Editing Brooklyn Bridge (section)

=== Opening ===
[[File:1883 Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper Brooklyn Bridge New York City.jpg|thumb|left|Newspaper headline announcing the Brooklyn Bridge's opening|alt=Newspaper headline announcing the Brooklyn Bridge's opening]]
The New York and Brooklyn Bridge was opened for use on May&nbsp;24, 1883. Thousands of people attended the opening ceremony, and many ships were present in the East River for the occasion.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/3967942/|title=Glorification! The Cities Celebrate the Work That Makes Them One|date=May 24, 1883|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|access-date=June 26, 2019|page=12|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com|archive-date=March 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326195256/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/3967942/opening-of-the-brooklyn-bridge-whole/|url-status=live}}</ref> Officially, Emily Warren Roebling was the first to cross the bridge.<ref name="bpl-timeline" /> The bridge opening was also attended by U.S. president [[Chester A. Arthur]] and New York mayor [[Franklin Edson]], who crossed the bridge and shook hands with Brooklyn mayor Seth Low at the Brooklyn end.<ref name="Reeves pp. 359-360" /> Abram Hewitt gave the principal address.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Hewitt, Abram Stevens|volume=13|page=417|ref=none}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Haw|2005|pages=30–32}}</ref>

{{blockquote|It is not the work of any one man or of any one age. It is the result of the study, of the experience, and of the knowledge of many men in many ages. It is not merely a creation; it is a growth. It stands before us today as the sum and epitome of human knowledge; as the very heir of the ages; as the latest glory of centuries of patient observation, profound study and accumulated skill, gained, step by step, in the never-ending struggle of man to subdue the forces of nature to his control and use.|Abram Hewitt<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Hewitt|1883|page=297}}</ref>}}

Though Washington Roebling was unable to attend the ceremony (and rarely visited the site again), he held a celebratory banquet at his house on the day of the bridge opening. Further festivity included the performance by a band, gunfire from ships, and a fireworks display.<ref name="Reeves pp. 359-360">{{Cite book |last=Reeves |first=Thomas C. |title=Gentleman Boss |publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]] |year=1975 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/gentlemanbosslif00reev/page/359 359–360] |isbn=0-394-46095-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/gentlemanbosslif00reev/page/359}}</ref> On that first day, a total of 1,800 vehicles and 150,300 people crossed the span.<ref name="bpl-timeline" /> Less than a week after the Brooklyn Bridge opened, ferry crews reported a sharp drop in patronage, while the bridge's toll operators were processing over a hundred people a minute.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27693615/|title=The First Travel Across the Brooklyn Bridge|date=May 28, 1883|work=[[Poughkeepsie Eagle-News]]|access-date=June 26, 2019|page=1|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=January 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124033228/https://www.newspapers.com/article/poughkeepsie-eagle-news-first-to-cross-b/27693615/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, cross-river ferries continued to operate until 1942.<ref name="bc18830531" />

[[File:Brooklyn Museum - Bird's-Eye View of the Great New York and Brooklyn Bridge and Grand Display of Fire Works on Opening Night.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"Bird's-Eye View of the Great New York and Brooklyn Bridge and Grand Display of Fire Works on Opening Night"|alt=An image titled "Bird's-Eye View of the Great New York and Brooklyn Bridge and Grand Display of Fire Works on Opening Night"]]

The bridge had cost {{US$|15.5 million|link=no}} in 1883 dollars (about US${{Inflation|US|15,000,000|1883|r=-3|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US}}{{Inflation-fn|US}}) to build, of which Brooklyn paid two-thirds.<ref name="bpl-timeline" /><ref name="sun18910611" /> The bonds to fund the construction would not be paid off until 1956.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/11/03/archives/city-pays-off-brooklyn-bridge-of-1883-interest-was-double-cost-of.html|title=City Pays Off Brooklyn Bridge of 1883; Interest Was Double Cost of Erecting It|date=November 3, 1956|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=July 4, 2019|archive-date=July 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704015111/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/11/03/archives/city-pays-off-brooklyn-bridge-of-1883-interest-was-double-cost-of.html|url-status=live}}</ref> An estimated 27 men died during its construction.<ref name="bpl-timeline">{{cite web | publisher=Brooklyn Public Library | title=Brooklyn Daily Eagle Timeline | date=November 14, 2007 | url=http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Archive/skins/BE/NavigationSites/what.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114135249/http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Archive/skins/BE/NavigationSites/what.htm | archive-date=November 14, 2007 | url-status=dead | access-date=February 27, 2020}}</ref><ref name="sun18910611" /> Since the New York and Brooklyn Bridge was the only bridge across the East River at that time, it was also called the East River Bridge.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bridgesofdublin.ie/bridge-building/famous-bridges/brooklyn-bridge-1883|title=Brooklyn Bridge (1883)|author=<!--Not stated-->|year=2017|website=Bridges of Dublin|publisher=[[Dublin City Council]]|access-date=March 19, 2017|archive-date=January 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125004604/http://www.bridgesofdublin.ie/bridge-building/famous-bridges/brooklyn-bridge-1883|url-status=live}}</ref>  Until the construction of the nearby [[Williamsburg Bridge]] in 1903, the New York and Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Laurie |title=New York City Firsts: Big Apple Innovations That Changed the Nation and the World |date=April 1, 2022 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4930-6304-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E6JvEAAAQBAJ |language=en |access-date=May 24, 2023 |archive-date=November 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104183836/https://books.google.com/books?id=E6JvEAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> <!--{{Frac|1|1|2}}---> 20% longer than any built previously.<ref name="NiagaraCliftonBridge">{{cite web |title=The First Falls View Suspension Bridge |url=https://www.niagarafallsinfo.com/niagara-falls-history/niagara-falls-municipal-history/historic-bridges-in-niagara/the-first-falls-view-suspension-bridge/ |website=Niagara Falls Info |date=February 3, 2017 |access-date=February 24, 2022 |archive-date=February 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224162824/https://www.niagarafallsinfo.com/niagara-falls-history/niagara-falls-municipal-history/historic-bridges-in-niagara/the-first-falls-view-suspension-bridge/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

