It is easy to take man-made structures like bridges and buildings for granted if one was not around to see man make them. The more extraordinary the structure, the more likely it seems to have appeared from the air, fully formed. The Brooklyn Bridge is a perfect example of this subconscious assumption. Artists, architects, and viewers near and far marvel at its grandeur and strength. The bridge is crossed night and day by commuters who may or may not realize the subtle beauty of such a necessary item. There are ways to remember that something so magnificent only exists because it was constructed by men. Artists documented its construction in drawings, some of which were featured in Life magazine in May of 1954, seventy-one years after it first opened. One such picture depicts the bridge in the middle of its construction, armed with “swaying footbridges” that allowed the workers to put together this unimaginable contraption. As unbelievable as it may seem, humans minds conceived of the Brooklyn Bridge and human hands built it. Perhaps that why the country holds the bridge so close to heart, because it represents what humans, and more specifically Americans, are capable of doing. To quote Richard Haw, the Brooklyn Bridge is “somehow symbolic of the national mind…” The Life magazine features another picture, one that exposes another side to the bridge. This picture depicts people who had attempted to cross the new bridge but had panicked and fainted on the way. Some were trampled to death by the oblivious crossers behind them. The bridge was awe-inspiring and appeared strong, but it takes time to for something to become trustworthy. In order to make sure the Brooklyn Bridge was seen as dependable and not simply a novelty, it needed to be associated with something or someone already wholly accepted as American. Maybe this is where Walt Whitman comes in, to express the reliance and pride that people were supposed to feel for the bridge. “One day, there’ll be a bridge across this river. Strong, so that men and horses and wagons can cross over…” said Whitman, “A wonderful feat to throw a bridge across a river! No living thing but man can do it!”