Brooklyn Bridge Park, in downtown Brooklyn, is a wonderful place to shoot two of the most iconic bridges in New York City.
The most famous, of course, is the Brooklyn Bridge, built by John Robeling and opened to traffic in 1883. The bridge was one of the factors in the consolidation of New York City, when Brooklyn (along with the other boros) were incorporated into Greater New York City in 1898.
The Brooklyn Bridge was a marvel of it’s time, the longest suspension bridge in the world. It soon proved to be incredibly popular — so much so that two more bridges crossing the East River had to be built to accommodate the traffic — the Williamsburg bridge in 1903 and the Manhattan Bridge in 1909.
Brooklyn Bridge park sits right under the Brooklyn end of both the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges and is within sight of the Williamsburg bridge.
Aside from providing amazing views of both bridges and the famous downtown Manhattan skyline, the park is home to historic icons such as Jane’s Carousel. In addition, there is lots of parkland to relax and enjoy yourself, piers that have been converted to sports facilities, barbeque stations and good food and drink.
One of my favorite times to come here is around sunset, when the sun is going down over the skyscrapers. You can always get some great shots then.
Here are some shots that I took when I visited the park this week and brought my new wide-angle lens:
Do you have any favorite places around the city where you like to shoot? If so, let me know.
Zev