Painting the Town -- Museum of the City of New York

The Brooklyn Bridge, officially named but rarely called the East River Bridge, is one of New York's premier landmarks. An example of the highly regarded nineteenth-century American engineering ingenuity, it took nearly sixteen years to finish and caused the death of twenty men, including designer and engineer John Roebling (1806 -1869), and was also responsible for the permanent ill health of his son and heir to the project, Washington Roebling.

Brooklyn's population doubled from four hundred thousand in 1869 to more than eight hundred thousand in 1890. Before the bridge was built, the many Brooklynites who commuted to Manhattan jobs were dependent on ferries, which were often rendered unreliable by inclement weather. After the particularly severe winter of 1867, the long-debated plan to bridge the East River was approved by the state legislature, and the New York Bridge Company was formed for the purpose.

In addition to being a brilliant feat of engineering, the Brooklyn Bridge was emblematic of the unification of Brooklyn and Manhattan in the 1898 consolidation of Greater New York. Upon its opening, various modes of over-the-bridge transportation made Brooklyn's unsullied shoreline and open green spaces accessible to Manhattanites.

The Brooklyn Bridge set a new world record for size in a suspension bridge. All similar structures that followed it were larger, but none added to Roebling's technological innovations, including his inventive uses of steel -both artistic and structural -with the resultant realization of its capabilities for high-rise construction. These developments introduced new building possibilities to a city seeking ways to accommodate a rapidly expanding population.²

The bridge's roadbed included two sets of railway tracks, a pedestrian promenade, and two carriageways, one of which was closed to all but pedestrian traffic on holidays and Sundays, when city dwellers turned out in vast numbers to admire the views from the city's newest and highest vantage point, dubbed the "Eighth Wonder of the World."³ The towers (276 feet above high tide) and center span (1,595 feet) set records for height and length, but the spun steel cable slung from the two granite towers represented the greatest technological advance and gave the bridge its singular appearance.

On May 24, 1883, following a day of formal ceremonies that included President Chester A. Arthur's leading a procession of dignitaries across the bridge, military bands and salutes, three hours of speeches, and formal receptions, "at 8 o'clock precisely & the first flight of 50 rockets & [was] sent from the center of the bridge & the excursion boats were anchored in the stream . . . Fountains of gold and silver stars were set in motion on the towers and from the western roadway of the bridge Japanese shells were fired . . . These shells soared to a height of about 800 feet and then burst, scattering gold and silver rain, stars of gold, blue, emerald, and red, and writhing serpents . . . The East River was one blaze of light for the next hour, and the vessels anchored in the river were as clearly outlined against the dark background of the sky as they would have been in a bright sunshiny day."⁴ The sensational fireworks exhibition by pyrotechnists Detwiller and Street was chosen by the Executive Committee of the Bridge Company, in their last official act, as an unsurpassable finale for an unforgettable day. Fourteen tons of fireworks, comprising more than ten thousand items, colored the night sky and were reflected in the river for an hour.⁵

Although images of Brooklyn Bridge abound, this nocturne uniquely captures the exuberant celebration of its opening. Warren Sheppard's painting differentiates among the lights of the fireworks that streaked the skies over the East River, the glowing lights of the boats, and the gleaming lights of the city. Sheppard, a distinguished marine painter with an ability to capture moments of haunting beauty and historical significance, found the perfect instant for this work.

Notes:

1 Mantle Fielding, Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors and Engravers (Philadelphia: privately printed, 1926), gives Sheppard's birth date as 1859. Who Was Who in American Art, ed. Peter Hastings Falk, gives the date as 1858. According to his obituary in the New York Times of Tuesday, February 28, 1937, Sheppard was eighty-one at his death.

2 Judith St. George, The Brooklyn Bridge: They Said It Couldn't Be Built (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1982), p. 104.

3 C. C. Martin, "Report of the Chief Engineer and Superintendent," in Acts of the State of New York, and of the United States, in Relation to the New York and Brooklyn Bridge (n.p., 1868 -1884), p. 5.

4 "Two Great Cities United," New York Times, Friday, May 25, 1883.

