New York City, home to over 700 bridges that connects all five boroughs, stands as one of the cities with the most bridges in the world, behind Hamburg and Amsterdam. Some of these bridges represent the oldest parts of New York’s history, serving as icons for the city today. As someone who frequently gets lost while driving in the city and ends up in the wrong borough, I would like to assume that I have driven over most of them.
The Brooklyn Bridge is arguably one of the most recognizable bridges in the city. At the time of its opening on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was considered the longest suspension bridge. Today, that record has since been surpassed by the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan (Michiganders would be pleased to know that the Mackinac Bridge is high in the rankings, coming in at number 25 in the world), but the Brooklyn Bridge still remains a popular tourist attraction. Right next to the Brooklyn Bridge is its neighbor, the Manhattan Bridge. The two complement one another nicely and have served as models for subsequent bridge designs. While their walkways are not nearly as crowded as they used to be before the pandemic, they continue to transport hundreds of thousands of people from Manhattan to Brooklyn everyday.