Manhattan Bridge 100th Anniversary Special

It has no song celebrating a groovy stroll across its length, nor has it inspired literary reflections (although it is a popular suicide spot in Steve Martin’s 1984 movie The Lonely Guy). The Manhattan Bridge may lack the lore of the Brooklyn and Queensboro, but viewed from a flattering angle, the sweeping steel suspension bridge is undeniably beautiful. The impressive stone archway on the Manhattan side, modeled on the 17th-century Porte St-Denis in Paris, was designed by New York Public Library architects Carrère and Hastings, while the Brooklyn approach once boasted allegorical statues representing the two boroughs designed by Lincoln Memorial sculptor Daniel Chester French (they now reside in the Brooklyn Museum).

Built to ease congestion on its older sibling to the south, it was “designed to knit the city tighter together through transit and transport links and make it more efficient,” says historian Jeffrey Kroessler, author of New York Year by Year: A Chronology of the Great Metropolis. “The city of New York built the bridge itself, without funds from Albany or Washington, and it was meant to facilitate the expansion of mass transit into Brooklyn.”

Yet over time, it turned out to be less practical than had been hoped: The designer, Leon Moisseiff, didn’t incorporate sufficient support, and placed the subway and streetcar lines on the outer edges of the roadway, putting too much strain on the deck.

“The Queensboro Bridge made Queens; the Williamsburg Bridge was called the ‘Jews’ highway’ because it enabled the Jews from the Lower East Side to pour into Williamsburg,” explains Kroessler. “But what is the Manhattan Bridge known for? Being so badly designed that it twisted out of shape due to decades of subway use, and the fact that the outer roadway was closed for years.”

Now, as the bridge enters its centennial year and the final stages of a massive reconstruction project begun in the early ’80s, take some time to admire its graceful span and rediscover the neighborhoods on both sides.

Centennial highlights

Saturday 3
FREE Walking tour with Adrienne Onofri Meet at the southwest corner of Bowery and Canal St. 2–4pm. The author of Walking Brooklyn guides you over the bridge, through Dumbo and Vinegar Hill.

Sunday 4
FREE Centennial ceremonial parade 9–11am. Only VIPs can access the bridge during the festivities, but onlookers can see the FDNY Fireboat multicolor salute on the river, hear the New York Chinese School marching band and, if you arrive early, glimpse the vintage cars.

FREE Fireworks display East River Park Amphitheater, north of Manhattan Bridge. Enter at Cherry and Jackson Sts. 7pm. The pyrotechnics are accompanied by the Manhattan School of Music Brass Quintet.

Monday 5
FREE “Miss Manhattan, Miss Brooklyn and Their Creator, Daniel Chester French” NYU-Poly, 5 MetroTech Ctr, main floor, Downtown Brooklyn. 6:30pm. Artist Brian Tolle (Irish Hunger Memorial) and the Met’s Karen Lemmey discuss the bridge’s original decorations.

October 8
“Art Along the Way: Masstransiscope with Artist Bill Brand” Transit Museum, Boerum Pl at Schermerhorn St, Downtown Brooklyn. 6pm. $5. This two-hour event comprises a talk about and a ride-by viewing of the extraordinary work in the unused Myrtle Avenue subway station, which appears animated when seen from a moving train.

October 10
FREE Transportation Alternatives bike tour Meet at Allen Street Mall, corner of Allen and Grand Sts. 10am. TA’s senior policy adviser, Noah Budnick, reveals the newest bike paths on this 90-minute tour, which crosses the bridge, skirts the Navy Yard and culminates at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

October 11
FREE Manhattan Bridge walk Meet at the southwest corner of Broadway and Canal St . 10am. Photographers and bridge aficionados Bernie Ente and David Frieder lead this two-hour tour, in conjunction with Open House New York.

FREE “Losing the Bridge” Meet at Confucius Plaza, 33 Bowery at Bayard St. Noon. Former commissioner of the NYC Department of Transportation “Gridlock” Sam Schwartz shares his inside knowledge on a 90-minute walk, in conjunction with Open House New York.

For full listings and to register for events, go to nycbridges100.org.

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