5 David McCullough, The Great Bridge (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972), p. 540.


Bridge Celebration, May 1883 1883 Warren Sheppard (1858 -1937)¹ Oil on canvas, 24 X 40 Signed lower left: Warren Sheppard. / 1883. Lent by Edward C. Gude, L77
The Brooklyn Bridge, officially named but rarely called the East River Bridge, is one of New York's premier landmarks. An example of the highly regarded nineteenth-century American engineering ingenuity, it took nearly sixteen years to finish and caused the death of twenty men, including designer and engineer John Roebling (1806 -1869), and was also responsible for the permanent ill health of his son and heir to the project, Washington Roebling. Brooklyn's population doubled from four hundred thousand in 1869 to more than eight hundred thousand in 1890. Before the bridge was built, the many Brooklynites who commuted to Manhattan jobs were dependent on ferries, which were often rendered unreliable by inclement weather. After the particularly severe winter of 1867, the long-debated plan to bridge the East River was approved by the state legislature, and the New York Bridge Company was formed for the purpose. In addition to being a brilliant feat of engineering, the Brooklyn Bridge was emblematic of the unification of Brooklyn and Manhattan in the 1898 consolidation of Greater New York. Upon its opening, various modes of over-the-bridge transportation made Brooklyn's unsullied shoreline and open green spaces accessible to Manhattanites. The Brooklyn Bridge set a new world record for size in a suspension bridge. All similar structures that followed it were larger, but none added to Roebling's technological innovations, including his inventive uses of steel -both artistic and structural -with the resultant realization of its capabilities for high-rise construction. These developments introduced new building possibilities to a city seeking ways to accommodate a rapidly expanding population.² The bridge's roadbed included two sets of railway tracks, a pedestrian promenade, and two carriageways, one of which was closed to all but pedestrian traffic on holidays and Sundays, when city dwellers turned out in vast numbers to admire the views from the city's newest and highest vantage point, dubbed the "Eighth Wonder of the World."³ The towers (276 feet above high tide) and center span (1,595 feet) set records for height and length, but the spun steel cable slung from the two granite towers represented the greatest technological advance and gave the bridge its singular appearance. On May 24, 1883, following a day of formal ceremonies that included President Chester A. Arthur's leading a procession of dignitaries across the bridge, military bands and salutes, three hours of speeches, and formal receptions, "at 8 o'clock precisely & the first flight of 50 rockets & [was] sent from the center of the bridge & the excursion boats were anchored in the stream . . . Fountains of gold and silver stars were set in motion on the towers and from the western roadway of the bridge Japanese shells were fired . . . These shells soared to a height of about 800 feet and then burst, scattering gold and silver rain, stars of gold, blue, emerald, and red, and writhing serpents . . . The East River was one blaze of light for the next hour, and the vessels anchored in the river were as clearly outlined against the dark background of the sky as they would have been in a bright sunshiny day."⁴ The sensational fireworks exhibition by pyrotechnists Detwiller and Street was chosen by the Executive Committee of the Bridge Company, in their last official act, as an unsurpassable finale for an unforgettable day. Fourteen tons of fireworks, comprising more than ten thousand items, colored the night sky and were reflected in the river for an hour.⁵ Although images of Brooklyn Bridge abound, this nocturne uniquely captures the exuberant celebration of its opening. Warren Sheppard's painting differentiates among the lights of the fireworks that streaked the skies over the East River, the glowing lights of the boats, and the gleaming lights of the city. Sheppard, a distinguished marine painter with an ability to capture moments of haunting beauty and historical significance, found the perfect instant for this work. Notes: 1 Mantle Fielding, Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors and Engravers (Philadelphia: privately printed, 1926), gives Sheppard's birth date as 1859. Who Was Who in American Art, ed. Peter Hastings Falk, gives the date as 1858. According to his obituary in the New York Times of Tuesday, February 28, 1937, Sheppard was eighty-one at his death. 2 Judith St. George, The Brooklyn Bridge: They Said It Couldn't Be Built (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1982), p. 104. 3 C. C. Martin, "Report of the Chief Engineer and Superintendent," in Acts of the State of New York, and of the United States, in Relation to the New York and Brooklyn Bridge (n.p., 1868 -1884), p. 5. 4 "Two Great Cities United," New York Times, Friday, May 25, 1883. 5 David McCullough, The Great Bridge (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972), p. 540.