The bridge opened after 14 years of construction, becoming the only land crossing between Manhattan and Brooklyn. Over 150,000 people crossed the bridge on opening day, and at the time of its completion it was the longest suspension bridge in the world and the tallest structure in the western hemisphere. It was originally known as the East River Bridge (because it was the first bridge across the East River) or the New York and Brooklyn Bridge (because the two locations were still separate cities until 1898) — It would be officially renamed the Brooklyn Bridge 46 years later.