“O Sleepless as the river under thee,
Vaulting the sea, the prairies' dreaming sod,
Unto us lowliest sometime sweep, descend
And of the curveship lend a myth to God.” –Hart Crane, “To Brooklyn Bridge,” in The Bridge (1930)
(On this date in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge opened. The landmark—created by John Roebling and completed, after 14 years, 20 deaths, and $9 million over its projected $6 million budget, by son Washington—transformed the life of the borough of Brooklyn and New York in general, giving the city an unforgettable diadem of its skyline. Only some time after the creation of his poem did Hart Crane realize its inspiration came to him in the very room in which Washington Roebling, by then paralyzed by “The Bends,” had supervised completion of the amazing suspension bridge.)
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