BrooklynBridge

Frances B.
Historical facts. The Brookly n Bridge officially opened to the public on May 24, 1883. The bridge was originally called the New York and Brooklyn Bridge. It was officially given the name "Brooklyn Bridge" by the city in 1915. Con man William McCloundy was sentenced to 2 1/2 years at Sing Sing Prison for "selling" the Brooklyn Bridge to a tourist in 1901. When it opened, the Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world, the first steel-wire suspension bridge, and the first bridge to connect to Long Island. On its first day open to the public, 1,800 vehicles and 150,300 people crossed the span. Washington Roebling, the engineer who built the bridge and the son of its designer.