At the time of opening, the Brooklyn Bridge was not complete; the proposed public transit across the bridge was still being tested, while the Brooklyn approach was being completed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1883/07/04/archives/finishing-the-bridge-the-railroad-the-sandsstreet-entrances-and-the.html|title=Finishing the Bridge; The Railroad, The Sands-Street Entrances, And the Warehouses|date=July 4, 1883|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=June 26, 2019|archive-date=June 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626145245/https://www.nytimes.com/1883/07/04/archives/finishing-the-bridge-the-railroad-the-sandsstreet-entrances-and-the.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On May&nbsp;30, 1883, six days after the opening, a woman falling down a stairway at the Brooklyn approach caused a stampede which resulted in at least [[Brooklyn Bridge stampede|twelve people being crushed and killed]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1883/05/31/archives/dead-on-the-new-bridge-fatal-crush-at-the-western-approach.html|title=Dead on the New Bridge; Fatal Crush at the Western Approach|date=May 31, 1883|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=June 26, 2019|archive-date=April 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403194533/https://www.nytimes.com/1883/05/31/archives/dead-on-the-new-bridge-fatal-crush-at-the-western-approach.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bc18830531">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33260522/|title=Yesterday's Calamity on the Brooklyn Bridge|date=May 31, 1883|work=Buffalo Commercial|access-date=June 26, 2019|page=1|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=January 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125004544/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-commercial-yesterdays-calam/33260522/|url-status=live}}</ref> In subsequent lawsuits, the Brooklyn Bridge Company was acquitted of negligence.<ref name="bc18830531" /> However, the company did install emergency phone boxes and additional railings,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1883/06/03/archives/work-on-the-bridge-precautions-to-be-taken-to-prevent-future.html|title=Work on the Bridge; Precautions to Be Taken to Prevent Future Accidents|date=June 3, 1883|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=June 27, 2019|archive-date=June 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627150546/https://www.nytimes.com/1883/06/03/archives/work-on-the-bridge-precautions-to-be-taken-to-prevent-future.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the trustees approved a fireproofing plan for the bridge.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1883/07/10/archives/managing-the-bridge-the-trustees-adopt-a-plan-for-protection.html|title=Managing the Bridge; The Trustees Adopt a Plan for Protection Against Fire|date=July 10, 1883|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=June 27, 2019}}</ref> Public transit service began with the opening of the [[New York and Brooklyn Bridge Railway]], a cable car service, on September 25, 1883.<ref name="bc18830531" /><ref name="nyt18830925">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1883/09/25/archives/the-grip-begins-its-work-by-cable-over-the-brooklyn-bridge-many.html|title=The Grip Begins Its Work; By Cable Over the Brooklyn Bridge. Many People Using the Cars on the Opening Day—Col. Paine Loses His Only Once|date=September 25, 1883|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=June 26, 2019|archive-date=June 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626145244/https://www.nytimes.com/1883/09/25/archives/the-grip-begins-its-work-by-cable-over-the-brooklyn-bridge-many.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Small p. 5">{{harvnb|ps=.|Small|1957|p=5}}</ref> On May&nbsp;17, 1884, one of the circus master [[P. T. Barnum]]'s most famous attractions, [[Jumbo]] the elephant, led a parade of 21 elephants over the Brooklyn Bridge. This helped to lessen doubts about the bridge's stability while also promoting Barnum's circus.<ref name="tribune19220729" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bildner |first=Phil |title=Twenty-One Elephants |year=2004 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=0-689-87011-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/twentyoneelephan00phil}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Prince |first=April Jones |title=Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing |year=2005 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin]] |isbn=0-618-44887-X}}</ref><ref name="McCullough pp. 546-547">{{harvnb|ps=.|McCullough|1972|pp=546–547}}</ref>