VIEWPOINT

A Masterpiece in Jeopardy

The biographer of the great Brooklyn Bridge on how a proposed new building could ruin an icon of American ingenuity.

NEWSWEEK
Published Apr 18, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Apr 27, 2009

« Return to Article

Discuss

Member Comments

  • Posted By: casimp @ 04/25/2009 10:45:22 PM

    We in the "flyover states" often wonder if the greater New York area would notice, before the soymilk and fritos ran out, if the entire rest of the country were to fall into the Pacific Ocean. From what I can tell the building you are discussing is going to limit the view of about 10 of the 360 degrees surrounding the Brooklyn Bridge, but probably and most importantly, the authors'. The Brooklyn Bridge is an American icon certainly, but outside of New York City and a small group of Architecture afficianados, it is not considered to be much more than a bridge. There are many other old, interesting, engineering feats that more than likely didn't make it into Newsweek before they were built around, improved, or bulldozed, but they were probably not in New York City. It is telling that this same edition includes an article on narcissism.

    • Posted By: JenC81 @ 04/28/2009 2:45:06 PM

      soymilk and fritos? what on earth does that mean? if you're going to make a snarky remark about new yorkers, at least make one that possesses some sort of validity.

      i understand that many people outside of new york have no cause to think of the brooklyn bridge, much less cherish it. however, does that mean it - and the unobstructed atmosphere it creates - is not worth preserving? if they ran an article about a monument in a "flyover state" being impinged upon in a similar manner, do you think new yorkers would say "to hell with it - it's not new york?" no. as americans, we should value all our national treasures, no matter where they might be. and to create a building that allows only a select (and i'm guessing wealthy) few to fully enjoy this treasure is just wrong.

    • Posted By: mikep1828 @ 04/27/2009 8:36:50 PM

      Stand near the Brooklyn Bridge, or better yet, walk across it some day. Read its story. The Bridge is not just a New York City landmark. It is a monument to human ingenuity and titanic effort, the realization of a dream by an industrious emigrant to America and his American-born son, a hero of the Civil War. The Bridge is a symbol for all of us.

  • Posted By: emile666 @ 04/28/2009 2:28:34 AM

    After evicting owners of the surrounding houses, I understand that the Atlantic Yards project has been put on hold. I suggest that the developers of the proposed building try to negociate a piece of that deal rather than screwing up another part of the city with unneeded, unwanted, and ecologically unsound construction.
    -Emile666

  • Posted By: paul.giroux @ 04/24/2009 8:02:09 PM

    On the 100th Anniversary, New York Times reporter Paul Goldberger wrote: ???A monument is not simply a big structure, or a grandiose one. It is a structure that has, or acquires over time, a shared meaning, and a sense that it connects in some way to the daily lives of the people who see it.???

    History is replete with examples where society compromises their cultural and historical treasures in the name of progress.

    On opening day, May 24, 1883, architectural critic Montgomery Schuyler, he said: ???It so happens that the work which is likely to be our most durable monument, and to convey some knowledge of us to the most remote posterity, is a work of bare utility; not a shrine, not a fortress, not a place, but a bridge."

    Likewise, the decisions that are made in the name of progress today will also ???convey some knowledge of us to the most remote posterity???. Let us ensure we make the right decisions by protecting the Brooklyn Bridge, truly a national monument.

    R.P. Giroux M.ASCE

  • Posted By: billkallman @ 04/24/2009 2:22:32 PM

    Building close to the Brooklyn Bridge Tower would be a serious mistake, from a structural viewpoint.

    Having worked closely with the New York City Bureau of Bridges in the 1970???s on repairs and enhancements to this unique, original bridge, I would ask these questions:

    1. Can we be sure the foundation of the Brooklyn Tower would not be loaded by the building???s piles, causing subsidence of the tower?
    2. Will the presence of the building???s utilities, and their future maintenance, interfere with the bridge???s maintenance and longevity?
    3. Might fire protection for the bridge be compromised by the building?
    4. Wind is the major force on this bridge. The building code does not require a wind tunnel study, but obviously the wind forces will be changed by this new building. What will these changes be?
    5. The lighting of the cables is a dramatic part of the night water view. Part of the lighting will be obscured. How will this be compensated for by the building???s owners?

    In my opinion, the Bureau of Bridges must vigorously contest this project until these and other questions are resolved.
    Bill Kallman, PE

  • Posted By: axios @ 04/22/2009 4:43:49 PM

    alking about the Brooklyn Bridge is fine. However I am more interested in Saving Hagia Sophia !!
    Robert J. Calhoun Birmingham Ala.

  • Posted By: axios @ 04/22/2009 4:37:20 PM

    Talk of the
    brookln Bridge is fine. however I am more concerned about saving Higia Sophia!!
    -Robert J. Calhoun. Birmingham Ala.

  • Posted By: BloodofPatriots @ 04/20/2009 8:45:02 AM

    I'm not sure how the author of this piece can call the Brooklyn bridge NYC's best-known and most-loved piece of architecture. Maybe that was true in the 19th century, but I somehow suspect that more people know about the Statue of Liberty, and I'll bet she's more-cherished, too. This guy probably doesn't realize that people outside of New York exist or have opinions differing from those shared by citizens of "the City". The idea that large numbers of people outside of NYC give a rat's behind about the Brooklyn Bridge is urban parochialism in raw form.

    Of course, these kinds of gross exaggeration are to be expected from an author who fulminates in favor of public action blocking a new construction project to protect... a view? Of a bridge? Or from a bridge?

    To answer the author's question, yes: Commercial gain is more important than Americans' (virtually non-existent) affection for the bridge.

    • Posted By: smeyer418 @ 04/20/2009 9:24:32 PM

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_McCullough
      Mr. McCullough is neither a native NY'er and doesn't live here.

  • Posted By: smeyer418 @ 04/20/2009 9:19:10 PM

    There is a song about the Brooklyn Bridge. There is a gum in Italy named after it. If the author says its the most photographed, I take him at his word. The view of the Bridge is worth protecting. Why do you think they want to build it so close to get more money. Sometimes things are worth more than a few dollars.

  • Posted By: wildechild66 @ 04/19/2009 10:45:22 PM

    Considering that the United States never enacted a historic preservation law until the 1960's, it is vital that we all act now to save the Brooklyn Bridge. Those of us in Baltimore saw that sort of rallying to save our Senator Theatre, and Art Deco movie theatre from the 20's. Donations and signatures flowed in from around the world for our tiny movie theatre. How much greater will the response be for something as iconic as the Brooklyn Bridge?

  • Posted By: MacAdvisor @ 04/19/2009 4:34:44 PM

    I am sure many photographs have been taken of the Brooklyn Bridge, but I am not sure it is "photographed more than anything ever built by Americans." I cannot even guess how a study to measure that could be designed, but certainly a source for the "fact" wasn't given. The Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco to Marin is much photographed and the Disney Matterhorn also draws a few cameras. Additionally, Mount Rushmore has used up a bit of film here and there.

    I suggest sticking to the facts is more likely to save the Bridge's fabled site lines than hyperbole.

Reply

Report Abuse

Enter comments if any for reporting abuse