#259 Crossing to Brooklyn: How the Williamsburg Bridge Changed New York

Sure, the Brooklyn Bridge gets all the praise, but New York City's second bridge over the East River has an exceptional story of its own. In this episode, we'll answer some interesting questions, including: -- Why is the bridge named for a 19th century industrial neighborhood in Brooklyn and why is it not, for instance, called the Manhattan Bridge (a name not in use yet in 1903) or the East River Bridge (which was its original name)? -- Why did everybody think the bridge looked so unusually ugly and how did the city belatedly try and solve the problem? -- Why did one population in the Lower East Side find the bridge more important than others? -- Why was the bridge is such terrible shape in the 20th century? Did it really almost collapse into the river? -- And where can you find the original name of the Brooklyn neighborhood -- Williamsburgh? PLUS: How the fate of the two neighborhoods linked by the Williamsburg Bridge would change radically in 115 years boweryboyshistory.com We'd like to thank WeWork for sponsoring the Bowery Boys as well as our additional sponsors Hulu (and the gripping new thriller The Looming Tower) and Audible. For a free 30-day trial (and a free audiobook) go to audible.com/bowery or text BOWERY to 500-500 Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys