Brooklyn Bridge centennial celebration collection
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Abstract
This collections contains various materials documenting the Brooklyn Bridge centennial celebration in 1983, including magazines, publications, correspondence, programs, calendars, bulletins, posters, clippings, photocopies of articles, and additional ephemera. Also included is an April 1984 copy of , the quarterly journal of the Society for the History of Technology, containing several articles on the 100th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Historical Note
The Brooklyn Bridge is a steel suspension bridge that spans the East River connecting the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City. Completed in 1883, the bridge was called both the East River Bridge and the New York and Brooklyn Bridge until 1915 when the name was officially changed to the Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and was further designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1972. The original designer of the bridge was John Augustus Roebling (1806-1869), a German engineer who immigrated to the United States in 1831. Roebling invented the wire cable which he would eventually incorporate into the design of the Brooklyn Bridge. Roebling's son, Washington Augustus Roebling (1837-1926), also an engineer, took over as chief engineer of construction following the sudden death of his father in 1869. In 1872, Washington Roebling fell ill with decompression sickness, acquired during the construction of the bridge, and never fully recovered. His wife, Emily Warren Roebling (1843-1903), was instrumental in seeing through the construction and completion of the bridge.
Sources:
- Fletcher, Ellen. "John Augustus Roebling." In The Encyclopedia of New York City, edited by Kenneth T. Jackson, 1017. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press; New York: New-York Historical Society, 1995.
- Fletcher, Ellen. "Washington Augustus Roebling." In The Encyclopedia of New York City, edited by Kenneth T. Jackson, 1017. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press; New York: New-York Historical Society, 1995.
Scope and Contents
This collections contains various materials documenting the Brooklyn Bridge centennial celebration in 1983, including magazines, publications, correspondence, programs, calendars, bulletins, posters, clippings, photocopies of articles, and additional ephemera. Also included is an April 1984 copy of Technology and Culture, the quarterly journal of the Society for the History of Technology, containing several articles on the 100th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to users without restriction.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Brooklyn Bridge centennial celebration collection, 1994.015, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Pauline Herd, 1995.
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Minimally processed to the collection level.
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This finding aid does not include an online listing of contents.
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