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New York: top 10 bridges seen in your favorite movies and series

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Manhattan is an island, and the five boroughs of the metropolis are almost all separated by a river or the ocean. Bridges were therefore an essential part of the New York landscape from a very early age.
Reality/Fiction Bridges

Don’t burn your bridges with New York

No matter where you are in New York, there are bridges near you. Cross one, you’re in Brooklyn. Do it again, you’re in the Bronx. Two styles, two moods. Attributes that can be found in the New York guide to the 1000 cult places of films, series, music, comics and novels.

Manhattan Bridge, the most photogenic of all bridges

Once upon a time in America
Once upon a time in America

In Once Upon a Time in America, the place was made world-famous by the film’s iconic poster, showing the final scene. This spot is very popular with tourists and photographers. The lights at sunset in the evening are beautiful.

The most photogenic views are to be captured from the Brooklyn side. There is of course the perspective at the corner of Washington St and Walter St, immortalized on the Once Upon a Time in America poster with the Empire State Building in the background. But the small park on Main Street, at the foot of the pile, offers an equally incredible panorama.

Brooklyn Bridge

In I am Legend, the plans for the bridge, including its explosion, required six nights of filming and cost the production more than $5 million. This is the most expensive sequence performed in New York!

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge is an unforgettable experience. The crossing takes three-quarters of an hour, on a level reserved only for pedestrians and cyclists, and the view of the Manhattan skyline is absolutely breathtaking. Inaugurated in May 1883, after fourteen years of frequent mourning, this 1,825-metre suspension bridge symbolically links the city halls of Brooklyn and New York.

Williamsburg Bridge

Williamsburg Bridge - The Amazing Spider-Man
Williamsburg Bridge – The Amazing Spider-Man

In The Amazing Spider-Man, while Dr. Rajit Ratha (Irrfan Khan), Osborn’s boss, is stuck in his car on this bridge, Dr. Curt Connors, known as the Lizard (Rhys Ifans), tries to kill him by throwing his car into the East River. It is caught up in time, like many other vehicles, by Spider-Man.

Less well known than the Brooklyn Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge crossing, on the floor reserved for pedestrians and cyclists, is also worth trying. Take the opportunity to spot the original signage designed by Marty Markowitz, the former president of the borough of Brooklyn: “Leaving Brooklyn: Oy Vey!

Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge

Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge New York
Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge New York. Photo credit: Fantrippers

In Leon, symbolically leaving her criminal life behind, Mathilda takes this cable car to return to school. The Queensboro Bridge was introduced in 1976 as an interim solution until a subway station could be opened on Roosevelt Island. When it became operational in 1989, the inhabitants mobilized to preserve it.

Completed in 1909, the construction of this metal bridge linking Manhattan to Long Island took place against a backdrop of social tensions. The Workers’ Union had even fomented the plan to blow it up with dynamite, but the lowly worker had given up his plan after discovering the existence of a fire station at the base of the bridge.

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

Scene at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in Saturday Night Fever
Scene at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in Saturday Night Fever. Photo credit: Robert Stigwood Organization

In Saturday Night Fever, for Tony, the immense suspension bridge (4,176 m), contemplated with Stéphanie (Karen-Lynn Gorney) from a bench on the Bay Ridge Promenade, symbolizes escape. But it is especially on the edge of it that he regularly has fun with his friends playing the balancing act. Until the tragic fall of Booby C.

The start of the famous marathon is given there every year. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, the suspension bridge that has linked Staten Island to Brooklyn since 1964, also marks the entrance to New York Harbor. It owes its name to the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first European to have crossed the strait “The Narrows” and set foot on the site of today’s city.

Hell Gate Bridge, the most diabolical of bridges

Hell Gate Bridge - Rhododendrites on Wikimedia Commons
Hell Gate Bridge – Rhododendrites on Wikimedia Commons

In French Connection, the police block this bridge as well as the Triborough Bridge, right next to it, during the last scenes. Dating from 1916, the Hell Gate Bridge was the longest steel arch bridge (310 m) until 1932, when the Bayonne Bridge was opened on Staten Island.

Devil! What did this railway bridge, which spans the East River and connects Queens to Randall’s Island and Ward’s Island, do to get that name? Hell Gate Bridge actually comes from the Dutch “hellegat”, the canal of hell, according to the account of a 17th century Batavian explorer, who was confronted, at that place, with tumultuous waters and dotted with numerous reefs.

Bayonne Bridge

In War of the Worlds, Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) lives in New Jersey at the foot of this bridge (11 Kennedy Boulevard, Bayonne), later destroyed by alien tripods. Built in 1931, it was until 1977 the longest steel bridge in the world.

This Bayonne, in New Jersey, gave its name to the bridge with a span of 511 m which, since 1931, has connected the Bergen Neck Peninsula to Staten Island. Problem: the structure does not allow the passage of certain ships, forced to wait for low tide. The port authority has therefore commissioned a study to raise it or even replace it. The Bayonne Bridge sliced in slices? To be continued…

Riverside Dr. Viaduct

Riverside Drive Viaduct - Photo credit: Fantrippers
Riverside Drive Viaduct – Photo credit: Fantrippers

In Luke Cage, Diamondback’s henchmen make Herman “Shades” Alvarez (Theo Rossi) think they want to recruit him. They take him to a warehouse right next to the Riverside Viaduct, a steel-framed road interchange built in 1900. The scene under the bridge structures was filmed on 12th Av, between 133rd and 134th St., and was shot on the 12th Av. The building into which the group enters is that of the Cleanex Process Co, a small two-storey building. It was on his roof that Shades learned that Diamondback ordered him killed.

Between Tiemann Place and 135th St., Riverside Drive, the large avenue that stretches along the Hudson River, becomes an overpass. The steel structure, completed at the beginning of the 20th century and renovated twice since then, was an engineering feat and the pride of New Yorkers. To borrow it is to be sure to enjoy the plunging views of the Hudson River and Harlem…

Bow Bridge, the most bucolic of bridges

Bow Bridge - Glee
Bow Bridge – Glee

In Glee, this beautiful Central Park bridge is a regular feature on the show. In episode 22 of season 2, Finn waits there for Rachel with a bouquet of flowers. Much later, during episode 1 of season 5, Rachel, sad and nostalgic, returns to the scene of this rendezvous by singing “Yesterday” by the Beatles. The Bethesda Fountain can also be seen.

You can put the ring on your finger or adjust the ring on your camera. The only bridge in Central Park to have been built in cast iron in the mid-19th century, the elegant Bow Bridge, near the Bethesda Fountain, is a romantic spot, ideal for watching the ballet of the boats on The Lake.

Gapstow Bridge

In The Devil wears Prada, Nigel and Andrea are talking in front of this little bridge, which is very popular during the photo shoot for the Runway Magazine report “Urban Jungle”.

A real postcard… The Gapstow Bridge, which overlooks The Pond, is one of the most famous bridges in Central Park and offers beautiful views of the surrounding skyscrapers. It was built in wood in 1874, but premature wear and tear of the material necessitated its replacement by a stone arch in 1896.

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New York's guide to the 100 cult places for 2019 films, series, music, comics and novels

Guide New York to 1000 cult movies, series, music, comics and novels locations (French Edition)

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By Damien Duarte

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Passionné par la culture pop depuis son enfance, ses références vont de Donald Duck à Batman en passant par Marty McFly. Fantripper dans l'âme, voyager sur les traces de Ghostbusters, James Bond ou des héros de romans comme Cotton Malone fait partie d'un séjour idéal et réussi !

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