On Sunday we went into New York to visit Adam & Leah and, of course,
grandsons Sam and Milo. The "we" = Nancy & me plus Jill &
Eli. Jeremy was off in the mountains of New Hampshire, finally getting
in his annual summer camping trip, postponed due to school (he's trying
to do two years of school in 18 months).
Sam is fascinated with bridges. He has walked across the Williamsburg Bridge. This Sunday he had been looking forward to walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Okay, that sounds interesting to me...
The Brooklyn Bridge is a spectacular bit of architectural history and a
walk across it provides spectacular views of Manhattan and Brooklyn and
the East River. Walkers and bicyclists share the wooden walkway that overlooks
the three lanes of traffic in each direction. |
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You get sweeping views of boat traffic on the East River, the Statue of
Liberty off to the southwest, the skyline of Brooklyn and Manhattan, and
closer views of the buildings near the bridge. This picture on the left
shows some of the private gardens to be found several stories above the
street.
The cement used to make the concrete poured to build the footings for the
bridge came from the area where I grew up. The church we attended when I was a kid (and which is still attended by my brother and his family) was built (in 19th century paternalistic fashion) by the local cement company as a gift to the community. (It is believed to be the oldest poured reinforced concrete structure in the United States. The grade school we attended is of similar vintage and construction.) |
The Brooklyn Bridge is more than a mile long. Sam is a good walker, probably
because his parents are walkers. He walked the three quarters of a mile
from their apartment to the subway, from the subway all the way across
the bridge, finally getting a piggyback ride from Adam on the Brooklyn
side, but then going back to walking around in Brooklyn for at least another
mile, and then walking at least half of the three quarter mile hike from
the subway back to their apartment.
On the right, one of the two huge double arched towers. |
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| Jill and Eli |
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Adam and Leah with Sammy and Milo |
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| Did I mention the pedestrian walkway is wood? |
This is the view when I put my camera on the flooring. |
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| That is the Manhattan Bridge as seen from the Brooklyn Bridge. A portion of the third bridge that connects Manhattan and Brooklyn can just be behind the Manhattan Bridge (Look four vertical cables in from the left... that's one of the towers of the Williamsburg Bridge. |
Marty Markowitz, the Brooklyn Burrow President, has been putting up signs
with "Brooklynisms" on them. This one carries Jackie Gleason's
catchphrase. (Other welcome to Brooklyn signs say things like "Where
New York City Begins," or "The Heart of America," or "Like
No Other Place In The World," and so on. Some signs on display as
you leave Brooklyn say "Leaving Brooklyn... Fugheddaboudit!")
We found our way to a small park near the base of the bridge on the Brooklyn
side... |
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On the left: Sam with chocolate face after eating an ice cream cone.
On the right: Nancy and me. |
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So, that was our adventure in walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. That
was a pleasant little park with an excellent ice cream store. It was a
very busy place, with lots of stretch limousines bringing brides and grooms
and bridal parties for photo ops with the bridge and the river as backdrops.
Next entry will have some photos of Sam and Milo back in their neighborhood.
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