BBC Seven Wonders Of The Industrial World
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Now this bridge will not only be...
...the greatest bridge in existence.
And a great work of art.
lt will be the greatest engineering work...
...of this continent...
...and of any age.
This is the story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The bridge, the bridge, the bridge, the bridge, the bridge, the bridge.
The bridge that created modern New York.
By first linking Brooklyn and Manhattan.
lt is the story of men who achieved the impossible.
Working deep beneath the river bed.
And high above the city.
lt is a story of a father`s vision.
Of his son`s tragic inheritance.
And of the woman whose strength and intelligence saved him and the bridge.
The Brooklyn Bridge almost destroyed the family who created it.
Now it stands as a memorial to their vision, sacrifice and loyalty.
l`ve heard people say that the work of the engineer is boring, that it`s dull.
How wrong those people are.
They should hear this story.
The building of the Brooklyn Bridge, and we created it.
lt is a fourteen year saga that sold newspapers and enthralled millions.
Every cutting collected and preserved for posterity by Emily Roebling.
From the beginning she was an unofficial historian of the bridge.
Later she would take on much more.
This film is based on her scrapbooks.
lmagine New York, it`s a crowded bustling city.
Separated from Brooklyn by the East River.
No one could imagine how the two could be joined.
But one man knew how it could be done.
He had been campaigning for fifteen years.
He was already an experienced bridge builder,
the German emigre John Roebling, a true visionary.
John Roebling is a brilliant engineer.
He can see things other people only imagine.
He`s a genius, he`s a genius.
My father studied under Hegel in Prussia.
He saw America as this great gateway to the imagination,
this place where we could create amazing structures.
His bridges in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and over the rapids in Niagara,...
...they`re marvellous.
But he dreamed of the Brooklyn Bridge as his crown of achievement.
My father had a way of talking which nothing sounded impossible.
lt was like magic.
He believed.
l thought to myself why can`t one bring a bridge to span,
to leap right across from Manhattan to Brooklyn.
He says he`s going to build the longest bridge in the world.
A mile from end to end.
He says he`s going to raise towers high over the city,
the tallest towers ever seen.
These towers with their great, great strength will support
these suspension cables which will be like massive muscles.
Dropping from these cables will be the wires holding the bridge like tendons.
So imagine the thing like Samson there.
His bridge would be the longest, the strongest, the tallest,
though perhaps the most dangerous ever built.
Assisted by his son Washington he hired a team of the finest engineers.
He promised them a monument to rival the hanging gardens of Babylon.
When this bridge is constructed according to my design
it will be a living testimony to the energy,
to the enthusiasm and to the wealth of the two cities that secured its construction.
This bridge will not only be the greatest bridge in existence and a work of art
but will also be, and l hope it will be,
the greatest work of engineering of this continent and of this age.
The bridge, the bridge.
But only three days after the go-ahead to start work.
John Roebling was out surveying the site for the Brooklyn Tower,
a ferry crashed in to the pier, with unusual force.
Mr Roebling`s foot was crushed.
Two of his toes were damaged beyond repair.
l had to amputate his toes.
He would not accept any anaesthetic whatsoever
and l fear the consequences of this will be grave.
John Roebling believed
he could cure himself by pouring water over the wound night and day.
My father had taken command of his case
and is refusing all treatment from the doctor.
He is determined to heal himself by water therapy alone.
Mr Roebling is inviting sure death upon himself.
l believe er boss tweed is rather um crestfallen.
He thinks and talks of the bridge as incessantly as ever and
seems unwilling to have the conversation of his professional assistance
diverted for a moment to his own accident.
We have endured ten terrible days.
Lockjaw has set in.
Mr Roebling is unable to eat or swallow.
lt is very distressing.
The bridge is barely two weeks in to construction.
Not a stone has been laid.
And its designer and chief engineer is gone.
The rock on which l hither to lean had fallen.
With my father gone hence forth l would have to rely upon myself.
Washington Roebling faced the defining challenge of his life.
Washington has promised his father that he`ll finish the bridge.
He must, it`s his duty.
lnvestors were ready to pull out.
The bridge company quickly turned to Washington, their one last hope.
Washington Roebling, our new Chief Engineer.
