The Opening of the Brooklyn Bridge

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Like many Long Islanders and New Yorkers, William Steinway walked across the Brooklyn Bridge on May 24, 1883, the day it opened. He noted the event and the associated festivities in his diary. In 1881 he was asked to be one of the bridge trustees, but he declined.(Diary, 1881-03-07) In 1890 he was appointed one of the Commissioners of Appraisal for acquiring lands to improve the safety of the New York terminus of the bridge.(Diary, 1890-02-07)

In his diary William first mentioned the Brooklyn Bridge on March 7, 1881, the day he was asked to be one of the trustees. He declined and gave no reason for doing so. He was, however, intimately involved with the construction of Blackwell’s Island (later, Queensboro) Bridge to connect Queens to Manhattan. William’s summer home and the factory for Steinway & Sons were located in Queens. From July 14, 1875, until November 14, 1877(Diary, 1875-07-14, 1877-11-14), he served as president of the New York and Long Island Bridge Company, chartered to construct Blackwell’s Island Bridge; and he continued to monitor and note the company’s progress through January 1895.(Diary, 1895-09-20) Understandably, the Brooklyn Bridge was of less importance to him.

William did consider the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge on May 24, 1883, a noteworthy event. He walked across the bridge on the day it opened and presumably attended the ceremonies where he saw President Chester Arthur and his good friend Governor Grover Cleveland. His son “George + ladies” of his family went to the roof of Steinway Hall to observe the evening’s fireworks.(Diary, 1883-05-24)

In 1867 the New York Bridge Company had been incorporated for the “… purpose of constructing and maintaining a bridge over the East river, between the cities of New York and Brooklyn.”(15) But it was 16 years until the bridge to Brooklyn was completed. Some thought the magnificent structure to be the eighth wonder of the world. According to the New-York Tribune the cities of New York and Brooklyn (Brooklyn was not incorporated into New York until 1898)(14) both wanted to make the opening of the bridge that would unite them a jubilant event. Flags, decorations and displays appeared on both sides of the river. A jeweler in Brooklyn formed a large model of the bridge out of his brightest gems. For the city of Brooklyn it was a universal holiday. Seven thousand tickets let lucky persons onto the bridge on opening day. An additional six thousand or so held invitations to the opening ceremonies as well.(9)(10)(11)(21)(16, p. 520, 543)

Following military processions on both sides of the East River and gun salutes, dignitaries and guests met at the Brooklyn Terminal. Ceremonies began at two o’ clock. After an opening prayer by the right Reverend Bishop Littlejohn, William C. Kingsley, of the board of Trustees, formally presented the bridge to the mayors of the two cities. In his address Kingsley extolled the exceptional qualities of designer and engineer John A. Roebling (who had since died in 1869 from lockjaw resulting from an injury received while inspecting bridge construction) and Colonel Washington A. Roebling, who had continued his father’s work, but was too ill from caisson sickness (decompression disease resulting from too rapid release of dissolved gas, usually nitrogen, from body tissue upon returning from deep, pressurized bridge caissons to sea level) to attend.(9)(16, pp. 90-93)

Mayor Seth Low of Brooklyn and then Mayor Franklin Edson of New York spoke next, followed by New York Congressman Abram Hewittt and the Reverend R. S. Storrs of Brooklyn. Hewitt’s speech was published that year and came to 24 pages. He saw the bridge as reflecting the “sum and epitome of human knowledge” and “a monument to the moral qualities of the human soul.” Later it was said this speech was his finest and most famous. All told, speeches took nearly three hours. Unfortunately the surrounding noise and poor acoustics meant that very few of the 4000 seated attendees could actually hear what was said.(9)(10)(11)(12((13)(21)(16, p. 534, 535)

Six ships of the U. S. Navy’s North Atlantic Squadron were anchored under the bridge for the celebration. Chartered excursion boats, packed ferry boats and private yachts also took advantage of the river to view the bridge events. Later that day there were two regimental band concerts and another in the evening. More than twenty years earlier, William’s brother Albert had been a member of one of the regiments that participated, the New York 7th Regiment.(9) Beginning at eight o’ clock, fireworks were launched from the center of the bridge and also from both bridge towers. Over 14 tons were used during the hour-long display. Buildings in both cities were illuminated as part of the celebration. The Roeblings gave a reception for dignitaries at their home after the opening ceremonies. The President, the Governor and Mayor Low later attended another reception held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.(9)(10)(16. p. 520) Extensive coverage of all the day’s activities appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle(9) and the New-York Tribune.(10) In the evening the bridge was opened to the public for a fare of one cent. In total, 150,300 people walked the bridge that day. Public excitement was immense, and the affair was not to be forgotten by those who were there. David McCullough in his book The Great Bridge wrote of this when he quoted a woman as saying the excitement over astronauts walking on the moon was nothing compared to what she had seen on the day they opened the Brooklyn Bridge.(16, pp. 541-43)

Unfortunately on May 30, the Memorial Day holiday just after the opening, a terrible accident occurred. Seven women, four men and one boy lost their lives and at least 35 were injured. William read about it in the papers and called it “dreadful.”(Diary, 1883-05-31) Shortly after 4 o’ clock a woman on the stairs leading to the New York end of the bridge promenade lost her footing and fell. Another woman screamed and the crowd of people present pushed forward, forcing those at the top to fall and be crushed. There were no railings on the steps and once panic took over the mob of people the scene became disastrous. Men, women and children were ”… piled one upon another in a writhing, struggling mass.”(7)(16, pp. 543-44)

