Produced by Jud Esty-Kendall for StoryCorps
“Who are the high-wire walkers, wearing boots and hardhats, earning their living by risking their lives in places where falls are often fatal?”
New York City’s Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964. The graceful span of the Verrazano connects the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island, making it the longest suspension bridge in the country.
Gay Talese was a young reporter at the time and wrote a book documenting the construction called “The Bridge” . “The Bridge” was republished in 2014 to mark the 50 th anniversary the bridge’s opening.
Last year, Talese interviewed Bob Walsh, whose family boasts five generations of ironworkers. Walsh’s father died on the job when he was 11 years old. The construction of the Verrazano was Bob Walsh’s first job in the trade.
An ironworker on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in the early 1960s
In this StoryCorps podcast from the bridge’s 50 th anniversary in November 2014, Talese reads from his book and speaks with Bob about building one of New York City’s iconic bridges.