Walking Brooklyn. Adrienne Onofri
who’ve moved upstate after a century headquartered in this part of Brooklyn.
Cross Jay Street at Sands Street, then turn around (with the bridge to your left): that gold-domed building you see three blocks up Jay is St. James, not a church but a “minor papal basilica,” per the Vatican. It is the mother church of Brooklyn for Catholics; before St. James was established in 1822, Catholics who lived anywhere on Long Island had to travel to Manhattan for services (the current building dates to 1903). Now turn back, cross Sands, and go to the left.
Turn right on Pearl Street. Pay a quick visit to the global headquarters of
Past Front Street, walk across the painted-ground plaza and onto Anchorage Place. Go into the Archway on your left—depending on the day and season, you’ll find food vendors, the Brooklyn Flea market, or an event such as a live performance or yoga class.
Resume walking on Anchorage Place. At Plymouth Street, cross over onto Adams Street and walk one block to John Street, where you enter
After passing the cove, follow the path to the right, leading you to Plymouth Street and Main Street—beneath the Clocktower Building you’ve seen along the route. Across from it is an immense Civil War–era warehouse called the Empire Stores, recently rehabbed for offices and retail. Originally built for the world’s first commercial coffee-roasting facility, the Empire Stores now features a public atrium and roof deck, eateries, and a Brooklyn Historical Society museum.
Walk between the Empire Stores and the river to
Go right on Water Street and follow it to the Fulton Ferry Landing. Two events that shaped the future of the city and the country occurred here. In 1776 George Washington massed 9,500 troops for a furtive evacuation in rowboats and schooners across a river filled with British warships. The Americans had just been routed in the Battle of Long Island, aka the Battle of Brooklyn, and the retreat prevented a complete defeat by the British—and thus saved the fledgling nation. Then, in 1814, Robert Fulton launched his steamboat from here, opening up travel between Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Casual dining abounds at the ferry landing, including in a former fireboat house and old smokestack building (plus, the Michelin-starred River Café is situated beneath the bridge). While you’re gaping at the Manhattan skyline, look down at the metal railing around the pier to read a passage from Walt Whitman’s poem “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.” Also note
Head up Old Fulton Street. The buildings to your left were constructed between 1835 and 1839 when the ferry service gave rise to a commercial center (the corner Shake Shack building was originally a hotel). The Eagle Warehouse & Storage Company’s fortress on your right was built in 1892, replacing the offices of the Brooklyn Eagle, a newspaper that had employed a crusading journalist named Walt Whitman from 1846 to 1848. Back on your left, the white palazzo with a diagonally sited doorway at 1 Front Street was constructed for a bank in 1869. It’s made of cast iron, probably for fireproofing. There may be a line outside Grimaldi’s, which for years was lauded as the city’s best pizza. But the man responsible for its reputation has sold the restaurant and opened Juliana’s next door.
Stay to the right to continue up Old Fulton Street, but take note of 5–7 Front Street next to Grimaldi’s. It dates to 1834 and is considered the city’s oldest surviving office building. Cross Hicks and then Henry Street before Old Fulton becomes Cadman Plaza West.
At Middagh Street, enter
With your back to Gaynor, follow the path and then go up the steps to the front of the World War II memorial—an enormous limestone rectangle flanked by 24-foot-tall statues facing a tree-lined mall. The man represents the battlefield; the woman, home and hearth. Follow the sidewalk or path along the east (woman’s) side of the park to the bridge access steps on your left just before Prospect Street.
Once upon a time not too long ago, walking the Brooklyn Bridge was an insider tip you’d give tourists. Not anymore. It can get packed with sightseers, and there are a lot more bicyclists too. Stay in the lane designated for pedestrians. When the Brooklyn Bridge opened in May 1883, it was the tallest structure in the United States and the longest suspension bridge in the world. This wooden-planked promenade was the world’s highest human-made observation platform at the time. Today it remains one of the only places in the world where airplanes can fly above people walking above vehicles driving above boats sailing above trains running (through the underwater subway tunnel). Look for a plaque on the Manhattan-facing side of the Brooklyn tower honoring Emily Roebling, who supervised construction of the bridge after her husband, chief engineer Washington Roebling, was paralyzed with the bends (his father John had designed the bridge but died before construction began). The bends—then simply labeled “decompression sickness”—killed 20 men on the bridge construction crew, and others also suffered respiratory and neurological ailments from working inside caissons, the huge airtight chambers installed in the riverbed so men could work underwater laying the foundations. Those caissons, as well as John Roebling’s steel “rope” design, were among the bridge’s many significant innovations. It dates to a time when one in four bridges would collapse; almost no other American bridge its age is still functional. You can learn about the construction step-by-step from engraved tablets at the railing in the areas around the two towers; they also cover Brooklyn’s maritime heritage, East River bridges and islands, and other relevant topics.
This walk may be the ultimate NYC photo op, but the bridge itself is a beloved subject of photographers, painters, poets, filmmakers, and so on. My favorite quote about this experience comes from historian David McCullough, reflecting in the Ken Burns documentary Brooklyn Bridge: “The bridge makes one feel better about being