Editing Brooklyn Bridge (section)

==== Towers ====
[[File:Manhattan 1876.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=View of Manhattan in 1876, showing the Brooklyn Bridge under construction|View of Manhattan in 1876, showing the Brooklyn Bridge under construction]]
After the caissons were completed, piers were constructed on top of each of them upon which masonry towers would be built. The towers' construction was a complex process that took four years. Since the masonry blocks were heavy, the builders transported them to the base of the towers using a [[pulley]] system with a continuous {{Convert|1.5|in|cm|abbr=|adj=on}}-diameter steel wire rope, operated by steam engines at ground level. The blocks were then carried up on a timber track alongside each tower and maneuvered into the proper position using a [[derrick]] atop the towers.<ref name="NRHI Nomination Form p. 5" /><ref name="McCullough p. 333">{{harvnb|ps=.|McCullough|1972|p=333}}</ref> The blocks sometimes vibrated the ropes because of their weight, but only once did a block  fall.<ref name="McCullough p. 333" />

Construction on the suspension towers started in mid-1872, and by the time work was halted for the winter in late 1872, parts of each tower had already been built.<ref name="McCullough pp. 297-298" /> By mid-1873, there was substantial progress on the towers' construction. The Brooklyn side's tower had reached a height of {{Convert|164|ft|m|abbr=}} above mean high water (MHW), while the tower on the Manhattan side had reached {{Convert|88|ft|m|abbr=}} above MHW.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33025080/|title=The Brooklyn Bridge; Annual Meeting of the Company|date=June 3, 1873|work=New York Daily Herald|access-date=June 18, 2019|page=5|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=January 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125003629/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-daily-herald-the-brooklyn-bridg/33025080/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1873/06/03/archives/the-brooklyn-bridge-official-statement-of-the-progress-of-the.html|title=The Brooklyn Bridge; Official Statement of the Progress of the Work—The Annual Meeting|date=June 3, 1873|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=June 19, 2019|archive-date=June 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619144425/https://www.nytimes.com/1873/06/03/archives/the-brooklyn-bridge-official-statement-of-the-progress-of-the.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The arches of the Brooklyn tower were completed by August 1874.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1874/08/01/archives/the-east-river-bridge-completion-of-the-arches-of-the-brooklyn-pier.html|title=The East River Bridge; Completion of the Arches of the Brooklyn Pier the Work on the New-York Side|date=August 1, 1874|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=June 19, 2019|archive-date=June 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619144427/https://www.nytimes.com/1874/08/01/archives/the-east-river-bridge-completion-of-the-arches-of-the-brooklyn-pier.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The tower was substantially finished by December 1874 with the erection of saddle plates for the main cables at the top of the tower. However, the ornamentation on the Brooklyn tower could not be completed until the Manhattan tower was finished.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/33024962/|title=The Bridge Tower; Its Practical Completion on the Brooklyn Side To-Day|date=December 15, 1874|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|access-date=June 18, 2019|page=3|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com|archive-date=January 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125003629/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-the-bridge-towe/33024962/|url-status=live}}</ref> The last stone on the Brooklyn tower was raised in June 1875 and the Manhattan tower was completed in July 1876.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|McCullough|1972|p=325}}</ref> The saddle plates atop both towers were also raised in July 1876.<ref name="McCullough p. 338">{{harvnb|ps=.|McCullough|1972|p=338}}</ref> The work was dangerous: by 1876, three workers had died having fallen from the towers, while nine other workers were killed in other accidents.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|McCullough|1972|pp=335–336}}</ref>

[[File:Brainerd, From Bridge Tower. 1996.164.2-1425.jpg|thumb|left|alt=George Bradford Brainerd's painting "From Bridge Tower", circa 1872|[[George Bradford Brainerd]], ''From Bridge Tower'', {{c.|1872}}, [[Brooklyn Museum]]]]
In 1875, while the towers were being constructed, the project had depleted its original $5&nbsp;million budget. Two bridge commissioners, one each from Brooklyn and Manhattan, petitioned New York state lawmakers to allot another $8&nbsp;million for construction. Ultimately, the legislators passed a law authorizing the allotment with the condition that the cities would buy the stock of Brooklyn Bridge's private stockholders.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Barnes|1883|p=16}}</ref>

Work proceeded concurrently on the anchorages on each side.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|McCullough|1972|p=307}}</ref> The Brooklyn anchorage broke ground in January 1873<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33025518/|title=The Brooklyn Bridge; Work on the Anchorage Commenced|date=January 24, 1873|work=Brooklyn Times Union|access-date=June 18, 2019|page=2|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=January 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125004133/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-the-brooklyn-bridge-work-on/33025518/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="McCullough pp. 330-331" /> and was subsequently substantially completed in August 1875.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/33025598/|title=The Bridge; Completion of the Brooklyn Anchorage|date=August 16, 1875|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|access-date=June 18, 2019|page=4|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com|archive-date=January 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125004143/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-the-bridge-com/33025598/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="McCullough pp. 330-331" /> The Manhattan anchorage was built in less time, having started in May 1875, it was mostly completed in July 1876.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|National Park Service|1966|p=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33026059/|title=The Towers and the Anchorages Complete, And the Cables Ready|date=July 24, 1876|work=Brooklyn Times-Union|access-date=June 18, 2019|page=3|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=January 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125004136/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-the-towers-and-the-anchorage/33026059/|url-status=live}}</ref> The anchorages could not be fully completed until the main cables were spun, at which point another {{convert|6|ft}} would be added to the height of each {{convert|80|foot|adj=on}} anchorage.<ref name="nyt18770911">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1877/09/11/archives/the-suspension-bridge-progress-of-the-great-work-the-archways-east.html|title=The Suspension Bridge; Progress of the Great Work. The Archways East and West of the Anchorage Piers the Laying of Strands of the Great Cables Demolition of Buildings in Both Cities a Doomed Church the Line of the Road Way in New-York|date=September 11, 1877|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=June 22, 2019|archive-date=June 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622170216/https://www.nytimes.com/1877/09/11/archives/the-suspension-bridge-progress-of-the-great-work-the-archways-east.html|url-status=live}}</ref>