In the days after the accident, newspaper reports questioned the steepness and narrowness (15 feet) of the stairs. Colonel Roebling and James Stranahan , a bridge trustee, explained that once the demand for a railroad surfaced, the promenade had to be designed to go above the railroad. According to Roebling, “The railroad took away space from the promenades, and now there can be no enlargement of it.” Although the bridge company was not proved negligent, there were resulting lawsuits amounting to 500 thousand dollars.(16, p. 545)(18)

Safety remained an issue and in 1889 the Brooklyn Bridge Trustees devised a plan to widen an indoor stairway approach from eight to 20 feet; to enlarge an outdoor stairway to 20 feet; and to widen the bridge roadway from 18 1/2 to 41 feet. The improvements required the use of the trustees’ power of eminent domain to acquire land on Park Row on the north side of the New York terminal. In December 1889 Judge O’Brien of the New York Supreme Court, responding to an objection to the trustees’ continued use of eminent domain, approved the trustees’ application. In his opinion the judge noted that the facilities were entirely inadequate for the 14 million railroad passengers carried to Brooklyn in one hour every evening. He determined that more tracks and platforms and additional approaches and stairways were required to alleviate overcrowding and danger to life and limb. Subsequently, Judge O’Brien appointed William a Commissioner of Appraisal for this land acquisition. Other Commissioners were Joseph J. Marrin and John M. Bowers, whom William and Marrin elected Chairman.(Diary, 1890-02-07)(3)(5)(8)

In his diary William states that he attended some eighteen meetings related to the appraisal of land for the Brooklyn Bridge. The issues centered on the determination of appropriate awards for two properties north of the bridge. One was owned by George Ehret, the brewer, who also happened to be a stockholder with William in their amusement park at Bowery Bay Beach on Long Island.(2) The other, on the opposite side of the bridge entrance, was owned by Emil Kosmak .(17)(20)

The Commission heard testimony regarding the value of Kosmak’s property during 1890 and made their decision on July 8 of that year.{Diary, 1890-07-08)(24) William mentioned that they viewed the property in question on February 14. Witnesses heard on February 28 and March 8 placed the then current value of the property at $300,000 or more.(22)(23) Kosmak, however, was awarded $200,000,(Diary, 1890-07-08)(1), an amount that was confirmed by Justice Andrews of the New York Supreme Court toward the end of July, 1890.(Diary, 1890-02-14, 02-26)(6) “Ehret case on,” said William on November 24, 1890 when he noted another Bridge Commission meeting. Testimony was taken for a few months and a notice of the decision appeared in April 1891. The Commission determined the value of the property to be $255,000. Of that amount George Ehret received $107,500. The balance was directed to mortgagors, leaseholders and tenants. Ehret and others were dissatisfied with the judgment, but the decision was confirmed by Judge Paterson of the New York Supreme Court as of April 14, 1891.(4)(19)
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See a collection of images of the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge at: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Brooklyn+Bridge+1883+Opening&FORM=RESTAB

Sources:

1. “The Award for Kosmak’s Land, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 10, 1890, p. 6.
2. “A Bowery Bay Damage Suit,” The New York Times, August 5, 1887, p. 8.
3. “Bridge Improvements,” The New York Times, September 17, 1889, p. 8.
4. “Bridge Trustees Meet,” The New York Times, April 14, 1891, p.8.
5. “City and Suburban News, New York,” The New York Times, February 5, 1890, p. 3.
6. “City and Suburban News, New York,” The New York Times, July 26, 1890, p. 3.
7. “Dead on the New Bridge,” The New York Times, May 31, 1883, p. 1.
8. “Extend the Terminals,” The New York Times, December 20, 1889, p. 6.
9. “Glorification!,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 24, 1883, p. 12.
10. “The Great Bridge Opened,” New-York Tribune, May 25, 1883, p. 1.
11. “The Great East River Span,” New-York Tribune, May 24, 1883, p. 1.
12. “Hewitt, Abram Stevens,” available from the Encyclopædia Britannica Web site
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_EncyclopædiaBritannica/Hewitt,_Abram_Stevens
13. Hewitt, Abram S. Address delivered by Abram S. Hewitt on the occasion of the Opening of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge, May 24, 1883. New York: John Polhamus, Printer and Mfg. Stationer, 1883, pp. 5, 10.
14. “History of Brooklyn, New York,’ available at the United States History Web site
www.u-s-history.com/pages/h2139.html 15. Laws of the State of New York, Passed at the Ninetieth Session of the Legislature. Albany, NY: Banks and Brothers Law Publishers, 1867, v. 1, Chap. 399.
16. McCullough, David. The Great Bridge. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972.
17. “More Land for the Bridge,” The New York Times, July 23, 1889, p. 8.
18. “Statements of the Officers,” The New York Times, May 31, 1883, p. 1.
19. “They Want More Money,” The New York Times, April 7, 1891, p. 8.
20. “To Condemn for Bridge Room,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 27, 1890, p. 1.
21. “Two Great Cities United,” The New York Times, May 25, 1883, p. 1.
22. “A Valuable Piece of Property,” The New York Times, March 1, 1890, p.5.
23. “A Valuable Piece of Property,” The New York Times, March 9, 1890, p.12.
24. “Value of Kosmak’s Property,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 2, 1890, p. 1.