When, in 1865, Mr. first took fairly hold of this enterprise, and had — Brooklyn Bridge

"The Brooklyn Bridge, like that of , is carried on four main cables. The supports are two huge towers, rising 272 feet above high water. At the river level they measure 140 feet broad by 50 deep, which dimensions decrease to 120×40 feet at the summit. ... The most interesting feature of the bridge is the cable work. Each of the four cables, anchored at either end to massive 13-ton plates, embedded in huge masses of masonry, each representing more than 44,000 tons, contains 5296 galvanised steel wires, which were carried separately from tower to tower, and bound up together in a parallel formation into a cylinder 15¾ inches in diameter."

"The opening of the "Eighth Wonder of the World, on May 24, 1883, was the biggest celebration New York had seen since the opening of the nearly sixty years before. Some of the Irish were unhappy because the day chosen for the ceremony happened also to be s birthday, but almost everybody else had a splendid time."

"Between the completion of the bridge on paper and the inauguration of construction, a distressing event took place. This was the death of , in 1869. It was difficult to believe that the loss would not prove irreparable, and yet in fact had preserved him to be the real builder of the bridge, although not a hammer had been lifted when he died. His son, , who was already associated with the work, enjoyed the confidence and shared the ability of his father. The board of trustees appointed him chief engineer—the position he has held during the entire progress of construction."

"For those who do not care to prowl about for the scattered bits of interest or who prefer what would call "a magnificent panorama," there are plenty of good points of vantage from which to see whole sections at once, such as the or the tops of high buildings, or, obviously, Brooklyn Bridge, which is so very obvious that many Manhattanese would never make use of this opportunity were it not for an occasional out-of-town visitor on their hands. No one ought to be allowed to live in —he ought to be made to live in —who does not go out there and look back at his town once a year. He could look at it every day and get new effects of light and color. Even in sky-line he could find something new almost every week or two."

"... In 1921, the bridge was a cornerstone image in and s cinematic hymn to New York, . Subsequently, the bridge has appeared in countless films, from s (1928) and s (1933) to such recent blockbusters as (1998), (1998), (1999), and (2001)."

"For nearly fifty years after it was completed the Brooklyn Bridge reigned supreme as the most magnificent, if not technically the largest, on earth. In its initial days as a public thoroughfare it was commonly referred to as "The Eighth Wonder of the World" as it was even greater sensation than anyone had expected. On its first full day, May 25, 1883, a total of 150,300 people crossed on foot and 1,800 vehicles went over carrying an unknown number of others."