PT Barnum

In May of 1883, the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge was big international news. The bridge had been under construction for 13 years, and its unveiling was a highly anticipated event. Showman P.T. Barnum, never one to turn down a PR opportunity, offered authorities a novel way to show–and show off–the safety of the new bridge: He’d walk his troupe of elephants across it. At first, his proposal was rejected. But in 1884, after a woman fell on the side stairs on the Manhattan side, causing a stampede that killed 12 people and making others wary that the bridge would collapse, Barnum’s “elephant walk” (the subject of a June, 2004 New Yorker cover) happened. It was to the amazement of New Yorkers who happened to catch the sight of 21 elephants, 7 camels, and 10 dromedaries (basically furry camels) trekking from the bottom of Cortlandt Street across the illuminated arches of the bridge, with Barnum’s celebrated seven-ton African elephant Jumbo bringing up the rear.
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