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Some time ago I read The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of th Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough. My Timesmachine brought up the headline for this day in 1883, TWO GREAT CITIES UNITED THE BRIDGE FORMALLY OPENED. IMMENSE CROWDS ATTRACTED BY THE CEREMONIES(link). Excerpt:
The opening of the bridge was part of the knitting together of both what became the City of New York fifteen years later. More importantly it connected Long Island to the mainland.This movement of tying the country together by road continued into the Interstate Highway program and beyond. It has lead to the highest standard of living known to man.
NOTE: New York City (then just Manhattan and part of the modern Bronx) and Brooklyn were independent cities. Queens and Staten Island were a collection of villages, towns and unincorporated areas. Yes, Forest Hills and Kew Gardens were once actual municipalities. I believe Bronx later absorbed some towns and villages from modern Westchester County. All became New York City on, I believe, January 1, 1898 (link).
The Brooklyn Bridge, it has always been the pride of Brooklyn as far as I'm concerned. It truly is a beautiful structure and I love driving and walking across it.
As you know, I've made many trips north to your own country, which took me over the two bridges at the Thousand Islands, from New York onto the border crossing on Hill Island and then into Ontario. I asked someone in the toll booth once how old those bridges are, and he said they were built in 1928. The views are amazing.
Yes, officially the Thousand Islands Bridge, but also known as the Ivy Lea Bridge, it is quite the feat of engineering. It's a few bridges actually, and as you travel over it, you begin to wonder when you're going to stop crossing bridges. Anyway, it is a beautiful bridge, and I've always enjoyed the views when I've crossed it, as I have a few times.
Just for fun, I'll add that my civil engineer friend was jealous when he heard that I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He'd studied that one too, but never had the chance to cross it.
Today the iconic Brooklyn Bridge got some air time on the news channels almost obscured by the smoke from the Canadian forest fires. But I guess the grand old lady has gone through a lot more serious problems in the past.
Yes, officially the Thousand Islands Bridge, but also known as the Ivy Lea Bridge, it is quite the feat of engineering. It's a few bridges actually, and as you travel over it, you begin to wonder when you're going to stop crossing bridges. Anyway, it is a beautiful bridge, and I've always enjoyed the views when I've crossed it, as I have a few times.
Just for fun, I'll add that my civil engineer friend was jealous when he heard that I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He'd studied that one too, but never had the chance to cross it.
Not to veer too far off topic, but for the 50th anniversary (in 1987) I was one of the 300,000 or more people that were walking on the Golden Gate Bridge for first time that it was closed to traffic since the opening day in 1937. There were so many people that bridge engineers suddenly freaked out about the weight and load on the bridge. Turns out that the center span of the bridge flattened out by seven feet! Maybe they should have thought about that before opening the bridge to a pedestrian free for all?
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