The Lively Morgue is a daily photo blog from the New York Times in which an original photo from the newspaper's archives is reposted along with tidbits of information gleaned from the historical article it accompanied. Along with a rescan of the original photograph, the backs of each photo are also scanned, giving a behind-the-scenes look at the editorial process of one of the world's best newspapers.
Today's photo features an up-close shot from 1980 of some ironworkers fixing a snapped cable high up on the temporarily closed Brooklyn Bridge.
July 7, 1981: Ironworkers on the Brooklyn Bridge attended to cables that had snapped, closing down the pedestrian walkway from June 28 — when the cables broke — until early August. “Akira Aimi, the 32-year-old Japanese freelance photographer who was critically injured when he was hit by one of the snapped cables, died yesterday at St. Vincent’s Hospital,” reported The Times. Have no fear, however, said a representative of the Transportation Department. “When the retainers are installed, it will be equally safe for pedestrians and bicycles. I would walk across it then with my wife and family anytime,” he said.
Matt Coneybeare
Editor in Chief
Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.
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