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Brooklyn Bridge, New York City

Brooklyn Bridge tips and photos posted by real travelers and New York City locals.
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Brooklyn Bridge: Walking the famous Bridge to Brooklyn
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  • lynnehamman
  • Updated By lynnehamman on June 2, 2009
  • New York City Page by lynnehamman
  • Me on Brooklyn Bridge - New York City
    Me on Brooklyn Bridge
    by lynnehamman, 1 more photos
    One of our favourite things to do in New York is to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge- a must do while in New York

    The history of the bridge is legendary.
    Construction began on January 3, 1870,lasting 13 years. Washington Roebling, son of the original builder John Roebling , completed the building of the bridge after the untimely death of his father from tetanus, after an accident. Washington himself became ill after suffering an attackof the "bends" whilest doing underwater surveillance of the site.Washington's wife, Emily Roebling, became his aide, learning engineering and communicating his ideas and commands to the workers on-site. When the bridge opened, she was the first person to cross it. Washington Roebling rarely visited the site again.

    On the opening day, a total of 1,800 vehicles and 150,000 people crossed what was then the only land passage between Manhattan and Long Island. The bridge's main span over the East River is 1,595 feet 6 inches (486.3 m). The bridge cost $15.5 million to build and approximately 27 people died during its construction.

    At the time it opened, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world — 50% longer than any previously built — and it has become a treasured landmark. The granite Gothic towers at either end were the tallest structures in the Western Hemisphere for some years.At night the bridge is floodlit to highlight the architecture..
    The Brooklyn Bridge has a wide pedestrian walkway open to walkers and cyclists in the center of the bridge and higher than the automobile lanes. While the bridge has always permitted the passage of pedestrians across its span, its role in allowing thousands to cross takes on a special importance in times of difficulty when usual means of crossing the East River have become unavailable. 9/11 witnessed its saddest moment, when thousands fled across it b%

    Once you have crossed the bridge explore BROOKLYN , another fascinating New York place.

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  • Directions: Take the subway A, C High St. - Brooklyn Bridge or 4,5,6 Brooklyn Bridge.. In Manhattan, the pedestrian walkway is accessible from the end of Centre Street, or through the south staircase of Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall IRT subway station.
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    Brooklyn Bridge: The Brooklyn Bridge
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  • madamx
  • Updated By madamx on October 29, 2005
  • New York City Page by madamx
  • Brooklyn Bridge - New York City
    by madamx
    Taking 16 years to build, the Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883. John A. Roebling, the engineer, dreamed up the bridge one day while icebound on a ferry to Brooklyn.

    The bridge was built not without tragedy; Roebling himself died from complications of a crushed foot, and his son became paralyzed from the "bends" during construction of the bridge. Roebling's daughter-in-law then studied advanced math to help complete the bridge.

    It is still a marvel to walk across, especially the views as you cross from the Brooklyn side towards Manhattan. I found it interesting that while reading a large plaque commemorating the completion of the bridge, Roebling and his son's name was on the plaque, but not his daughter-in-law's.

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  • Directions: Take the subway A, C High St. - Brooklyn Bridge (Brooklyn side) or 4,5,6 to City Hall (Manhattan side).
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    Brooklyn Bridge: Walk the Bridge. During the day or at Sunset....
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  • Tourtech
  • Updated By Tourtech on August 29, 2004
  • New York City Page by Tourtech
  • Bill and Daisy, world travelers experience it... - New York City
    Bill and Daisy, world
    travelers experience it...
    by Tourtech
    OK:

    This is cheap, neat and fun to do. Get the water taxi accross the east river, walk up to the bridge and walk accross. Remember that this bridge was built before the turn of the century too.... (opened in 1883)

    Read the placards on the bridge and enjoy the view of the city. This is great to do because it is free, it is never crowded unlike every other tourist thing in NYC and it is an amazing view of the city.

    This is a must do for anyone going to NYC....

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  • Address: Manhattan, Brooklyn Bridge.
  • Directions: Take the water taxi from Any station in Manhattan headed towards The East River. get off at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, walk up and accross, back into Manhattan.....
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    Brooklyn Bridge: Go on the Brooklyn Bridge Walkway!
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  • jumpingnorman
  • Updated By jumpingnorman on June 7, 2009
  • New York City Page by jumpingnorman
  • son running at Brookyln Bridge, New York - New York City
    son running at Brookyln
    Bridge, New York
    by jumpingnorman,
    4 more photos
    We just arrived in NYC and we visited our friend who lived in Queens. It was about 5 PM and I just wanted the twins to tire out completely, so I thought about bringing them to the Brooklyn Bridge. We just rode the subway from Queens, using the J train and getting the intersection at Broadway Junticon to get on the BLUE A train to get to High Street which is the eastern entrance of the Brooklyn Bridge. Just go up the steps, and voila - you can go on the bridge, take great pictures and end up at the City Hall and Chinatown on the other end.

