It was 14 years in the making, but 140 years ago today, on May 24, 1883, the East River Bridge officially opened. You likely know it as the Brooklyn Bridge.
Unfortunately, those 14 years of construction also saw the loss of 27 lives. And just a week after opening, as about 20,000 curious New Yorkers were on the bridge marveling at this feat of engineering, rumors of an imminent collapse led to a stamped the took the lives of a dozen more.
Add in the death of the first person to attempt a jump from the bridge, and countless accidents and suicides over the years, and it’s easy to see why the Brooklyn Bridge might earn the dubious moniker “The Bridge of Death.”
According to some, the spirits of those who died there have never left…
Join our inimitable guide, the rogue W. M. Blackwood, on our tour of The Five Points to learn more of the Bridge’s grisly history, and the spooky stories that remain!
A
Holiday Greetings!
Leave a Reply