WHB and the Brooklyn Bridge

Adam on the Brooklyn Bridge, looking towards lower Manhattan

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Brooklyn Bridge in New York with my son Adam. We were able to cross over the bridge on a wooden walkway that extended over the busy traffic and East River far below. The bridgework and night-time views of the NYC skyline were amazing!

Our view of the New York skyline from the bridge

The experience brought to mind a letter that Uncle Will had written in 1880, which I had briefly described in a previous post. At that time, the bridge was considered to be one of the greatest engineering feats in the world. Construction of the bridge had begun in 1869 and would take 14 years to complete. The chief engineer on the project was a German immigrant named John Roebling. During the second year of construction, however, his foot was crushed and he died of tetanus. Afterwards, his 32-year old son, Washington Roebling, took over the project as chief engineer.

In November 1880, Uncle Will had written a letter home to his 15-year old sister Sarah, whom they had affectionately called Sadie. At that time, he was in his first semester as an engineering student at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. From his dormitory room on the third floor, he was able to look across the Hudson River to NYC and may have been able to see the stone suspension towers of the bridge on the other side of Manhattan. On the third page of his letter (see below), Uncle Will describes contacting the chief engineer to ask permission to visit the bridge during construction.

He and his classmates were then able to cross over the footpath above the bridge and get a personal tour from another engineer on the project. He writes that:

"It is a grand thing to go up on those piers. They are over 250 feet above the river. The view of NY and the surroundings is magnificent. When on the walk out over the river it almost seems as if one was flying." and "Going across that bridge is the best treat that I have had since I have been here -- I only wish that Papa and Frank could go over it too."

Although separated by 139 years, Adam is also a young engineer. I mentioned to him that Uncle Will's brother Frank (Franklin Benjamin Bristol I) was his great-great grandfather, and Papa (Benjamin Hiel Bristol) was his great-great-great grandfather!

Uncle Will's experience on the bridge that day may have been particularly inspiring for him during his career. After graduating from Stevens in 1884, he would begin teaching there in 1886 and then become a professor of mathematics there in 1899, after starting the Bristol Company with Frank and his father in 1889. While at Stevens, he also patented some of his most successful inventions. The school still offers a William Henry Bristol Endowed Scholarship, which is "awarded to a deserving student with financial need."

Uncle Will's letter from November 1880, page 1 (click to enlarge)

Page 2

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