{"nrhp_refnum":"66000523","name":"Brooklyn Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Across the East River from Brooklyn to Manhattan","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Brooklyn","state":"NY","lat":40.706080541000034,"lon":-73.99682589961597,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1964-01-29","areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A steel-wire suspension bridge over the East River linking Park Row in Manhattan with Adams Street in Brooklyn, New York City. Construction ran from 1869 to 1883, designed by John A. Roebling and completed under his son Washington A. Roebling.","why_significant":"The form calls it a national symbol and world-renowned landmark, and says it was the largest suspension bridge in the world for twenty years. Its construction used new techniques, including pneumatic caissons and steel instead of iron cable. It is presented as the culmination of the Roeblings' bridge-building careers and is little altered from its original form.","narrative":"Spanning the East River between Park Row in Manhattan and Adams Street in Brooklyn, this suspension bridge measures 5,989 feet overall, with a main span of 1,595 feet 6 inches. Its deck hangs from four steel cables carried over two limestone and granite towers with Gothic arches. The towers rest on enormous timber caissons filled with compressed air, sunk to the river bed by workers, many of whom suffered from caisson disease. John A. Roebling designed the bridge, and his son Washington A. Roebling directed construction after his father's death in 1869. Work lasted until 1883. For twenty years it was the largest suspension bridge in the world, and it pioneered steel cable and pneumatic caissons on this scale. Originally built for pedestrians, vehicles and cable cars, it later carried trolleys and elevated trains, which ended in 1944. A major upgrade beginning in 1948 widened the roadway with little change to its appearance. It still carries heavy daily traffic.","period_of_significance":"1869-1883","architect_builder":"John A. Roebling; Washington A. Roebling","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use, carrying more than 121,000 cars and trucks daily plus pedestrians on the elevated walkway; condition rated good, altered, on original site.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.599213-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/66000523_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000523/72093a8df4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000523/72093a8df4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Christian David","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Bridge_and_the_Lower_Manhattan_skyline_from_Pebble_Beach,_New_York.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Christian David</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Bridge_and_the_Lower_Manhattan_skyline_from_Pebble_Beach,_New_York.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75315928","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q125006"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/brooklyn/brooklyn-bridge-66000523/"}