Happy birthday to the Roebling family's greatest creation, the hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge Brooklyn Bridge. In history it is always noted that on May 24, 1884, the first pedestrians crossed the bridge. It was the first bridge to cross the river, and altered the relationship between Manhattan and Brooklyn and possibly changed the country more than any other single structure. Unlike other architects, patriarch John Roebling, who died 15 years before the bridge opened, believed that pedestrians should be above all else and placed the pedestrian walkway at the highest level, above elevated trains, streetcars, and the horsecar lanes. His son, Washington Roebling, would give his life to this bridge, dying from the bends associated with sinking the bridge supports while it was still under construction. Only Washington's wife, Emily, who took over the project, would live to see it completed, and today all that is left is the reorganized pedestrian and motor vehicle routes.