Herr Roebling, Herr Roebling sir,
what makes you suitable to take on your father`s role.
ls it not true
that you have never managed the construction of a bridge on this scale?
No man has done that sir.
Not even my father.
This is a construction project without precedence.
But there are three good reasons why l am suited to the job of Chief Engineer.
First the cables,
l`m the only man living with the practical experience to build those great cables
and make every wire bear its share.
Second, the towers and their foundations,
on my father`s instructions l have spent a year in Europe
studying the sinking of caissons with compressed air.
The means he intended to build those towers out in the river.
Third design, l have assisted my father in the preparations for the first designs.
He being the mastermind of course.
l am therefore familiar with his ideas and with the whole project and gentlemen
if l may suggest no one else is.
No one else is.
There l was at the age of thirty two,
suddenly put in charge of the most stupendous
engineering structure of the age.
What my father has started it is my duty to finish,
and l will be more than proud to work with the team that he has assembled.
Our success depends on diligence,
sacrifice and loyalty, thank you gentlemen.
At first l thought l would succumb.
But l had a strong tower to lean upon,
my wife, a woman of infinite tact and wisest council.
Washington inherited his father`s fortune,
his wire cable company and his vision for the bridge.
He was a more approachable man, he quickly won the respect of the workforce.
By nature and education l trust neither authority nor precedent.
lf there is a problem my father taught me to think it through,
referring to general principles and then work
...from the conclusions that l have drawn.
To trust only my own ideas.
He has all the knowledge to build this bridge.
Throughout his entire life Washington has met every challenge that has come to him.
He was a colonel in the civil war, he`s built his own bridges,
he`s travelled in Europe, he`s a brilliant engineer.
lf he sets his mind on something he does it.
His first task was the most daring and dangerous.
To sink heavy foundations in to the river bed for the two colossal towers.
He planned to use airtight caissons, giant upside down wooden boxes.
A hundred and sixty feet long by a hundred wide.
They would be pushed down through the mud
and rocks by the weight of the tower being built on top.
Made of thick timber, with a sharp iron cutting edge all the way round,
the caisson chamber where the men worked
would be pumped full of compressed air to keep water out.
As granite blocks piled on above their weight
would force the caissons down in to the mud,
inch by dangerous inch, `til they reached bedrock.
Then they would be filled with concrete to make the solid foundations.
The caissons are wooden structures which will sink deep below the river bed,
through the mud, finally resting upon the deepest bedrock.
The air in a container prevents any water flooding in.
But as the caisson sinks deeper the air inside the chamber must be compressed,
to prevent the exterior pressure crushing the structure.
This is a double-edged sword.
Our workmen have to work for long periods
inside the caisson in a compressed environment.
This can cause distress and great suffering to our men.
There were reports of death and paralysis afflicting workers in compressed air.
But they were soon hiring scores of immigrant labourers.
The airlock was their final gateway to a harsh new world beneath the river.
We all go down to work with pick and shovel on the gravelly.
The bit of the excavation is slush and mud.
We`re drilling large boulders and breaking them in to fragments
before being taken out.
Everything wears a weird, unnatural appearance.
There`s a confusing sensation in the head of the sound of many rushing waters.
The pulse is at first accelerated and then sometimes falls below normal rate.
The voice sounds faint, unnatural, and it becomes a great effort to speak.
After just five minutes the sweat is pouring from us.
And all the while we`re standing in icy cold water
which is only kept from rising by the terrific pressure.
The mixture of heat,
icy water and compressed air made many feel they were working in hell itself.
Flaming lights in the dark shadows.
The confusing noises of trains and drills and hammers.
One might conceive an impression of Dante`s lnferno.
The Brooklyn caissons sank slowly through the mud of the East River.
Thousands of tonnes of masonry for the tower piled on above,
pushing it lower in to the river bed.
They`ve been working in the caisson for two months now but there`s a problem,
they`ve hit a layer of large boulders.
He says they may have to use dynamite.
As you can see there`s a great amount of labour.
And at the moment very little result.
lt`s not good.
The caisson has arrived at the depth of twenty five feet below the water level,
and the boulders have become so large
and so numerous as to compel us to resort to blasting.
