Blackwell's Island Bridge: William Steinway's Involvement

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The first mention of Blackwell's Island Bridge in William's diary is on March 3, 1873. He noted going to a meeting at "Grahams Office" about the bridge and "Things look very favorable." He did not mention either the NY & LI Bridge Co. or the NY & Queens Bridge Co. However, Robert M. C. Graham is listed in the 1872 statute as one of the incorporators of the latter entity so the meeting may have been related to that organization. William's outlook, however, was unfounded as the financial panic of 1873 led to the collapse of this effort.(27)(42)The first mention of Blackwell’s Island Bridge in William’s diary is on March 3, 1873.  He noted going to a meeting at “Grahams Office” about the bridge and “Things look very favorable.”  He did not mention either the NY & LI Bridge Co. or the NY & Queens Bridge Co. However, Robert M. C. Graham is listed in the 1872 statute as one of the incorporators of the latter entity so the meeting may have been related to that organization.  William’s outlook, however, was unfounded as the financial panic of 1873 led to the collapse of this effort.(27)(42)

Spring 1875 is the next series of diary entries, all of which relate to William's efforts to raise capital for the project by getting individuals to buy $1,000 subscriptions. William noted the election of Directors of the NY &LI Bridge Co. on June 30. A variety of secondary sources, including the Web site "Bridges/New York City," refer to William as one of the founders of the company. There does not seem to be evidence that he was involved with the original organization started in 1867. He is not mentioned in an early article about the incorporators or in an 1872 New York Times article about the company's officers.(31)(37) Clearly, however, he was critical to the re-constituted NY & LI Bridge Co. that emerged in 1875. The press reported on the new board (William was identified as a member). William noted the favorable press coverage of the "Bridge matter," including The New York Times on July 1, 1875, indicating the company would build a bridge across Blackwell's Island, from 77th Street in New York to "Astoria Heights."(46)

The other directors included General Trowbridge (who had submitted bridge plans earlier) and R. M. C. Graham, President of the Metropolitan Insurance Co., at whose offices the meeting was held. The NY & Queens County Bridge Co., of which Graham was an incorporator, disappeared from the public record during the financial panic of 1873. The NY & LI Bridge Co. clearly became the vehicle for William and other prominent bridge backers.(42)(46)

Notable among the group was Herman C. Poppenhusen, whose family developed College Point, Queens and controlled the Long Island Railroad (LIRR). The possibility of the LIRR's gaining a direct connection to New York and more distant points via the bridge was a continuing theme in the decades-long story of the project. Two weeks after the Board was named, William was elected President of the NY&LI Bridge Co.,(Diary, 1875-07-14) which marks the beginning of his most intense involvement with the project. As was often the case with William's business ventures, Charles F. Tretbar, a Steinway employee and intimate friend of William, was also one of the Directors.(39)(46)

The remaining 1875 diary notations shift from raising capital for the bridge to working with engineers to develop a design. The day after William's election he noted meeting with General Edward Serrell, a prominent civil engineer who worked on railroads, bridges and tunnels.(Diary, 1875-07-15) In subsequent months he saw plans demonstrating various approaches from a veritable "Who's Who" of engineers.(18)

On July 16 the company's executive committee resolved to hear reports from two engineers, C. E. Harding and Charles Bender.(Diary, 1875-07-16) The former showed the merits of a "truss bridge," on July 23. The latter presented a cantilever type on July 30. A truss is an interconnected framework of beams that supports a structure. The beams are usually interconnected in a triangular pattern. In a truss bridge, two long, usually straight members known as chords, form the top and bottom.(48) A cantilever bridge has projecting horizontal beams fixed at one end only (a diving board, for example, is a cantilever). A central span is suspended between the two projecting cantilever arms.(9) That was not the end of the proposals, however. William went on to note that General Trowbridge – the author of the original plan submitted in 1868 -- also put forth a design,(Diary, 1875-07-30) as did General Serrell on October 12. Subsequently, the Directors appointed a board of two Army engineers and the chief engineer of the Erie Railroad to decide which would be the best plan.(Diary, 1875-11-29)

The engineering issues continued to occupy the group in 1876, the second and last year of William's presidency. The consulting engineers were retained for an extended period and the deadline for receiving plans was extended to December 1, with prize money to be given to the first, second and third best plans ? $1000, $500, and $250 respectively.(Diary, 1876-08-09)

Dr. Thomas Rainey as President

In the on-going story of the NY & LI Bridge Co., 1877 was a watershed. On November 14, William gave up the presidency of the company.(Diary, 1877-11-14) Dr. Thomas Rainey, a wealthy steamship operator and entrepreneur, took over the helm. Rainey initially was associated with the NY & Queens County Bridge Co., chartered in 1872, as both treasurer and president. In the following decades, Rainey was frequently mentioned in William's diary, and became the most ardent and tireless proponent for the Blackwell's Island Bridge. He was to spend 25 years of his life and his entire fortune trying to make it a reality.(17)(42)

The plan adopted under William's leadership to award three prizes for winning designs came to fruition on March 28, 1877, when the Delaware Bridge Company was named the winner. The proposal called for two spans, one of 735 feet and one of 620 feet. The bridge was to be able to carry a railroad, a wagon road and two sidewalks. Despite the expertise brought to bear, this was far from being the final plan or location – both of which would in flux for years to come.(10)

Blackwell's Island Bridge: Legislation, Legal Challenges, and Finally, a Bridge