Walking To Brooklyn

Yesterday was beautiful, sunny and hot, so we decided it was the perfect day to walk to Brooklyn across the Brooklyn Bridge. We took the subway to City Hall, which is just across the street from the entrance to the bridge.

The pedestrian walkway goes down the center of the bridge and is lifted up above the lanes of traffic that run on either side. The walkway is made of wooden slats, almost like a boardwalk and is divided into a bike lane and walking lane. Since there is only one walking lane, people coming from both directions use the same one. There were tons of people on the bridge, tourist and otherwise. It was super crowded and we had to step into the bike lane a few times to get around people. It was fun trying to dodge the bikes. Some of the bikers had bells and whistles that they would ring or blow to warn the people ahead of them that they were coming. They were moving pretty fast.

The bridge was so awesome, I absolutely loved it! I love suspension bridges and thought that this one was beautiful.

The first time we saw the bridge, we were standing on the left most corner of that pier.

One of the main suspension cables that supports the bridge.

I loved the webbing design that the cables made and loved the fact that the American flag was being flown on the top of bridge.

I snapped a picture of Brian next to the cables so that you can see how big they are.

I couldn't quit taking pictures of it, it was so neat.

They had informational plaques around the platform underneath the arches. We learned that the Bridge was designed and started by John Augustus Roebling. It was a pretty big deal, because it was the first steel wire suspension bridge and the longest suspension bridge in the world when it was completed. While conducting surveys for the project, Roebling's foot was crushed when a ferry pinned it against a piling. His foot was amputated, he contracted tetanus and died.

His son, Washington Roebling took over the project. Just after construction started, he was paralyzed. He was supervising the construction of the main support structures underwater, and developed decompression sickness or "the bends" which resulted in his paralysis. He never visited the site again, and instead supervised the project from his home. His wife Emily stepped into assist him, working as the go between for her husband and the construction workers for 11 years. She even studied mathematics and bridge construction so that she could better understand and supervise the project. She sounds like an amazing woman. This is a plaque on the bridge honoring her contributions.

The views from the bridge were amazing. Here is a picture of the lower end of Manhattan.

This is the Manhattan Bridge which is north of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Standing in the center of the bridge over the East River.

View of Brooklyn.

New York City skyline with the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building.

We could even see the Statue of Liberty from the bridge.

Underneath the archway.

After walking the entire 5,989 feet of the bridge, we made it to Brooklyn.

And oh how sweet it was...

Here is view of the bridge from a park on the Brooklyn side.

Looking back towards Manhattan.

We had some lunch in Brooklyn. Our first plan was to go to Grimaldi's Pizza which is the famous pizza place just off the bridge. There was a huge line though, and we didn't want to wait so we found a little food stand. Brian ordered a ditch dog, which ended up being a hot dog covered in Macaroni and Cheese. It didn't look appetizing to me at all, but he said it was okay. I had a yummy ceasar salad chicken wrap. We had the best fresh lemonade. Maybe it was because it was so hot, but it was delicious!

We walked along the park near the edge of the water and passed a photo shoot of a model dressed in all black except for a heavy bright orange coat. It looked so hot and uncomfortable. We found some stone steps that are set up so you can sit and look out over the water. They were cool looking and you can kind of see them behind us in the picture below.

We decided to walk back across the bridge to get back to Manhattan. There must have been more clouds on the walk back because our left sides are not as sunburned as our right. :) I took a close up shot of this building that is on the Manhattan side. I call it the "crunchy building" because it looks like someone grasped it and crunched it a little like you would a pop can. The exterior is kind of wavy, it's cool but weird. I later learned that its called the Beekman Tower and houses an elementary school, space for a hospital and apartment rentals. I would hate to know what those apartments cost! Yikes. Brian said I should mention that the architect is Frank Gehry. If you ask me it looks a little unstable...although I'm sure it's fine.

We went back to City Hall Park to try and find the statue of Nathan Hale that they have there. We found it, but couldn't get close to it because it was right across from the entrance to City Hall and it was all blocked off. But we did get to see this fun fountain and sit and rest our tired feet in the shade. I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but the lampposts have flickering flames in them.

The park was full of plants and flowers massed together along the walkways. It was nice and cool and shady. I loved it.

After the park we headed home on the subway. It was an awesome day. We now have seen two of the most famous bridges in the United States in person, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. Now how many people can say that. I feel special.