Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/327

 BROOKLYN 321 constructed at the foot of Fulton street, Brook- lyn. The number of persons who crossed the East river on ferries was 32,845,950 in 1860, 41,350,000 in 1865, and about 60,000,000 in 1872. The inadequacy of the ferries to accommodate the immense number of persons daily crossing between the two cities, and the occasional in- terruptions through fog and ice, led to the pro- ject of the East river bridge, which is now (1873) in process of construction, and is ex- pected to be completed before the end of 1877. The Brooklyn terminus will be in the square bounded by Fulton, Prospect, Sands, and Washington streets; the New York terminus in Chatham street, opposite 'the City Hall park. The supporting tower on the Brook- lyn side is just N. of the Fulton ferry house; the New York tower is at pier 29, near the foot of Roosevelt street. The bridge may be divided into five parts : the central span across the river from tower to tower, 1,595 ft. long ; a span on each side from the tower to the anchorage, 940 ft. long; and the approaches from the terminus to the anchorage on each side. The whole length of the bridge will be 6,000 ft. It will be 85 ft. wide, including a promenade of 13 ft., two railroad tracks, and four wagon or horse-car tracks. From high- water mark to the floor of the bridge in the centre will be a distance of 135 ft., so that naTigation will not be impeded. The central span will be suspended to four cables of steel wire, each 16 inches in diameter, which are to be assisted by stays. These cables will have a deflection of 128 ft. Each tower rests im- mediately upon a caisson (see CAISSON) sunk to the rock beneath the river, which on the Brook- lyn side is 45 ft. and on the New York side from 82 to 92 ft. below the surface of the water. The Brooklyn caisson is 168 ft. long by 102 ft. wide. The towers erected upon these foun- dations will be 134 ft. in length by 56 ft. in width at the water line ; below the upper cor- nice at the top these dimensions are reduced, by sloped offsets at intervals, to 120 ft. by 40. The total height above high water of each tower will be 268 ft. At the anchorages each of the four cables, after passing over the towers, enters the anchor walls at an eleva- tion of nearly 80 ft. above high water, and passes through the masonry a distance of 20 ft., at which point a connection is formed with the anchor chains. Each anchorage will con- tain about 35,000 cubic yards of masonry ; that on the Brooklyn side will be in James street. The spans from the anchorages to the towers will be suspended to the cables and carried over the roofs of the buildings underneath. The approach on the Brooklyn side from the terminus to the anchorage will measure 836 ft. ; on the New York side, 1,336 ft. These approaches will be supported by iron girders and trusses, which will rest at short intervals upon small piers of masonry, or iron columns built within the blocks crossed and occupied. The streets will be crossed by iron girders at such elevations as to leave them unobstructed. The Brooklyn terminus is 68 ft. above high tide. The total cost of the bridge, including the property on each side, will probably reach $10,000,000. Brooklyn has communication with other parts of Long Island by means of three steam railroads : the Long Island and the Flushing and North Side, which start from Hunter's Point just outside the city limits ; and the South Side, the city terminus of which is at the foot of S. 8th street, between which point and Bushwick its cars are drawn by dummies. The Brooklyn, Bath, and Coney isl- and railroad communicates with Coney island, the depot being at Greenwood. A railroad to connect with the new town on Hempstead plains projected by Mr. A. T. Stewart is in pro- cess of construction. About 25 lines of city passenger railroads, using horse power, radi- ate from the ferries to all parts of the city and suburbs. Of these, nine or ten belonging to the Brooklyn city railroad company have their terminus at Fulton ferry ; and six other lines start from the same point. Measures are now (1873) in progress for the construction of an underground steam railroad between Fulton ferry and the southern limit of Prospect park. Brooklyn is not a port of entry, being a part of the customs district of New York ; but the immense commercial interests along the shore line form one of the chief features of the city. Its water front of 8J m. is com- pletely occupied by piers, slips, warehouses, boat and ship yards, ferries, &c. Here are some of the most extensive and commodious docks, piers, and warehouses in the United States. The immense quantities of grain re- ceived here make Brooklyn one of the greatest grain depots in the world. Grain is brought from the western states by canal and river to this port, where it is stored for distribution in the eastern and southern ports of the United States and in Europe. The capacity of the grain warehouses is estimated at 12,000,000 bushels. The most extensive commercial in- terests along the shore line are found between Red Hook point on the south and Main street on the north. Within these limits it is esti- mated that 25,000 vessels, exclusive of canal boats and lighters, are annually unloaded. The chief articles are molasses, sugar, grain, coffee, oil, hides, and wool. The value of the merchan- dise annually stored is estimated as follows : South of Hamilton ferry $60,000,000 Between Hamilton and South ferries 60,000,000 Between South and Fulton ferries 126,000,000 Between Fulton ferry and Main street 28,000,000 Total $261,000,000 Fronting Governor's island, near the S. ex- tremity of the shore line, stands the massive Atlantic dock, built by a company incorporated in 1840 with a capital of $1,000,000. The basin is a parallelogram in form, has an area of 40 acres with a depth of 25 ft., and will ac- commodate the largest vessels ; 500 vessels can