Quick answer
The Brooklyn Bridge spans the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn, opening on May 24, 1883, as the first fixed crossing of the river and the longest suspension bridge in the world, with a main span of 1,595.5 feet. Designed by John A. Roebling and completed by his son Washington and daughter-in-law Emily, it has a raised pedestrian promenade above the traffic.
Full transcript
One family, fourteen years
The Brooklyn Bridge was John A. Roebling's design, and he died before the foundation was finished. His son Washington took over as chief engineer, then was struck by decompression sickness from working in the underwater caissons. So the bridge was finished by a third Roebling: Emily Warren Roebling, Washington's wife, who carried his instructions to the crews, learned cable engineering on the job, and in May 1883 rode the first carriage across. It took fourteen years from start to finish, and when it opened on May 24, 1883, it was the first fixed crossing of the East River.
The longest span in the world
In 1883, nothing this big had been built. The main span of 1,595.5 feet made it the longest suspension bridge on earth, with Gothic stone towers framing the entrance and a deck 127 feet above the water. It was officially the New York and Brooklyn Bridge then — the shorter name did not arrive until 1915. More than a century later it still carries a steady stream of cars, cyclists, and pedestrians above the East River, and the walk across remains the best free view in New York.
Walking the promenade
The secret of the bridge is the raised wooden promenade on the center line, high above the traffic. Start at City Hall Park in Manhattan in the late afternoon, and walk toward Brooklyn so the Manhattan skyline is behind you as the sun drops. Stop at the midpoint, where the towers rise on either side like cathedral doors, and look back through the cables at the city you just left. Follow the stairs down into DUMBO on the Brooklyn side, turn around, and get the view that postcards have used for more than a century.