I was visiting family in New York City this past week (with Mrs. Perez and my teenager) and was looking for something to do on what was an absolutely beautiful day in the city. My younger brother Ruben (who happens to live in Brooklyn) suggested we walk the Brooklyn Bridge from the Manhattan side to the Brooklyn side and meet for lunch. Sounded like a lovely idea so I grabbed the family and my Lumix GH4 and hopped on the 4 train downtown from the Bronx.
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge in New York City and is one of the oldest bridges of either type in the United States. Completed in 1883, the bridge’s construction took 14 years, involved 600 workers and cost $15 million (more than $320 million in today’s dollars). At least two dozen people died in the process, including its original designer, German immigrant John Augustus Roebling, who sustained a crushing injury to his foot which led to the amputation of his toes, a tetanus infection and ultimately his death. Roebling’s son Washington Roebling and his daughter-in-law Emily Warren Roebling continued his work on the Brooklyn Bridge.
With a a main span of 1,595.5 feet, the bridge connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. A New York City icon, the bridge was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1972. Today, the bridge carries roughly 150,000 vehicles and pedestrians every day.
As we walked the bridge, I snapped a few photographs (as I am wont to do), so enjoy the view but if you ever find yourself in New York City on a beautiful summer day (or spring or fall), take a walk over this beautiful bridge. Enjoy the photographs…
Since 1950, the main roadway has carried six lanes of automobile traffic. The Brooklyn Bridge also has a wide pedestrian walkway open to walkers and cyclists in the center of the bridge and raised above the automobile lanes. In 1971, a center line was painted to separate cyclists from pedestrians, creating one of the City’s first dedicated bike lanes (be careful not to venture into that bike lane, they come pretty fast!). More than 4,000 pedestrians and 3,100 cyclists cross the Brooklyn Bridge each day.
On your left, walking towards the Brooklyn side on the bridge, you can see I478 which connects the Borough of Brooklyn on Long Island with the Borough of Manhattan.
The midway point of the bridge is a good spot to take a break in the shade (or to whip out the fisheye lens for a family photo)
Seen everywhere from Rome, to Ukraine, to Paris, the tradition of placing padlocks on bridges as a symbol of undying affection has become the thing to do on New York’s Brooklyn Bridge.
On our right, the Manhattan Bridge, a suspension bridge that also crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Downtown Brooklyn.
Some last looks back at what is a truly marvelous structure…
Nearing the end of the bridge…
As we were just about to exit the bridge, we heard some people buzzing behind us. We turned around and saw several people looking up and pointing; then we saw why they were looking up and pointing(!)
Having crossed the bridge, here’s the view from the Brooklyn side…
After crossing the bridge, we walked Brooklyn Bridge Park, which features a stunning view of the Manhattan Bridge…
Hope you enjoyed the photographs 🙂
