How the anchorages under the Brooklyn Bridge became hidden 19th century wine vaults

The Brooklyn Bridge most New Yorkers know is a slender wonder of steel wires, stone towers, and sweeping views. But there’s a less visible part of the bridge at ground level. These are the anchorages—the masonry structures on both the Manhattan and Brooklyn sides that secure the cables supporting the bridge while also carrying approach roads. Completed seven years before the bridge opened in May 1883, the anchorages are as stunning as the span itself, with their romanesque arches and rusticated walls of granite with limestone trim. The interior, however, was said to resemble a cavern. The enormous spaces inside both anchorages were described as pitch dark, with barrel-vaulted ceilings rising up 50 feet and a consistent temperature hovering at about 60 degrees. What could the engineers who were moving on to the next phase of bridge work—building the cables and deck—do with these empty caves? Turn them into massive wine vaults, of course. Think of it as chief engineer Washington…