Sitting here at home during the Corvid – 19 Pandemic, I looked back on an image taken ten years ago, on Mother’s Day, May 8th, 2010. It was right out of the camera, with really nice lighting and conveyed a simple thought about …strength from above, the highlighted cables holding up the mighty George Washington Bridge. Today we reflect on the strength of our first responders and health care workers; and the universal pause for Mother’s Day, as we endure this most unprecedented time. Thanks for viewing. Zoom in for a closer look, and comments are always welcome. M 🙂
About four weeks ago, in one of our last ventures before the Corvid-19 Pandemic, we visited the little town of Piermont, New York …on the Hudson River, and explored its 182 year old rock and earthen pier, which by 1851 served as a loading and unloading track bed for Erie Railroad trains picking up steamboat passengers from Lower Manhattan, twenty-five miles to the South. On the then longest rail line in the world, vacationers would travel 450 miles (724 km) to Dunkirk, NY and the shores of Lake Erie. Some hundred years later, long after the excursions were outmoded, tens of thousands of WW II troops would depart from this same mile long pier to ferries, and transfer onto troop ships in NY Harbor. Sadly, thousands would literally leave their last footsteps on U.S. soil right here. A monument nearby is solemnly named “Last Stop, USA.”
The Piermont Pier is located about two miles (3.2 km)south of the new Mario Cuomo Bridge, jutting out a little less than one mile (1.61 km) into the Hudson River.The old steamship/ferry slip from years ago is seen above, …to the left.Above: Today, the pier is a commercial, residential, and hiking park.Remnants of the steamship/ferry docks can still be seen in this 2/23/20 view looking south. New York City would be just beyond Tallman Mountain to the right.Above: A bollard, used for securing heavy lines, is seen here near the end of the pier, looking south.Above: The trestle part of the new bridge, carrying the New York State Thruway, is about two miles (3.2 km) to the North; and Hook Mountain, overlooking the Hudson, is seen beyond.Above: The striking new Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge; and two miles (3.2 km) further, Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse off Tarrytown, NY seen to the left of center span.Taken some years ago while boating on the Hudson, Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse, also know as Tarrytown Lighthouse or Kingsland Point Lighthouse, was “installed” in 1883.
Thanks for viewing. Zoom in for a closer look.
And a special note: BE WELL, …and please use best judgement practices as we “navigate” through these un-precedented difficult times. M
I’d like to thank the Piermont Historical Society for their added information concerning this topic, and Wikipedia. I am a proud contributer/donator to both sources.
Arriving very early this day, we all parked our cars in the growing line behind the barricades on an entrance ramp to the toll plaza, …under the overhead sign in the second image below. Finally, down by the booths, and after “Mr. First,” the lights turned green and we were on our way.
The view was spectacular, with Manhattan off to the left; Coney Island, Lower N.Y Bay and The Atlantic Ocean to the right. The car toll was $.50 each way. Today, 2019, tolls are collected westbound only ranging between $19 to $12.24 with E-ZPass!
(More information on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, can be found on Wikipedia, which we support with donations.)
Thanks for viewing, zoom in for a closer look, and comments are always welcome. M 🙂
October 21, 1964, I was fortunate to be there, …in New York City, walking around the Staten Island side of this brand new and, at that time, longest suspension bridge in the world. In an hour or two the ribbon cutting would facilitate the official opening, and we would be among the first to cross.
“New York’s Finest” on foot, and on motorcycle, as the latter start one final sweep of the roadway just prior to the official opening.
See Part Two, as we prepare to cross the new bridge, which after 2018 became correctly and officially named as the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge with two z’s, finally conforming to the explorer’s actual name. Giovanni va Verrazzano was the first documented European explorer to sail through this waterway, in 1524!
Thanks for viewing, zoom in for a closer look on these original 35mm film images, and comments are always welcome. M 🙂
This past week I drove up to Harriman State Park, NY, on the Hudson River. From the top of Bear Mountain, New York City, 30 to 40 miles to the south, is visible on clear days.
Back last year, while returning by ferry from a day-trip to Manhattan, the lighting was awesome. Being the busy Christmas season of 2016, these images were saved in my computer until… now! Storms to the north and the late afternoon sun brightly shinning in the south-west accentuated the stunning view.
As usual, click on the image for a closer look, and thanks for viewing. Comments and questions are always welcome. M 🙂
Thanks to our friend Jessica, a resident of remarkable Roosevelt Island, Jeanne and I enjoyed riding The Roosevelt Tramway located just north of the Queens Mid-Town Bridge, aka the 59th Street Bridge, aka the Ed Koch Bridge. This Post contains nine random images from this past Saturday.
As usual, thanks for viewing, and comments are always welcome M 🙂
A follow-up from my previous post about the Brooklyn Bridge, found here.
Just off the Brooklyn Bridge, is the 40 story Manhattan Municipal Building, on the National Register of Historic Places. A magnificent structure with intriguing interior design elements complementing its Beaux-Arts architecture, topped by columns and cupolas, and …an impressive guilded copper statue: “City Fame.”
Back in 1995, I was fortunate to see these features up close, but as was typical for those days, my camera was out of film.
Picture taken from Brooklyn Bridge, 1995, Canon Rebel, SLR 200mm telephoto
.
However, 15 years earlier, in 1980, I had photographed the Brooklyn and Manhatten bridges from the World Trade Center, as seen below.
The Manhattan Municipal Building would be just out of view to the left, at about the same height as the white “former” AT&T building shown here.
As usual,. thanks for visiting, and comments are always welcome. M:-)
Lacking an idea for a subject, (sharing every week or two is my usual routine,) I arbitrarily looked into my archives for today’s date and ultimately came across the following – on March 27th, 1995.
This post contains eight photos.
Short on time? just scroll down and click on the images….and as usual, comments are always welcome.
From the Brooklyn side, looking back at the Woolworth Building on the left, once the tallest building in NYC.
My career had me working “on the road” that day at the NY Post Production plant in Manhattan, then located just north of the bridge. After, I took advantage of the beautiful day and walked across the iconic structure.
From this vantage among the web like cables, the Twin Towers stand to the left, doomed to fall 6 1/2 years later on 9/11/11On my Canon Rebel (film) SLR, I used a polarizing filter to bring up the contrast a bit, as these intricate patterns were awesome against the clear blue skies.There are four primary cables stretched over the two towers. I love the simple but obviously adequate design of the drop cable’s attachments, shown here.
Just imagine the forces (weight) sustained by these components!
In this close up view of a load cable and crossing “stabilizing” cable, the Manhattan Bridge is seen beyond, completed in 1909, 25 years after the Brooklyn Bridge.With the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in the background, various “working lines” of the Brooklyn Bridge steadfastly remain taut after 104 years at the time of this photo – 129 years today. Opened to the public in 1913, the Woolworth Building stands about 3 times taller, seen here with one of the bridge’s lampposts in the foreground.
After completing this walk, I explored the City Hall Building just off the Manhattan side of the bridge, finding easy access to the rotunda on top with its awesome view of lower Manhattan.
