I ❤ NY II

I know, I know, I said we were going to a bridge but I thought we’d make a quick stop first. The following picture is a corner of the area that was once known as Five Points, if you have seen the movie Gangs of New York you know what I am talking about. It was so named because of a five-pointed intersection that was bound by Orange Street (now Baxter), Cross Street (now Mosco), Anthony Street (now Worth) and to the west was Little Walter which no longer exists; these created a triangular plot which was called Paradise Park.

For over 70 years Five Points was known as a disease-ridden, crime-infested slum; however, now it is Columbus Park.

Now to my favorite bridge … The Brooklyn Bridge Baby!!! The largest suspension bridge in the world when it was built, the first to span the East River designed and constructed by John A. Roebling and his son Washington A. Roebling, the bridge spans 3,461 feet and rises 133 feet from the river below.

The steel cable-work, strung across two monumental stone towers, is fixed at both ends in stone anchorages, The Brooklyn Bridge a structure of great beauty was a milestone in American engineering.

The last of three suspension bridges built across the lower East River is the Manhattan Bridge.

Begun in 1867 and completed in 1883, THe Brooklyn Bridge’s gothic-inspired stone towers and intricate steel cable webs moved poets such as Walt Whitman and Hart Crane to praise its beauty.

Designed by Leon Moiseiff, the Manhattan Bridge was opened on December 31, 1909.

This picture was taken at The Brooklyn Bridge Park, it is the waterfront between the two bridges; this is not the sort of beach I am used to.

In the distance in the center of this picture you can see Pier 17, it is in a historic area called South Seaport Street.

The neighborhood near the bridge once known as Fulton’s Landing is now known as DUMBO for District Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass; it is now a thriving artist’s colony with many warehouses that have been converted into lofts.

The Brooklyn Bridge is the city’s best known symbol of the age of growth that occurred during the 19th century. I liked that I caught the setting sun in the distance in this shot.

I took this picture to give you the size perspective of this structure if you think the trees looks like saplings, please note the person standing beneath them.

This area of Brooklyn has amazing views of the Manhattan skyline, next time we will make our way back across the bridge and into some other spots in the city.