Happy Birthday To The Brooklyn Bridge

One of my favorite structures in the world & a movie star, my best Brooklyn Bridge moments in cinema history would include Diane Keaton & Woody Allen under the tower in Manhattan & the ancient Italian grandfather leading his pack of dogs to howl at the full moon in Moonstruck. The bridge offered inspiration for major artists such as Walt Whitman, Frank Lloyd Wright, Hart Crane & Georgia O’Keefe.

“The work which is most likely to become our most durable monument, & to convey some knowledge of us to the most remote posterity, is a work of bare utility; not a shrine, not a fortress, not a palace, but a bridge."

Harper's Weekly (1883)

Plans for a crossing between the city of Brooklyn & lower Manhattan dated back to the early 1800's. When the East River crossing was planned, Brooklyn, with about 400,000 residents, was still more rural than urban. NYC, which at the time consisted only of Manhattan, had twice as many residents, & the bridge was seen as a solution to overcrowding in Manhattan while spurring development in Brooklyn. The bridge would enable people & goods to cross the turbulent East River quickly, regardless of weather conditions.

In 1855, John Roebling, a famous bridge designer, proposed a suspension bridge over the East River after becoming impatient with the Fulton Street Ferry. Roebling worked out every detail of the bridge, from its massive granite towers to the 4 steel cables. He thought his design entitled the bridge "to be ranked as a national monument a great work of art."

The bridge took 13 years to build. 27 workers lost their lives trying to complete it. Roebling himself died from a tetanus infection after his foot was crushed in an accident & his son Washington Roebling also suffered a paralyzing injury as a result of decompression sickness from working in the channels below the river. His wife- Emily Warren Roebling provided the critical written link between her husband & the engineers on site. Under her husband's guidance, she studied higher mathematics, the calculations of catenary curves, the strengths of materials, bridge specifications, & the intricacies of cable construction. She spent the next 11 years assisting Washington Roebling helping to supervise the bridge's construction.

On this day in 1883, the opening ceremony was attended by 5000 people. President Chester Arthur & the Mayor of NYC crossed the bridge to celebratory cannon cacophony & were greeted by the Mayor of Brooklyn when they reached the Brooklyn side. Arthur shook hands with Washington Roebling at the latter's home, after the ceremony. Roebling was unable to attend the ceremony, & never visited the bridge again. He held a party at his house on the day of the bridge opening.

On that first day, 1800 vehicles & 150,300 people crossed what was then the only land passage between Manhattan & Brooklyn. Emily Warren Roebling was the first to cross the bridge. She carried a chicken.

The bridge's main span over the East River is 1,595 feet high. The bridge cost $15.5 million to build.

One week after the opening, a rumor that the Bridge was going to collapse caused a stampede, which crushed & killed 12 people.

When I was living in NYC in the mid-1970s, Dan Rodill, an aspiring playwright, climbed up the Manhattanside tower to draw attention to his unemployment. When the police tried to talk him down, Rodill handed them a press release.

I walked across the bridge on foot on a spring day in 1977. It was thrilling & I enjoyed a monumental view of the Manhattan skyline. I kicked around Brooklyn Heights, when Brooklyn was not the center of hipster cool.

On September 11, 2001, tens of thousands of people fled by foot across the bridge to escape the destruction at the World Trade Center.

The Brooklyn Bridge had become a symbol of not only of the greatness of NYC, but also of American ingenuity. I continue to find the bridge a wondrous thing to behold, a construction of beauty in the best of all American cities. It remains one of my most favorite structures in the world.

With Your Blessing, I Would Like To Start Year 3...

During a spat 3 years ago, the Husband stated: “for 27 years, you hardly ever said a word, & now you won’t shut up!”

Post Apocalyptic Bohemia began as a birthday challenge in 2009. Every January 3rd, I ask of myself to try & do something in my new year that would be difficult, but still possible for me to achieve.

I had poked the world of blogs after discovering my first one after a Google search in 2008- American Irish (which I still read) & I became a daily reader of about 20 blogs.

The idea jumped at me out of the blue, & on my birthday- 2009; I challenged myself to have my own blog & to do a post every single day. It took me a while to get going as I studied the templates & options, & attempted to make my choices for a name for my site & a point of view.

My first post was 2 years ago today. As I looked at that original post today, I realize what a naïf I was at the time. But, I did eventually find my voice; I related anecdotes from my life, weighed in with my opinions, & celebrated the lives of famous gay people, throughout history, on their birthdays.

I named my little spot on the Internet- Post Apocalyptic Bohemia because I share a structure with my husband of 31+ years & our 2 canines, which appears to be a squatter’s shack claimed after a cataclysmic event, & because we are all 4, decidedly Bohemian.

The best part of blogging for the past 24 months:

Having a relationship & sometimes daring to call them friends, 50 other bloggers & readers. I have met some in person, & although I was at first intimidated, I am thankful to have spent time with Mark, Will, Arnie & Blair. I have been blessed to have readers that don’t have their own websites… Glenn in L.A., thank for your many comments, compliments & for cleaning up my vintage photos. I have discovered that I have readers that never comment, & I am very grateful to them also.

I am the only son of an only son, the end of the line. I am in deep late-middle age. I feel that Post Apocalyptic Bohemia is my legacy, my story, written down & on the record. I think of it as my memoir, a record that I would be too lazy to write down in anything other form than these small installments with instant feedback.

I have always longed to be the center of attention & in the spotlight. Thank you, readers, for allowing me. As of today: 1,100 posts, 4,213 comments, 147 followers, 170,000 hits, 500-1000 views per day. I have received comments from post subjects: one of Robert Rauschenberg’s lovers, writer Peter Cameron, singer Karla De Vito, & thrillingly- Larry Kramer! 2 years ago today I never would have dared to believe. Much love & thank you to the Husband. He does not crave attention, & is an unwitting foil in all this. He is also a fine editor.

Thanks for stopping by my little place on the Internet. You mean the world to me, & if it is OK with you, I would like to renew my option for another year.

My own personal favorite post:
http://nopoboho.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-life-is-david-lynch-movie.html