No one had ever used explosives in compressed air before.
l`m afraid for my men
that the blast may damage their ears in this condensed atmosphere.
lf the airlock were damaged compressed air would rush out,
the drop in pressure could bring the tower crushing down on the caisson.
A sudden explosion may force the air out
and that would be fatal, for the caisson and those of us inside.
But when they tried a test explosion the only real problem was smoke.
With initial fear allayed we can achieve twenty blasts in one watch.
The men merely step in to an adjacent chamber and escape the flying fragments.
All is well.
Progress was achieved, the caisson undamaged.
The good effects are evident, in the lowering of the caisson by a foot
and a half per week in place of just six inches.
For five months they work down in to the river bed,
up above they loaded debris on to barges to be dumped out at sea.
Washington spent more time in the caisson than any of the men,
despite the increasing threat of sickness.
Then one day in December they discovered a fire burning deep in the timbers.
A fire that threatened everything they had achieved so far.
There was a fire in the caisson, in the wooden roof, Washington`s already gone.
He seems to spend all of his time down there,
sometimes for days on end and, and he won`t allow anybody else to do things,
he has to do everything himself.
Just like his father.
Where the supporting crane meets the roof some fellow held a candle
against the roof for some considerable time,
this proved to be our heel of Achilles.
The fire was spreading deep inside the wooden beams of the caisson roof.
lf the roof failed twenty eight thousand tonnes of granite
would come crashing down on the men.
They drilled a series of holes
throughout the caisson trying to track the hidden fire.
What`s happening here now is we`ve,
we`ve drilled holes two or three feet up in to the roof.
And so far there`s no sign of any fire.
May have been burning for several hours.
They worked for hours keeping the fire in check, praying that the roof would hold.
At midnight the fire seemed to be under control.
By the time Washington made his way to the airlock
he had spent more than twenty hours in compressed air without a break.
He suffered his first attack of the bends.
Bring me the whisky, bring me the salt.
By the next morning his symptoms had subsided.
He was just coming round and beginning to look more healthy.
Yes.
He still needed a deal more rest.
The fire had not been put out.
What does he say?
What are you doing?
You`re too ill to go.
Washington went straight back there to the caisson even though he was still unwell.
Nothing could stop him.
Drilling up in to the roof, this time in to the fourth course of the timber
they found a hidden inferno spreading throughout the structure,
a mass of flaming embers.
We are seriously considering flooding the entire chamber.
We stand to lose the entire project, we stand to lose the entire bridge.
Thirty fire engines and tugs set to work.
Five hours later they had poured
more than a million gallons of water down the shaft, flooding the caisson.
The fire has stopped completely,
but the damage will take weeks to repair and the expense will be considerable.
We were so close to our goal.
lt took them nine more weeks to reach bedrock,
but before they could fill the caisson with concrete a careless mistake
by some surface workers allowed the compressed air to escape.
This blow-out was the very thing Washington had always feared.
The air rushed out with a great noise.
No one knew where they were going.
Confusion, darkness, the profusion of obstacles, men ran against pillar, post.
Without the compressed air
they thought the tower would crush down any minute killing them all.
The water rose to our knees
and we supposed of course that the river had broken in.
From two to three minutes elapsed before we succeeded in closing the lower doors.
lt was fortunate no lives were lost.
The pressure on Washington was relentless.
Gentlemen, this blow out was no accident.
Calling it an accident would be wrong,
because not one accident in a hundred deserves the name.
lt was carelessness brought about by supposing
that matters would take care of themselves.
At last, after more weeks they sealed off the caisson
and filled it with concrete to form a solid foundation block.
Then whilst one team set about raising the first tower in Brooklyn
another team started on the New York caisson
which would face the subterranean journey three times deeper.
On the New York site l have some very serious concerns.
Borings have been made to ascertain the depth of solid rock below the water level,
on the New York site
we did not hit solid rock `til the depth of a hundred and six feet.
That is the most appalling depth never before reached or attempted.
My greatest fear is that we`ll encounter the worst extremes of caissons disease,
that these depths are to sure strike my men.
No one knew if it was even possible to sink
the New York caisson down to this deeper bedrock.
ln spite of the risk to their health
once more hundreds of men were employed clearing away mud,
rock and sand, deep beneath the river.
