In 1836 General Swift proposed the erection of a dike over the river. The dike was to have a central drawbridge, and was to give foundation to a broad boulevard, running between the two cities. At a later day Colonel Julius A. Adams of Brooklyn, while engaged upon the bridge of the Lexington and Danville Railroad, over the Kentucky River, conceived the idea of an East River bridge, to extend from Fulton Ferry on the Brooklyn side to a point near Chatham Square, on the New York side. The intention was to have the main body of the bridge built of two elliptic tubes, placed side by side, and supported by ribbons of steel. There were to be three platforms for travelers, and it is claimed by its projector that the capacity would have been greater than that of the present structure. Colonel Adams communicated his plan to Mr. William C. Kingsley, who was largely engaged in the contracting business in this city. Mr. Kingsley entered heartily into the spirit of the enterprise, and carefully examined the diagrams submitted by the engineer. He spent several months in a thorough and exhaustive examination of the entire question, studied the needs of the two cities, and finally became thoroughly impressed with the practicability and feasibility of the scheme. In connection with the project he consulted with some of the eminent and public-spirited citizens of Brooklyn, among them James S. T. Stranahan, Henry C. Murphy, Judge Alexander McCue, Isaac Van Anden, Seymour L. Husted, and Thomas Kinsella.[36] The more these gentlemen talked and thought about the matter, the deeper interest they felt in it. Mr. Kingsley in particular continued undisturbed in the belief that the time for bridging the river had come, and he persisted in this view until the enterprise was carried beyond the region of remote speculation into the clear atmosphere of intelligently directed and practical effort. The Hon. Henry C. Murphy at the time represented Kings County in the state Senate, where he wielded a vast influence, and was regarded as one of the leaders of his party in the State. Upon the basis of Colonel Adams's plans a bill was prepared providing for the construction of a bridge across the East River. Copies of the original drawings were taken to Albany and exhibited in the Senate and Assembly Chamber. The project received Senator Murphy's unflagging support, and through his endeavors and the energetic and untiring aid of its projectors, it became a law. The act incorporating the New York Bridge Company was passed by the Legislature on April 16, 1867. It named as incorporators the following citizens of New York and Brooklyn:--