The Manhattan Bridge As Seen From Dumbo; An Iconic View of the Manhattan Bridge Over a Century

Since construction on the Manhattan Bridge began in 1901, the bridge’s Brooklyn-side tower has been beautifully framed by the brick warehouses on Washington Street near the water. The steel structure photogenically rises up out of the East River, the Empire State Building visible in the distance.

Visitors and tourists are ever standing in the middle of Washington Street to snap the same iconic shot — which caught a photographer’s eye even before the bridge’s span was complete.

A single tower of the bridge in 1909. The span wouldn’t be completed for another three years. The Empire State Building wouldn’t rise until 1931.

A 1974 image by Danny Lyon. The cobblestones are paved over, but the street could use a sweeping.

A still from Sergio Leone’s 1984 Once Upon a Time in America.

Another still from Once Upon a Time In America, of the bridge from the same intersection at Adams and Front

The view down Washington Street in 2015.

(This original article was published on Brownstoner)