East River Suspension Bridge Connecting New York & Brooklyn

Original title: The great East River suspension bridge: connecting the cities of New York and Brooklyn. View from Brooklyn, looking west. Chromolithograph published by Currier & Ives, copyright 1883, the same year the Bridge was opened to traffic.

Text at the bottom of the illustration: The Bridge crosses the river by a single span of 1,595 feet suspended by four cables, 15½ inches in diameter, each composed of 5,434 parallel steel wires. Strength of each cable, 12,000 tons. Length of each land span, 930 feet. New York approach, 1,562½ feet. Brooklyn approach, 971 feet. Total length of Bridge and approaches, 5,988 feet 6 inches. Height of Towers, 278 feet. Height of Roadway above high water, at towers, 119 feet 3 inches, at centre of span, 135 feet. Width of Bridge, 85 feet, with tracks for cars, roadway for carriages, and walks for foot passengers. The Bridge is lighted at night by the United States Illuminating Co. with 35 Electric Lights of 2,000 candle power each. Construction commenced, January, 1870. Completed, May, 1883. Estimated total cost $15,000,000.

Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.