Birds of Inwood - Visit Teri's new blog about birds!

Birds of Inwood - Visit Teri's new blog about birds!
A visual journey exploring the birds of Inwood and Northern Manhattan

A Spring Walk to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and Brooklyn Bridge Park

A walk along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade followed by a walk through Brooklyn Bridge Park should be added to your spring strolling repertoire. The two parallel stretches of walkway, one on high ground and the other at water’s edge below, offer unequaled views of Lower Manhattan on the opposite shore of the East River.

View of Lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. Brooklyn Bridge Park is below.

Begin the walk by finding your way to the A and C subway stop on High Street or the 2 and 3 on Clark Street in Brooklyn. A stroll through Brooklyn Heights brings to mind the area’s formidable literary heritage, having served as home to Arthur Miller, W.E.B. DuBois, Truman Capote, Carson McCullers, Norman Mailer, and many other giants of American letters.

View from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade in springtime.

The atmosphere of these pretty streets evokes another era. Brooklyn Heights, an old historic neighborhood of sea captains and God-fearing abolitionists (visit Henry Ward Beecher's church on your walk to the waterfront), offers a necessary perspective on life in the big city.

Squibb Bridge provides pedestrian access to the park below.

If Brooklyn Heights represents old New York, the new New York may be found below along the water. Walk to Brooklyn Bridge Park via the Squibb Bridge, now more stable after some necessary re-engineering.

View of Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park from Squibb Bridge.

While many of the several piers and sections that make up Brooklyn Bridge Park are now open, the park still awaits completion of piers 2, 3, 5, and 6. The story of the waterfront, repurposed from commercial uses to sites of recreation and play, serves as a central story to the contemporary city. Even ferry traffic has made a comeback.

Oh, that is why the park is called Brooklyn Bridge Park.

This walk mainly takes place in Pier 1, the area closet to the Fulton Ferry Landing. The Bridge View Lawn provides a nice place for relaxing and reading a book, while the walkway nearest the water best serves visitors taking pictures of their trip.

View of lawn and waterfront in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
The tall building under construction on the Manhattan side is One Manhattan Square, 252 South Street, a luxury condominium tower with 71 stories.

Plenty of good places to eat and drink may be found nearby, including the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory and Grimaldi’s Pizza. After strolling through the park, there’s no need to walk back to the Brooklyn subways if returning to Manhattan. Just take the NYC Ferry at Pier 1 and boat over to Wall Street at Pier 11.

A last look before leaving the park. 

The map includes literary points of interest in Brooklyn Heights.




Images by Walking Off the Big Apple from May 1, 2018.

Near Pier 11 Wall Street on the Manhattan side looking back to the Brooklyn waterfront.

You may find similar predecessors to this walk on the website. The current walk, with new pictures, brings the journey into the present season and year. You can’t take the same walk twice.

Pano view from Brooklyn Bridge Park.

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