Brooklyn Bridge cinematic photo walk

The Brooklyn Bridge owes its existence to the deep-water foundations known as caissons, which were massive, airtight wooden boxes sunk into the East River. Laborers, often called sandhogs, worked inside these chambers under intense air pressure to excavate the riverbed. This dangerous environment subjected them to decompression sickness, a condition then poorly understood and dubbed the bends. Many workers suffered paralysis or death from the affliction, while others faced fires and explosions within the cramped, dim spaces. The Manhattan tower foundation even rests on sand because the underlying bedrock proved too deep to reach safely.