Down below they`re scared of what may happen to the men
if this disease should strike.
On the surface everything`s so busy, so businesslike.
At the foot of Roosevelt Street where the New York tower
is being erected one of the busiest scenes in the city is met with,
and has been for months, dozens of workmen, hurrying here and there.
Wheelbarrows and hards and spakes and shovels, men chopping, cleaning
and sawing the immense timbers used in constructing the enormous derricks.
After only two months the New York caisson had gone deeper than the Brooklyn
and the racking pains of caisson disease started to take their toll.
How many successful hours can men work in the caissons?
lt depends how deep we`re working.
The deeper we go the more the air is compressed,
the greater the difficulty in breathing.
At the bottom of the New York caisson
we have er pressure of thirty four pounds a square inch,
so we only allow the men to work four hours every twenty four.
And is there any danger going down the caisson?
Yes there is.
l have seen the blood flow out of men`s noses.
Eyes red, bulging as if they were ready to start out of their sockets.
All the while the poor boy`s suffering terribly.
And they retch and vomit and then when that passes off that`s
when the paralysis sets in, it`s tough.
lt is true
that scarcely any man has escaped without pain to his limbs or bones,
or by slight paralysis to the arms or legs.
But they all get over it, either by suffering out side for a couple of days,
or by applying the heroic mode of returning to the caisson at once
as soon as the pains manifest themselves.
And do you have any trouble finding men for this dangerous work?
No on the contrary, we have short days and good pay.
The men up above get er two dollars fifty cents for eight hours work,
and the men down below get two dollars ten cents for four hours work.
So we get all the men we need.
Even on the shorter shifts men were suffering from paralysis
and excruciating pain when they retuned to the surface.
The exact cause was a mystery.
There are several cases of paralysis of considerable severity.
But they all recover from three days to three weeks.
And from fifty feet in depth downward severe pains in the arms and legs
become more frequent called by the men the Grecian bends,
because the onset often finds the men bent double with pain.
A physician has been employed to spend one to four hours per day here.
This disease is entirely manmade.
We have invented the structures and conditions which cause it.
Case four, Patrick O`Farrell.
On going down in to the caisson pain in the frontal sinus.
Case six, John Rhodes, dizziness and nauseousness.
The cases mounted.
Feet cold, head hot, unable to stand.
Dr Smith kept note of the deadly symptoms.
Case eight, Samuel Mitchell.
Pain in upper and lower extremities.
Giddiness and vomiting, paralysis of the left.
Case thirteen, Henry Stratton.
Dizziness and vomiting, severe pain.
As the depth increased the symptoms became more severe.
Pain in the limbs followed by a swollen extreme...
Then despite their efforts one of the men died.
The first fatal case has taken place at a depth of seventy five feet
from congestion of the lungs.
The man was recently employed of a very full habit,
had worked but one shift of two and a half hours.
On coming up he felt well but died an hour afterwards.
On examination two days before his lungs were sound.
One important conclusion from the records kept is this,
that the greater majority of those men
who have retained their health were wiry somewhat spare men.
But almost all of the sick were fleshy men of a full or large size.
Clearly it is the action of compressed air which causes the symptoms
but apart from shortening the shifts or selecting only men
who are lean and healthy what is to be done?
Caisson has now gone down eighty feet.
Result is as feared.
The pressure is hazardous.
Men are sick and they`re dying.
With an increased pressure the number of working hours must be diminished.
What more can we do?
Another fatal case has been reported.
The case is yet to be examined.
He was at once carried up to the surface ...in an unconscious condition.
Face pale and dusky, lips blue.
This is the third death now.
No one feels safe, the men are all suffering.
And now the progress is halted.
They`re not moving at all in the caisson.
They`ve reached a level of compacted sand that is so hard,
so heavy that it`s blunting their tools.
lt`s not the bedrock my husband was looking for
but if he carries on more people will die.
He has to make a decision.
Washington had to make an agonising calculation.
Try to reach bedrock and lose even more of his men
or let the tower rest on the compacted sand.
Men hold the work.
Men we have worked to our limit.
This could take another year.
Countless more lives.
This compacted sand is like concrete, it hasn`t shifted in thousands of years.
