge appeared to to lean upon, my wife, a woman of infi nite structural integrity of the Brooklyn tower, somewhat alleviate his pain. tack and wisest counsel”1. The information suff ering his fi rst attack of the bends in that Emily naturally absorbed through this the process. Over a period of 221 days, he Progress process augmented her previous study – had managed the construction of the New Work was now beginning on the Brooklyn she was fast becoming an authority on the York caisson to depths never previously anchorage. It was constructed from granite bridge. attempted, but what should have been a and contained four anchor plates, one per By 1876, both towers and anchorages were time for celebration turned to tragedy when cable, each weighing more than 21t4. In 1875 completed. Focus turned to stringing the Washington was again taken ill1. He was in work began on the New York anchorage, with cables across the East River. On 14 August terrible pain and doctors did not expect him old tenements and warehouses torn down to 1876, a 1in. thick wire was spooled out from to survive the night. He was given days to live. make way for it. Construction of the towers behind a boat beside the Brooklyn tower. The Emily, now 29 years old, applied herself to continued. Washington worked diligently from free end was pulled up over the tower and nursing him, and the future of the bridge hung his bedroom, fi nalising detail after detail. He the boat crossed the river to the New York in the balance. was relentless, achieving all this while never side, with the wire being allowed to sink to He survived the night, and the following visiting the site; instead writing letters to his the riverbed. The wire was then taken up over day, and then appeared to rally. Soon, he assistant engineers. His ability to identify the New York tower. A cannon was sounded was back on site, supervising the pouring of potential future problems and resolve them to halt river traffi c, and the watching crowds the concrete into the New York caisson. The before they became serious was legendary. cheered as the wire was hoisted up to break timber and metal caisson that had provided Years later, Emily would praise the assistant the surface of the water until it hung in the air a working space during construction would engineers, saying the bridge would never between the two towers. A second wire was now become a permanent part of the have been completed without them. Some added that day to make a continuous traveller structure. The weight of the limestone and had worked with the Roebling family for rope that could be driven by an engine. granite tower would bear onto the caisson’s years. The chief mechanic, Farrington, had Finally, the two towers were linked. It was 6.7m thick timber roof, which in turn would worked with Washington’s father on the a moment of triumph. On 25 August – as bear on its concrete-fi lled interior4. This Cincinnati and Niagara bridges, being the with the Niagara Bridge and the Cincinnati timber roof, one of the bridge’s critical load fi rst to cross both rivers, hanging from the Bridge – Farrington would swing across the paths, was buried so deep in the East River, initial suspension wires put in place. river on a plank of wood secured to this thin below the level of water and sea worms, that While Emily had been Washington’s nurse wire, watched by thousands (Figure 3). Then Washington’s father, John, was of the view since his illness struck – she was the only 60 years of age, he wore his Sunday best, that it would last forever1. person he could bear near him – her role waved his hat to the enthusiastic crowd, and Washington’s recovery was, however, slowly began to change. Washington was afterwards, in his typically unfazed manner, short-lived. He relapsed, suff ering from convinced he was going blind, so to preserve said “the ride gave me a magnifi cent view, fatigue, depression, irritability, stomach his eyesight, he stopped reading and writing, and such pleasing sensations as probably I trouble, pain and loss of feeling in his legs. In and Emily became his secretary. He dictated shall never experience again”1. his bedroom, despite the pain, he continued all his correspondence to her. She would With this wire in place, the spinning of to work on the bridge1. The summer of 1872 then read it back to him so he could make the bridge cables could proceed. Workers turned to autumn, and by December 1872 the revisions. By his own admission, he had come stood on special platforms as a continuous Brooklyn tower was 42m above the river, with to rely utterly on his wife: “At fi rst I thought reel of wire was fed over one tower, across the New York tower catching up.