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The Brooklyn Bridge

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In the mid-19th century, a seemingly impossible scheme was devised to unite New York City to Brooklyn by spanning the East River with the longest suspension bridge ever built. Yet the ambitious dre...

In the mid-19th century, a seemingly impossible scheme was devised to unite New York City to Brooklyn by spanning the East River with the longest suspension bridge ever built. Yet the ambitious dream of brilliant engineer John Roebling fast turned into a nightmare. This program tells the story of an incredible technological feat set against a background of greed, gross political corruption, and a double family tragedy. A combination of accidents and injuries, negligence, and a mysterious illness that would come to be known as the bends left Roebling dead, his son Washington partially paralyzed, and workers maimed. Bystanders were killed as well: a dozen were crushed among the crowd at the bridge's opening. A Roebling family triumph, the Brooklyn Bridge nevertheless took a terrible toll.

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