Therefore it is my belief that it is adequate for our needs.
lf he was wrong the towers could lean or even fall.
And he would be responsible.
After two years of exhausting work, much of it spent in compressed air,
Washington succumbed once more to the bends.
Holding here, put him on the naving. Quickly!
He was nearly insensible.
All that night we thought he was going to die.
Washington`s health was shattered.
He and Emily retired to the family house in Trenton, New Jersey,
hoping a rest would help him.
He refused to give up his role as Chief Engineer despite his sickness.
l am not well enough to attend the meetings of the board
as l can only talk for a few moments at a time and can not listen to conversation
if it is continued very long.
l`m able to be out of my room occasionally.
l believe there is not a day when l do not do some work for the bridge.
The physicians hope that living outdoors,
away from the city may lessen the irritation
to the nerves of my face and head.
My assistants` do the work assigned them with perfect confidence,
the interests of the bridge in no way suffer from my being here.
Man is after all a very finite being in his capacities
and powers to do actual work.
But when it comes to planning one mind
can in a few hours think out enough work to keep a thousand employed for years.
Continuing to work is with me a matter of pride and honour.
Thank you.
Unsure how much time he had left,
Washington dictated detailed instructions for his assistants back at the bridge.
Probably no great work has ever been conducted by a man
who has to labour under so many disadvantages.
Though l think between the two of us we can get this bridge built.
Emily supported him.
She taught herself higher mathematics and the details of engineering.
lf he should die there would be someone to see the project
through and interpret his plans.
Day after day, when she can be spared from the sickroom,
devoted wife exchanges duties of chief nurse
for those of chief engineer of the bridge.
Explaining difficult points, examining results for herself.
Thus she establishes the most perfect means of communication,
between the structure and it`s honour.
None of this can be accomplished
but for the unselfish devotion of the assistant engineers.
She has applied her remarkable mind to the acquisition of the higher mathematics.
Each man has a certain department in charge
and he works with all his energies to see that the work is properly carried out
according to Colonel Roebling`s plans and issues.
She has dazzled us with her complete
and intelligent understanding of the Colonel`s theories and plans.
As my husband once remarked in happier times the bridge will depend on diligence,
hard work and loyalty.
Eventually when both towers were completed,
the first wire was strung from one side to the other.
The first wire rope reached its position at eleven and one half o`clock,
was raised in six minutes, WHP.
This is a moment he`s waited for so long, and he was too ill, he missed it.
Poor Wash, it`s just too hard.
Two weeks later at a high-spirited ceremony, Farmington, the master mechanic,
swung across the river in a boson`s chair.
Mr Farrington was keen to show the rigging workers
how the thin rope could support a man`s weight.
He was the first man ever to cross the East River by bridge.
By all accounts it was quite an occasion.
The view was tremendous.
l`m not likely to experience anything like that again, that`s for sure.
Next they started to string the giant cables across the river strand by strand,
three hundred feet in the air.
There is something colossal in the look of the East River piers
as they show in the morning sunlight.
The ropes already connecting the two piers seem like slender threads.
And as the vessels pass and re-pass under them some idea may be formed of
what may be the effect when the graceful upper wire structure is completed.
With the roadways crowded with passengers and vehicles of all descriptions,
and the high masted clippers and coasting traders passing underneath.
But Washington had suffered an unexpected setback.
Although the family firm John Roebling & Sons was well known
as the finest makers of wire cable in the company
they were barred from the bridge job on the pretext
that it would be a conflict of interest.
l am very strongly opposed for the Roeblings`
having anything to do with the filling of contracts for this bridge.
Here, here.
Particularly the contract for the supply of wire cable.
Absolutely.
l`m the only man living with the practical experience to build those great cables
and make every wire bear its share.
lnstead the job went to a Brooklyn contractor
with close financial links to the board members.
And now we are forced to deal with a known cheat and a rogue.
He`s known to be dishonest in his business dealings
and has a reputation here in Brooklyn as a womaniser.
Over the next year the contractor sent wire for the great cables.
Which were spun back and forth across the river strand by strand.
Then one of the cables snapped.
Two bridge men were killed, another three seriously injured.
And the strand was lost.
Washington had always been suspicious about the quality of the wire.
Now he sent inspectors to take random samples.
