Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge.  Thanks peterkellystudios.



Where is the Brooklyn Bridge?: Over the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn.


View Larger Map


How do I get there from Manhattan?: 

Start from City Hall Park, at the corner of Chambers St and Center St

Follow the signs, and the tourists, to the bridge

Pedestrians are separated from cyclists by a meaningless white line.


How do I get there from Brooklyn?: There are two main entrances.

1. Near the Brooklyn War Memorial Park near the intersection of Middagh St and Old Fulton St:


View Larger Map

2. On the north side of Tillary St between Adams St and Brooklyn Bridge Blvd (a longer trip, and therefore better):


View Larger Map


For the Tillary St entrance, look for this.



Great idea, in theory.

World HQ of Jehovah's Witnesses (most of the offices at eye-level seem to be empty).

How's the view?

Very, very good.

See what I mean.





The less-loved but superior Manhattan Bridge to the north.



 

Expect a lot of this.

Crowds!: The Brooklyn Bridge is by far the most crowded bridge in NYC.  These photos (taken at 8am shortly after a rainstorm) show the bridge practically empty.  If you run this bridge, be patient and don't expect to go fast -- you'll share the narrow path with tourists and walkers, cyclists and other runners.  The only way to enjoy this bridge is to go slow, relax and enjoy the crowd. 

If running through crowds puts you off, take the nearby Manhattan Bridge instead: it's much less crowded, the bike and pedestrian lanes are totally separated (and the views are better).

How hard?: Medium. It's long (1.13 miles / 1.81 km) but not too high. Moving through the crowds can be challenging.

You should run this bridge if: for some reason it's on your bucket list, or you enjoy crowds.  Otherwise, if you want a scenic bridge to run from Lower Manhattan to Brooklyn, the Manhattan Bridge is better in every way.

Odd facts: Is there a more famous bridge anywhere?  In 2006, city employees found a Cold War bunker inside the masonry.