The Sun Sets on Brooklyn"If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you." The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. It is the first steel-wire suspension bridge. Do yourself a favor and walk across in either direction but just be mindful of the cyclists.

A New York icon, the Brooklyn Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Manhattan, was the world’s first steel suspension bridge. Indeed, when it opened in 1883, the 1596ft span between its two support towers was the longest in history. Although its construction was fraught with disaster, the bridge became a magnificent example of urban design, inspiring poets, writers and painters. Its pedestrian walkway delivers soul-stirring views of lower Manhattan, the East River and the rapidly developing Brooklyn waterfront. Ironically, one man deprived of this view was the bridge's own designer, John Roebling. The Prussian-born engineer was knocked off a pier in Fulton Landing in June 1869, dying of tetanus poisoning before construction of the Brooklyn Bridge even began. Consequently, his son, Washington Roebling, supervised its construction, which lasted 14 years and managed to survive budget overruns and the deaths of 20 workers. The younger Roebling himself suffered from the bends while helping to excavate the riverbed for the bridge’s western tower and remained bedridden for much of the project; his wife Emily oversaw construction in his stead. There was one final tragedy to come in June 1883, when the bridge opened to pedestrian traffic. Someone in the crowd shouted that the bridge was collapsing into the river, setting off a mad rush in which 12 people were trampled to death. Structural repairs on the bridge that began in 2010 are supposed to last until 2022, a headache for local residents and drivers alike. Still, beautiful as ever, it can be a challenging crossing. Take care to stay on the side of the walkway marked for folks on foot, and not in the bike lane.

The Brooklyn Bridge is a bridge in New York City and is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. With a main span of 1,595.5 feet, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world from its opening until 1903, and the first steel-wire suspension bridge. Originally referred to as the New York and Brooklyn Bridge and as the East River Bridge, it was dubbed the Brooklyn Bridge, a name from an earlier January 25, 1867, letter to the editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and formally so named by the city government in 1915. Since its opening, it has become an icon of New York City, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1972.

The Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883. At the time, it was the longest suspension bridge. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service, and a New York City Landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. A Path Through History attraction. The Brooklyn Heights Promenade will take your breath away. Made famous by cameo appearances in movies like Annie Hall and Moonstruck, it is one of the most romantic spots in New York City, and has been the destination for thousands of first dates, wedding proposals and anniversary celebrations. One-third of a mile long, it offers a vista of the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan skyline and the majestic Brooklyn Bridge. Lined with flower beds, trees, benches and playgrounds, the promenade is a favorite destination for tourists, joggers, strollers, families and lovers.

In 2006, a group of inspectors from the New York City Department of Transportation were on their usual rounds of bridge and tunnel inspections. The rounds were usual except for one discovery: Somewhere deep in the Manhattan anchorage of the Brooklyn Bridge they stumbled into a hidden room filled with blankets, water, a shock-prevention drug called dextran, and 350,000 crackers. Judging from the dates stamped on the supplies, what they discovered seemed to be a Cold War-era bunker or fallout shelter. Emergency survival shelters weren’t unusual back then – you can still see thousands of old “Fallout Shelter” signs and logos on buildings throughout the city. But one inside the Brooklyn Bridge? That no one knew about? That’s a different story. The inventory of the bunker’s cache followed a typical shopping list for emergency preparedness during the arms race of the 1950s and 60s: barrels of potable water, first aid supplies and blankets, boxes of high-calorie survival crackers, and a healthy supply of the drug dextran, which is used to prevent and treat shock. The supplies were marked as coming from the Office of Civil Defense, the Cold War precursor to what eventually became FEMA. Since the DOT had no idea the stash was there – or why it would be there – explanations are really only guesses. And, as with all the rooms and tunnels inside the anchorages of the Bridge, the public isn’t allowed inside. So the question of where, exactly, in the Manhattan-side anchorage they found the room, the DOT is keeping that under wraps for security reasons. They found one other stockpile alongside the survival supplies – a bunch of Mad Men-looking New York City promotional posters. The bunker may have been closed to the public, but not to a little old fashioned public relations.

This 1.3-mile-long waterfront park along the East River in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn is framed by the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges and features six piers converted into parkland. Relatively new, it opened its first segment in 2010 on the site of a former cargo shipping complex. Ten years later, the park is home to lush green lawns, native plants and gardens, waterfront promenades, and epic panoramic views of lower Manhattan across the river. It also has inventive playgrounds, a much-loved water park, the glass-enclosed Jane’s Carousel, athletic fields and volleyball courts set on piers, and the historic Fulton Ferry Landing, which is home to Bargemusic. Various restaurants and food stands operate inside the park, including Fornino, Luke’s Lobster, Estuary, and PILOT.