In 1867, a group of prominent leaders formed the New York Bridge Company "for the purpose of constructing and maintaining a bridge across the East River." Two years later, in June 1869, the New York City Council approved Roebling's design. In July that same year, John got his foot crushed on a pier by an incoming ferry. He died from lockjaw resulting from that injury on July 22, 1869. Ground was finally broken in January 1870, and the foundations took 3 years to construct. Through worker deaths and minor complications, the bridge was finished on May 23, 1883. That day, 150,300 people crossed the bridge.

Now a great place to take a walk or jog, The Brooklyn Bridge graces the skyline. On September 11, 2001, that bridge became an escape route for people who witnessed the World Trade Center disaster.

Pier 17, located adjacent to the bridge, offers ferry rides, restaurants, and shopping. About a 10-minute walk from Ground Zero, the South Street Seaport is a great place to sightsee, and of course, have lunch.

The Brooklyn Bridge is a beautiful bridge and a wonderful place to take a walk. You can also get great pics of the NYC skyline from the bridge

My last stop in New York, before heading back to the hotel for my luggage and then Grand Central for the train back to Connecticut, was the Brooklyn Bridge. For some reason I’ve always been fascinated by large bridges, especially suspension bridges, to the point that one of my "when I grow up I want to be" dream jobs as a little kid was an engineer who designed such structures (the other dream was an airline pilot . . . somehow I ended up as a psychology major working in financial planning, website and database design, and HR consulting). So naturally I had to make a stop at the Brooklyn Bridge while I was in New York. Of course, by this point on Sunday afternoon, I had walked at least 15 miles in the last 30 hours and was coming down with a nasty cold, which was only being made worse by the frigid outdoor temperatures. Still, sore feet and swollen throat or not, I was determined to walk onto the bridge and see it firsthand.

The Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883, after 16 long years of construction and the deaths of 20 construction crew members. In the late 19th century, the bridge was a remarkable achievement. It was the world’s largest suspension bridge and the first to be constructed of steel. The bridge was designed to carry people utilizing a variety of transportation modes; in the center of the span, cable cars (and later electrified trolleys) ran. Outer lanes were reserved at first for horse-drawn carriages (later automobiles), and in the center, an elevated walkway allowed pedestrians to transit the bridge. Today, the pedestrian walkway still exists. Trolley tracks have long been removed to allow six lanes for auto traffic, three in each direction. Interestingly, the bridge is less efficient today than it was in its early years; when streetcars made the crossing every few minutes, far more people were able to transit the bridge each day than today. On the Sunday afternoon I visited the bridge, traffic congestion was so bad that the walkers and cyclists on the pedestrian walkway were moving far faster than the cars below. I’d hate to see the bridge in rush hour!

Walking up the bridge’s wood plank pedestrian walkway is the best way to visit the Brooklyn Bridge. This walkway allows you to get up close to the cables that the span is suspended from, as well as the towers. The walkway offers grand views of the Manhattan skyline, and several benches are placed along the way for walkers who desire a short rest or want to stop and take in the scene.

Because of time constraints, I chose to only walk about half of the distance across the bridge to Brooklyn. A walk all the way across will probably take about 15 to 20 minutes at an average pace; runners or brisk walkers can probably make it in half that time.

The views across the river to Manhattan are stunning, and the sight of the bridge itself as you look down its length at all the cables is quite something. The walkway is split into two sides, with pedestrians on one side and cyclists on the other. This was obvious from signs and markings on the footpath, but lots of people still walked into the cyclist lane and were duly advised otherwise by angry passing cyclists.

There are a number of telescopes dotted along the path, which you can put money in to view the skyline and Liberty Island a little better. There were also lots of people taking photos, including us, and many people were asking others to take their pictures for them. There was a great community feeling on the bridge of everyone helping out everyone else.

I would definitely suggest that anyone in New York should walk the bridge. If you can do only one way, preferably from Brooklyn to Manhattan.

The bridge joins Lower Manhattan to Brooklyn Heights over the East river. For the best views catch the subway to York St, High St or Clark St in Brooklyn and walk back across the bridge to Manhattan. The views alone are spectacular, even without the architecture of the bridge to distract you. To the south you can see the meeting point of the Hudson and the East river with Liberty in the distance gazing serenely out across the water. To the north and northwest you can see the unforgettable skyline of Manhattan Island, including one of the few places where you can take a photograph with both the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building in the same frame.

Depending upon your speed it takes about 30 minutes to walk from one side of the bridge to the other. If it is a hot day you will find some respite from the sun under the stone support towers where you will also find brass plaques depicting dioramas of the skyline and waterfront, pointing out the major sights as they have looked over the years. As with all public monuments in New York City the Brooklyn Bridge is well looked after. It’s nice to see that, no matter what time of day you choose to visit the bridge, you will always run into New Yorkers leisurely cycling or walking across the bridge, simply enjoying their city.

I have walked across the Thames in London many times on my way to work, over a variety of bridges and I always briefly stop to look up or down the river, but I can’t help feeling that striding across the Brooklyn Bridge each morning would somehow provide a more rewarding start to the day.