The Brooklyn Bridge, completed in 1883, was the world’s first bridge to be constructed of steel. It spans the East River from Manhattan. The bridge is an American landmark that has inspired generations of poets, songwriters and painters. Engineer John Roebling conceived of the bridge in 1855 and worked out every detail from its two granite towers to its four suspended steel cables. In June 1869 while determining the Brooklyn tower site, a ferry crushed Roebling’s foot. Three weeks later, before ground had been broken, Roebling died of tetanus. Roebling’s son, Washington, picked up the reins and executed his Father’s grand plans. In 1872, however, Washington developed caisson’s disease which robbed him of his seeing, walking and writing facilities. The bridge features two powerful stone towers which are connected at the top with Gothic-shaped arches. They carry four cables that cross the East River.

The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge in New York City and is one of the oldest bridges of either type in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. It has a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m), and was the first steel-wire suspension bridge constructed. It was originally referred to as the New York and Brooklyn Bridge and as the East River Bridge, but it was later dubbed the Brooklyn Bridge, a name coming from an earlier January 25, 1867, letter to the editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and formally so named by the city government in 1915.

How to Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge Starting in Manhattan

The Brooklyn Bridge Pedestrian Walk can be accessed from City Hall on the Manhattan side of the East River.

How to Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge Starting in Brooklyn

Starting in Brooklyn: The Brooklyn Bridge Pedestrian Walk can be accessed on the Brooklyn side from two entrance ways.

• The Brooklyn Bridge Pedestrian Walkway begins at the intersection of Tillary Street and Boerum Place. This entrance is what one sees from a car when crossing the Brooklyn Bridge.
• The second way to get onto the Brooklyn Bridge Pedestrian Walkway is to access it via an underpass on Washington Street. The underpass is about two blocks from Front Street in DUMBO. This underpass leads up a stairway to a ramp up that brings you onto the Brooklyn Bridge Pedestrian Walkway.