    The subway system of NYC is easy to understand and just get the map and get on either side of the bridge and it is an easy walk. Before the walk, we even got some hotdogs on the many stands on the streets....just to have energy for the long walk....

    Remember to stay on the Left side for walking because there are a lot of bikers who go the RIGHT side.

    At the western end gothic wall/tower of the Bridge, I did see the year 1875 - although I saw in some books that it supposedly was opened in 1883? - designed by Prussian engineer John Roebling. I have walked this bridge 16 years before, but now that I am older, I appreciate more the intricate webbing of the lines of steel.

    From the bridge, you can also see the Statue of Liberty and the many boats coming out of Pier 17 to take a cruise near the statue. The outline of the Big Apple with the Empire State is also seen....truly a great walk to do in NY and you will see people from all over the world! We were lucky we did it that afternoon because the weather was just perfect!

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  • Directions: Take the subway A, C High St. - Brooklyn Bridge or 4,5,6 Brooklyn Bridge.
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    Brooklyn Bridge: Brooklyn Bridge
  • Tip Rating:
  • bct341
  • By bct341 on April 11, 2004
  • New York City Page by bct341
  • Brooklyn Bridge - New York City
    Brooklyn Bridge
    by bct341
    Considered a brilliant feat of 19th-century engineering, the Brooklyn Bridge was a bridge of many firsts. It was the first suspension bridge to use steel for its cable wire. It was the first bridge to use explosives in a dangerous underwater device called a caisson. At the time it was built, the 3,460-foot Brooklyn Bridge was also crowned the longest suspension bridge in the world.

    The bridge opened to the public on May 24, 1883, at 2:00 p.m. A total of 150,300 people crossed the bridge on opening day. Each person was charged one cent to cross.

    The bridge opened to vehicles on May 24, 1883, at 5:00 p.m. A total of 1,800 vehicles crossed on the first day. Vehicles were charged five cents to cross.

    Today, the Brooklyn Bridge is the second busiest bridge in New York City. One hundred forty-four thousand vehicles cross the bridge every day.

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  • Directions: Take the subway A, C High St. - Brooklyn Bridge or 4,5,6 Brooklyn Bridge.
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    Brooklyn Bridge: Breathtaking views from a spectacular bridge
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  • Christophe_Ons
  • By Christophe_Ons on March 16, 2004
  • New York City Page by Christophe_Ons
  • Brooklyn Bridge, seen from Pier 17 Pavillion - New York City
    Brooklyn Bridge, seen from
    Pier 17 Pavillion
    by Christophe_Ons, 4 more photos
    At the time of its completion in 1883, the bridge connecting the back then still separate cities Manhattan and Brooklyn was the largest suspension bridge in the world and the first one made of steel.
    It took 600 workers 16 years to build. Twenty workers died (including architect John A. Roebling) , mostly due to "the bends" or caisson disease, resulting from ascending from the underwater excavation chambers.
    Originally, the bridge had two outer and two inner lanes, and an elevated center walkway. On May 30, 1883, panic broke out after a woman tripped on the bridge and screamed - 12 of the estimated 20.000 people who were on the bridge at that time, were crushed to death.
    The Gothic double arches on either side of the bridge stand 277 ft (84m) high. At the top of each of the two towers, saddle plates anchor the cables. Each of the 4 main cables has 19 strands made of 278 parallel wires.
    The Central span of the bridge is 1.595 ft (486m) long; the roadway from anchorage to anchorage is 3.579 ft ( 1.091 m) long.
    A stroll across the bridge's walkway offers the most spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline ...

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  • Directions: Take the subway A, C High St. - Brooklyn Bridge or 4,5,6 Brooklyn Bridge.
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    Brooklyn Bridge: The loveliest bridge
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  • toonsarah
  • Updated By toonsarah on November 12, 2008
  • New York City Page by toonsarah
  • On Brooklyn Bridge - New York City
    On Brooklyn Bridge
    by toonsarah,
    4 more photos
    Of the many bridges that link Manhattan Island to the mainland, this is probably the best known and in my opinion is the most attractive. The Gothic style stone arches of its granite and limestone towers are one of the distinctive images of New York.

    It is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States and is 5,989 feet long, 85 feet wide and 135 feet high at its tallest point. When it opened in 1883 it was the largest suspension bridge in the world and the first ever steel-wire suspension bridge.

    We chose to walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn on a bright morning, when the dun was still low enough to help us create some interesting shots. The walkway is a raised wooden strip down the centre of the bridge, which pedestrians share with cyclists (a marked lane for each). Traffic thunders below you on either side, so don’t expect a peaceful walk, or to be able to hang over the side to look at the East River beneath. But the views back to Downtown and Midtown Manhattan are fantastic and will have you stopping to take another photo every few yards. If you want to pause for a rest and a more leisurely contemplation of those views there are handily placed benches along the way.

