The Manhattan Bridge is one of three gorgeous bridges that connect Manhattan to Brooklyn. Specifically it connects Canal Street in the Chinatown section of Manhattan to the downtown section of Brooklyn, but there’s so much more that you may not know.
- The official color of Manhattan is “Manhattan Bridge Blue” named for the color of the bridge, which was originally grey.
2. It was built following the success of the Brooklyn Bridge which created so much growth for Brooklyn that another bridge became a necessity.
3. When the bridge first open it was adorned with statues of two women: one symbolizing Manhattan and the other Brooklyn. Miss Brooklyn and Miss Manhattan were designed by Daniel Chester French, the artist behind the Lincoln Memorial’s Abe Lincoln. The statues were there for fifty years before being moved to the Brooklyn Art Museum. The bridge now has replicas in place of the originals.
4. You’ve seen the Manhattan Bridge in movies like “I Am Legend” with Will Smith, “The Lonely Guy” starring Steve Martin and “Once Upon A Time In America” with Robert De Niro and James Woods.
5. The bridge first opened to traffic on December 31, 1909.
6. Originally the Manhattan Bridge was going to be called “Bridge No. 3” because she was the third bridge built across the East River. The New York Times criticized that name calling it “meaningless”. What are the other two bridges? The Brooklyn Bridge and the Williamsburg Bridge.
The Manhattan Bridge is the star of the famous painting by American artist Edward Hopper, “Manhattan Bridge Loop”, painted in 1928.
Want to know more about Brooklyn and her famous bridges? Join us for one of our tours.
