Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Turns 45

On eve of opening, 1964

Another day, another Bridgeversary! This Saturday the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge turns a youthful 45 years old.

The folks at Inside the Apple have a full history, noting that when it opened in 1964, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge connects Staten Island to Bay Ridge (or Yellow Hook), and was the "last major arterial road in Robert Moses's grand plan to connect all of New York by automobile."

And where there's Moses, there's controversy. Allegedly Staten Islanders were worried the easy access would ruin their rural charm, while some Bay Ridge residents were displaced by the construction. Fort Lafayette, an island coastal fortification in New York Harbor, was also destroyed during construction. And then there was the name...

The Staten Island Chamber of Commerce didn't want to honor Giovanni da Verrazzano, who they said was "a foreigner who made a navigational mistake." Moses got his way, however, making a slight compromise by also including the name of the body of water it crossed.

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By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on November 19, 2009 1:17 PM

Comments [rss]

sexisicilian

Right on my birthday:)

Think2wice

"last major arterial road in Robert Moses's grand plan to connect all of New York by automobile."

Ergo no rail, pedestrian, and bicycle access whatsoever. Moses is like the hateful old grandpa who loves to play favorites and treats the rest else like shit.

robingee

Yay! And in celebration the toll will now be $45! Each way!

babyhitler

Definitely the best bridge by far in NYC the bb has it's charm and the manhattan is just practical but the vzo is really beautiful. The best is when you drive in the fall at sunset on the bqe and look at the seagulls fly by while the water glistens

schizofriendly

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=guinea%20gangplank

thefacts

SI wasn't full of Italians at that time. Many came when they were dispossessed from Bay Ridge by the bridge's construction.

NannyState

Before which time Staten Island was populated by the descendents of freed slaves and shipwrecked mutineers.

Think2wice

I thought it was a penal colony like Devil's Island or Australia.

longacre

Staten Island was against naming something after an Italian? This does not compute.

MT

Did I read the Inside The Apple article right? It sounded like the Staten Islanders themselves had the problem naming the bridge after Verrazzano.

I think that is the most beautiful bridge in all of NY harbor. The scale of it is just amazing and the graceful curve of the deck is beautiful.

And it's Hell Gate, NannyState.

NannyState

Not when it goes to S.I.!

Inside the Apple

Slight correction:

Gov. Rockefeller was actually for the name; it was the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce that was against it.

Thanks for the link.

Michelle & James

http://www.insidetheapple.net

NannyState

"Governor Rockefeller didn't want to honor Giovanni da Verrazzano, who he said was "a foreigner who made a navigational mistake." Moses got his way, however, making a slight compromise by also including the name of the body of water it crossed."

"Hell's Gate" was already taken.