In Memoriam: 10 Much Mourned Brooklyn Institutions
Zip-lining Across the Brooklyn Bridge
Speaking of little to no regulation, can you imagine zip-lining across the Brooklyn Bridge? Ok, this isn’t exactly something to feel nostalgic for in the sense that it was something that everyone could just do. But it is an indication of a certain fundamental exhilaration about the massive development that was occurring in Brooklyn at that time. The story behind the man who zip-lined across the Brooklyn Bridge is simply that, prior to the Bridge’s installation of its steel-wire cables, “E.F. Farrington, the bridge’s ‘master mechanic’” demonstrated to his workers how they too would soon be getting across the bridge. Farrington’s zip-line voyage was watched by thousands of spectators, who cheered his voyage. Fireworks were set off. Cannons were fired. Doesn’t that sound amazing? That would be like if Frank Gehry had rappelled down the side of 8 Spruce Street after its completion. But this sort of thing never happens anymore. And that sucks.