    Once you reach the other side, head for Fulton Street State Park & Brooklyn Bridge Parks, down by the water on either side of the bridge, for more great photo opportunities and a chance to relax after your walk (see my Off the Beaten Path tip for more on these parks).

  • Directions: The nearest subway station from which to start your walk is Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall (lines 4, 5 and 6) – and even if you choose not to walk across there are great views of the bridge from here
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    Brooklyn Bridge: Brooklyn Bridge
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  • sue_stone
  • Updated By sue_stone on September 23, 2004
  • New York City Page by sue_stone
  • Brooklyn Bridge - New York City
    Brooklyn Bridge
    by sue_stone, 4 more photos
    Another fabulous symbol of New York is the Brooklyn Bridge.

    This suspension bridge, that joins lower Manhattan to Brooklyn, was built between 1869 and 1883.

    It was the first suspension bridge to use steel for its cable wire, and at the time it was built it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.

    Just look at how fabulous this bridge is!

    One of the highlights of my visit to New York was walking across the bridge to Brooklyn and back again. Great views of Manhattan, and numerous photo opportunities!

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  • Directions: Take the subway A, C High St. - Brooklyn Bridge or 4,5,6 Brooklyn Bridge.
  • Website: http://www.endex.com/gf/buildings/bbridge/bbridge.html
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    Brooklyn Bridge: Brooklyn Bridge-Work of Art by John Roebling!
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  • machomikemd
  • Updated By machomikemd on August 9, 2007
  • New York City Page by machomikemd
  • Approaching Brooklyn Bridge - New York City
    Approaching Brooklyn Bridge
    by machomikemd, 3 more photos
    In 1855, John Roebling, the owner of a wire-rope company and a famous bridge designer, proposed a suspension bridge over the East River after becoming impatient with the Atlantic Avenue-Fulton Street Ferry. Roebling worked out every detail of the bridge, from its massive granite towers to its four steel cables. He thought his design entitled the bridge "to be ranked as a national monument… a great work of art." this elegant structure was, at the time of its completion in 1883, the longest suspension bridge in the world. Anchored across the lower East River by two neoGothic towers and a delicate lacework of steel-wire cables, the soaring lines of the Brooklyn Bridge have inspired countless architects, engineers, painters and poets to pursue their own expressions of creative excellence, among them Frank Lloyd Wright, Hart Crane, Walt Whitman, Georgia O'Keefe, Joseph Stella, John Marin and Lewis Mumford.

    Work began on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1869. Roebling himself died of tetanus in 1869 from an injury sustained while surveying the bridge site. His son Washington, also an accomplished engineer, took over direction of the construction after his father’s death.In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge, then known as the "Great East River Bridge," opened to the public. The final cost to build was a little over $15 million, twice the originally projected cost. Twenty-seven men overall died during construction. The Brooklyn Bridge, now a National Historic Landmark, is Brooklyn's most beloved tourist attraction as well as the connection between Brooklyn and Manhattan for close to 140,000 vehicles daily.

    The Brooklyn Bridge's main span over the East River is 1,595 feet (486 meters) and takes you from Manhattan's civic center into tree-lined Brooklyn Heights.

  • Address: 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128-0173
  • Phone: (212-639-9675); 311
  • Directions: Take the subway A, C High St. - Brooklyn Bridge or 4,5,6 Brooklyn Bridge.
  • Website: www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/bridges.
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    Brooklyn Bridge: Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge
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  • travelfrosch
  • Updated By travelfrosch on March 16, 2009
  • New York City Page by travelfrosch
  • Sara, Rita, and Andy admire the bridge - New York City
    Sara, Rita, and Andy admire
    the bridge
    by travelfrosch, 4 more photos
    Fans of the "Grand Theft Auto" video game will be familiar with the scene. It is possible to walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn (or vice versa) over the Brooklyn Bridge. The Manhattan side of the bridge is accessible from the Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall subway station (served by the 4,5, and 6 Trains), Chambers Street (J, M, Z), or City Hall (R,W); while the Brooklyn side is close to the High Street subway station (served by the A and C Trains). The way to go is rather simple: walk on the middle walkway between the lanes of traffic (left-hand side for bikes, right-hand side for pedestrians). The walkway will soon become the familiar wooden planks. The views from either side are tremendous; you get especially good, unobstructed views from the observation points on the two stanchions. Be sure to keep control of yourself as you enjoy the views, or you might start speaking with a Russian accent and get a strange urge to steal cars.

    I also understand the entire bridge is for sale. If you're interested, talk to any of the water salesmen on either side of the bridge for details.

  • Directions: From Manhattan, go to the Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall subway stop (4,5,6,J,M, and Z). From Brooklyn, go to the High Street subway stop (A and C).
  • Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge
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