More romantic to some, but what price character and history? You'll get a great sight of the Manhattan skyline and even the so-called popular Brooklyn Bridge. If you land at LaGuardia and are heading midtown, ask the cabbie to drive on the upper level of the 59th Street Bridge. But for many this bridge is their favorite, not least because it is toll free! Constant repairs to the structure are a bugbear and those pedaling or walking complain of car fumes. A hundred years after it was built it was renamed in honor of the former New York mayor, Ed Koch. Today the renovated bridge has 10 lanes for vehicles on two levels, with access for pedestrians and cyclists. The bridge is no small river crossing, either, and originally it carried pedestrians, trains and vehicular traffic, with as many as six tram car or railway companies taking passengers to and from Manhattan via the bridge at any given time. Whatever else, they were not feeling groovy. The latter were mainly females suffering from unrequited love. Most were professional stunt performers, but 34 were listed as freaks and 9 as suicides. With the 59th Street Bridge due to open in 1909, the Celebration Committee received 235 applications from would-be jumpers. Parades, parties and politicians came out of the metalwork. History repeated itself in 2001 during the September 11 attack, when the bridge was swamped with New Yorkers fleeing the disaster on Manhattan.ĥ9th Street Bridge, 1908Building a bridge 100 years ago was a big event. During construction, a wind storm blew down one its spans, and further delays were caused by domestic terrorism. The bridge was opened to traffic in 1909, but had a troubled start. If nothing else, it kept the sign writers busy. Mind you, before it opened it was the Blackwell's Island Bridge, because it stood above what was then Blackwell Island, but which today is Roosevelt Island. Three in fact, as the 59th Street Bridge, which crosses the East River in New York City, is also known as the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, or just plain old Queensboro Bridge. Just as the song has multiple titles, so too does the actual bridge it's named after. The American clothing retailer The Gap used the song as part of its marketing campaign in 2003 and the song was then known by the name "Feelin' Groovy." Presumably, his bank balance was added to, also. Led Zeppelin used to include snippets from the song in some of their guitar riffs, although these are mainly heard only on bootleg recordings.Ī musical lawsuit arose when composer and lyricist Paul Simon once sued a children's TV series claiming that their theme song was, in fact, his "59th Street Bridge Song." Simon won the court case and his name was added to the list of credits on the show. Photo: Mihai Andritoiu, DreamstimeMany successful cover versions have been made including by Harpers Bizarre, The Seekers and Nana Mouskouri. 59th Street Bridge, also known as the Queensboro Bridge, seen from Roosevelt Island in New York City
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