Opened in December 1903, the Williamsburg Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world (until 1924, that is). Here it is in a 1907 postcard, tinged with green and blue just like the sky above and the East River waters below it.
Opening day of the bridge was filmed by Thomas Edison; it features officials in top hats, members of the press carrying big boxy cameras, a brass band, and lots of ribbons. Watch the clip here.
Fast-forward 45 years, and the bridge (as well as a lot of the old Lower East Side) is featured in the film noir The Naked City. Follow a police chase on foot and by car (and catch great glimpses of a subway on its way to Brooklyn) here.
Tags: opening of the Williamsburg Bridge, The Naked City, Thomas Edison, Williamsburg Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge postcard
Ephemeral New York 
April 1, 2009 at 11:09 am |
Must of looked very interesting before Robert Moses built the East River Park, with Avenue D looking like this
http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=104593&imageID=482779&total=105&num=0&word=east%20village&s=1¬word=&d=&c=&f=&k=0&lWord=&lField=&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&imgs=20&pos=8&e=w
and before the yuppies came in and depeopled the Lower East Side
April 2, 2009 at 6:30 pm |
The Williamsburg Bridge is one of my favorite places in New York. And that Edison video was awesome.
citysnapshots.wordpress.com
August 28, 2017 at 6:13 am |
[…] Before coin tokens came into use, passengers riding the New York City subway in its early days needed a paper ticket—and apparently a paper ticket also allowed you to take a trolley across the Williamsburgh (note the h!) Bridge after it opened in 1903. […]