A Spot in the Big Apple: Brooklyn Bridge Date Night

This past weekend Casey and I had a date night at the historic Brooklyn Bridge - a suspension bridge spanning the East river and connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn. Here's what the bridge looks like in the daytime:

Brooklyn Bridge in the daytime

There is actually a little pedestrian walkway that spans the entire bridge, which is almost 1,600 feet in length. It's pretty easy to get to as well - the subway dumps you out right at the start of the walkway and you're on the bridge in less than a minute. The pedestrian lane is also shared with cyclists, which we found after one almost took us down going about 50 mph. Anyway the bridge is situated so that you get a great view of the financial district (below) and midtown in Manhattan, and also of Brooklyn as seen in the above photo.

View of the bridge and Financial District

Construction of the bridge started way back in 1870. The bridge was designed by John Roebling, a German immigrant who had worked on smaller suspension bridges in the past. Unfortunately Roebling sustained an injury to his foot during construction that required amputation of his toes, which ultimately resulted in amputation, tetanus, and later his death. This meant that Washington Roebling, John's son, took over as project manager at the ripe age of 32. Again unfortunately, Roebling Jr. fell ill to decompression sickness and was unable to effectively manage the project, leaving his wife Emily Warren Roebling to supervise construction.

After 13 years of construction, the bridge finally opened on May 24, 1883. More than 150,000 people crossed the bridge that day, the first of whom was Emily Roebling herself. All in all, the bridge cost a then-staggering $15.5 million - which in today's terms is... well, a lot I'm sure. It was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time, 50% longer than any other in fact. A total of 27 people were reported to have died within the 13 years of construction... I think the photo below shows a good reason why.

Fear of heights anyone?

Well that's enough history for now. Casey and I visited the bridge at night when it was lit up and twinkling. I didn't take this photo, but it looks something like this:

Picturesque, eh? Before we got there, I was imaging a quiet stroll along the little pedestrian walkway with a broad, lovely view of Manhattan in the background. Which is mostly true, except that there are six lanes of traffic rushing by right below your feet. But it wouldn't be New York without the noise, right? Anyway, here are a few pictures I captured with my camera phone; needless to say they aren't quite as good as the ones above.