Queensboro Bridge Turns 100

Photo by Wally G

The rarely hailed Queensboro Bridge is about to have its shining moment. The structure is turning 100 years old this year with a series of celebratory events. The Daily News reports that before the bridge was built in 1909, "Queens was mostly a rural gateway to the farms and manors of Long Island," with the exception being the more industrial area of Long Island City. Judith Berdy, president of the Roosevelt Island Historical Society, told the paper, "This bridge made the borough of Queens."

You know what historic events like this mean: reenactments! On May 31st there will be reenactors recreating the first ride over the bridge—expect period dress and antique cars. Fireworks will follow during the after-dark hours, so it looks like the East River will see some explosions in the sky this year after all.

Fun fact: In the summer of 1922, Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby journeyed across the Queensboro Bridge toward Manhattan in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Carraway declares, "The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world."

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By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on May 18, 2009 4:21 PM

Comments [rss]

Kingpin

It was the first bridge I crossed and view of Manhattan I got when I got to visit the city for the first time back in 2003. It was also the bridge we took when departing the city on my second visit in 2006.

It's still aesthetically pleasing, although not as handsome as its Brooklyn and Manhattan counterparts. But it's still a nice addition to "the Bridges of Manhattan County".