These checks showed that rotten wire was being smuggled through,
for twining in to the cables.
lt`s as brittle as glass.
How much of the same brittle wire
has been going in to the cable without our knowledge?
lt`s worthless, and the most dangerous material that could have been employed.
l see but one way of preventing such wire being run out.
Double the number of inspectors at the contractor`s works.
A watch was set and the trick discovered.
The wagon load of wire as it left the inspector
with his certificate was driven around the corner to a yard
and rapidly unloaded and replaced with rejected wire.
This bad wire then went with the certificate to the bridge.
The bad wire had already been woven in to the giant cables
and could not be removed.
The most distressing point of this affair is that all the rejected wire
that has come to the bridge has been worked...
...in to the cables and can not be removed.
How to ascertain the total quantity is a difficult task.
An engineer who has not been educated
as a spy or a detective is no match for a rascal.
Thank God Washington and his father built in enough safety margin.
They designed the cable to be six times stronger than necessary
so even with the bad cable it will still be four times stronger.
He says they`ll hold.
At last the contract to provide steel wire went to the Roebling company.
But Washington had made powerful enemies.
He supervised the final stages of construction
from the windows of the family house in Brooklyn Heights.
But his role as chief engineer was soon under threat.
Newspaper reports claimed he had lost his mind.
Oh just listen to this.
He is suffering from a nervous disease which baffles all medical skill.
At times he loses all control over his mind and is really as one dead,
at other times he`s able to understand all that is said to him.
lf he ever recovers it will not be before the bridge is finished.
That`s ridiculous.
Listen to this, every day it`s the same thing.
l declare the Great East River bridge in peril because it has no head.
Because its wires of control run in to a closely guarded sick room.
The engineering part of the structure,
the most important is in the hands of a sick man.
Gentlemen it is time we found ourselves a new Chief Engineer.
With less than a year to go
they wish to dispense with Washington and make him a consultant.
l do not propose to dance attendance to the trustees.
l didn`t do it when l was well.
l can only do my work by maintaining my independence.
l almost have to shed tears when l recall the very cruel way we were treated.
l was struggling to finish the bridge
and save my husband`s life and reason from the fierce onslaught.
Washington`s life is the bridge.
This is what he`s living for, if you take away that you have nothing.
And still even with him ill, unable to see, unable to write at days,
he can create this bridge
and he has poured more of himself in to it than any other man could,
and some other engineer taking over, that`s ridiculous.
We have built it together,
we have created this bridge together and they will not be taking him off it.
And in summary he says,
`lf l live long enough to direct the important work still to be done,
l know it will be finished cheaper and better than it would be
if left to some engineer who has not had my experience.`
Emily mobilised support for Washington.
At an extraordinary meeting she addressed the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The first woman ever to do so.
Then at a crucial board meeting Washington`s future was put to the vote.
The subject is too important for sentiment,
and the bridge needs the attention of a man in his best power.
As a bridge builder he has not had his equal on the face of the earth.
l defy contradiction.
l for one would take my arm off my shoulder
before l would permit myself to vote against a man
without blemish upon his character or ability.
He has not kept the bridge back for a moment.
lt would be mean and contemptible to blame him, and l don`t propose to do it.
The vote has been carried in Washington`s favour,
by seven to ten, he will retain his title as Chief Engineer.
l should be very glad when we come to the end of this business
and l have a chance to take Washington from all this.
Within the year the bridge was finished.
Celebrations were memorable and emotional.
John Roebling sacrificed his life for the bridge.
His son too entered our service, young full of hope and life,
yet he too was struck down by caisson`s disease.
Roebling may never walk across the bridge
as so many of his fellow men have done today.
One name however can not be passed over here in silence.
The name of Emily Roebling will be forever inseparably associated with all
that is admirable in human nature
and all that is wonderful in the constructive world of art.
l feel like the story is over now.
The bridge has been built,
and the Roebling name is still attached to it, as it should be.
l see our life there in this beautiful piece of art.
lt`s our family there.
And people might just go and walk across it,
and some people might go and look at it.
Will they know the story of us?
l don`t know.
But l will, l`ll know how it was made and l`ll know who made it
and l`ll know who died for it, and that`s enough, that`s enough.
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