Architecture of New York City - Bridges and Tunnels

Bridges and Tunnels

• Whitestone Bridge

• High Bridge

• Brooklyn Bridge

• Manhattan Bridge

• Queensboro Bridge

• Williamsburg Bridge

New York City is located on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island are their own islands, while Queens and Brooklyn are located at the west-end of the larger Long Island. This precipitates a need for an extensive infrastructure of bridges and tunnels. Nearly all of the city's major bridges and several of its tunnels, have broken or set records. For example, the Holland Tunnel was the world's first vehicular tunnel when it opened in 1927.

The Queensboro Bridge is an important piece of cantilever architecture. The towers of the Brooklyn Bridge are built of limestone, granite, and Rosendale cement. Their architectural style is neo-Gothic, with characteristic pointed arches above the passageways through the stone towers. This bridge was also the longest suspension bridge in the world from its opening until 1903, and the first steel-wire suspension bridge. The Manhattan Bridge, Throgs Neck Bridge, Triborough Bridge, and Verrazano Bridge are all examples of Structural Expressionism.