Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Battery Park to Brooklyn Bridge Park (Part 2)

This is a continuation of my previous blog, a walk from Battery Park up to Brooklyn Bridge Park. Part I covered my walk from Battery Park up to the subway at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian path and this Part 2 will cover my walk from the pedestrian pathway of the bridge up to Brooklyn Bridge Park. I ended Part 1 with a picture of an old BB subway art so I will start Part 2 with another BB subway art, this time the modern version.


At the starting point of the Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian walkway are two blocks embeded on the path containing the history of the bridge. Here's the first one:


You can read the second block here.

Brooklyn Bridge is currently under repair which is expected to last until 2014. Upon entering the bridge the corrugated sheets installed as part of the repainting and rehabilitation work on the bridge are hard to miss.



I can clearly see the year 1875 embedded on the tower as I approached it. It's the year the two bridge towers were completed.


By the bridge towers are etchings of the history of the bridge construction.


The cable arrangement of the bridge forms a distinct weblike pattern, which makes it a good candidate for picture taking. You just have to be patient though, as there is always a lot of pedestrian traffic.


Brooklyn Bridge also has its share of love locks, the rest of my other love locks pics are on Tumblr.


I love the love locks, but seeing some sort of defilement on the bridge made me somewhat sad. I hope this can be cleaned soon.


Still, it was a great day for a walk, I can see the beauty of the bridge towers when I look up.


And across the East River is a view of midtown Manhattan with the Empire State Building lording over all the buildings.



On the other side, the view is that of Lady Liberty holding her torch aloft for all to see.



Looking down from the pedestrian walkway, I can see the vehicle traffic whizzing past.



There are lots of plaques on the bridge towers and this one is especially dedicated to Emily Roebling, who assumed the duties as chief engineer, including day-to-day supervision and project management of the bridge when her husband Washington Roebling was stricken with caisson disease.



Nearing the Brooklyn side of the bridge, I looked down and saw some parts of Brooklyn Bridge Park, the final destination of my walk that day.


Looking back at Manhattan, One World Trade Center, now the highest building in the western hemisphere is towering above all the buildings, followed by Frank Gehry's 8 Spruce Street.


On the ramp leading to the exit are names of places in Brooklyn and their distances from the bridge.


At the bottom of the exit is a directional map embedded on the sidewalk. I wanted to go to Brooklyn Bridge Park so I first had to walk north to go back to the river area and then go west.


On the wall across it is a Welcome to Brooklyn board.


There was a long line of people waiting to buy pizza at Grimaldi's when I passed it on my way to the Brooklyn Bridge Park.


Another famous eatery by the shadow of the bridge is the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, its structure is a converted 1922 fireboat house.


I saw this sculpture from above the bridge and noted that it looked similar to some of Mark di Suvero's art pieces in Governors Island, which I wrote about in a previous blog. I later learned it was by di Suvero, and is entitled Yoga.


The other side of the park has awesome views of the Manhattan Bridge and the lower east side of Manhattan across the river.


Near the bridge is the Tobacco Warehouse, constructed in the 1870s as a tobacco customs inspection center but is now used to hosts events and community activities. There is a plan to convert the space into a performance place but I agree with Gothamist that the abandoned open-air space is gorgeous just the way it is.



Also at the park is Jane's Carousel, the first carousel ever listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Brooklyn Bridge Park is now home to an historic and beautifully restored carousel, a gift of Jane and David Walentas.  Built in 1922 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, the carousel was purchased in 1984 and painstakingly restored to its original condition.  The carousel is located in the Empire Fulton Ferry section of Brooklyn Bridge Park, housed in an extraordinary new pavilion, designed by Pritzker-prize winning architect Jean Nouvel. The carousel will be operated year-round for the enjoyment of children of all ages.

It was nearly sundown when I made my way to the nearest subway station. As I was looking at Manhattan Bridge, I saw that its tower supports perfectly framed the Empire State Building which was glowing in the light of the setting sun.


I'll be back Brooklyn Bridge Park! I haven't explored the whole area and I know I missed a lot of things with the limited time I had, but I'm happy I got to enjoy the park even for just a short time. 


Until we meet again Brooklyn Bridge!

For the rest of my pics during this walk, here's the album on Flickr - Battery Park to Brooklyn Bridge Park

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