December 19, 1903
New York City’s Williamsburg Bridge, which crosses over the East River, was formally opened. This structure was the first major suspension bridge in the United States to have steel towers rather than masonry towers. At the time of its debut, the 7,308-foot (2,227-meter)-long structure also enjoyed the distinction of being the world’s longest suspension bridge. It held that record until 1924, when the Bear Mountain Bridge — likewise in New York — was completed.
The Williamsburg Bridge was built to reduce traffic congestion on the Brooklyn Bridge and also to connect the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn with Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Construction on the bridge had started in 1896.
The dedication ceremonies for this bridge included military parades from each side of the structure. Another highlight was when Seth Low (1850-1916), who would finish up his service as mayor of New York City only 13 days later, met at the center of the bridge with officials from both the Manhattan and Brooklyn boroughs. The celebration culminated later that day with a dinner at the Hanover Club in Brooklyn.
During the summer of 2003, various events took place to mark the bridge’s centennial. These activities included musical performances as well as exhibits on the bridge’s history. There was also a large birthday cake made for the occasion by Domino Sugar. About six years later, the Williamsburg Bridge was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Photo Credit: Praneeth Thalla (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)
For more information on the Williamsburg Bridge, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamsburg_Bridge
Transportation History 
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