59th St Bridge

Crossing the 59th Street Bridge from Manhattan to Queens over Roosevelt Island at Hunters Point in NYC (Feeling Groovy 🎶)

The 59th Street Bridge, officially the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, spans the East River between Manhattan and Queens. Completed in 1909, it was designed by Gustav Lindenthal with architect Henry Hornbostel and became a triumph of early American steel engineering.

The bridge stretches 3,724 feet with twin cantilever spans that were among the world’s longest at the time. Its massive stone piers were anchored deep into Manhattan schist, and more than 50,000 tons of steel were riveted by hand during construction.

The bridge opened new routes for streetcars, wagons, and early automobiles, linking Midtown Manhattan to Long Island City and fueling Queens’ transformation from farmland into an urban borough.

It played a key role in New York’s post-1898 consolidation, connecting industry, housing, and commerce across the East River.

Over the decades it survived modernization, the rise of the automobile age, and the decline of Roosevelt Island’s factories.

Today, the Queensboro Bridge remains one of New York’s most iconic crossings, featured in countless films, photographs, and songs that capture its enduring industrial beauty.