New York - Brooklyn Heights
Thomas Wolfe, Truman Capote and Arthur Miller all lived here
Brooklyn has a fine museum, impressive botanical gardens and one of New York's most beautiful neighbourhoods, Brooklyn Heights,
The term ‘outer borough’ makes a trip to Brooklyn sound like a bit of a trek. It isn’t. All you have to do is cross the Brooklyn Bridge, over the East River from downtown Manhattan and you are there. The best way is to walk.
New York - Brooklyn - The Brooklyn Bridge
Many consider the Brooklyn Bridge to be one of the world's most beautiful bridges. Its delicate network of steel cables frames many a postcard view of Manhattan. Walking across it is a delightful experience. The raised wooden boardwalk is for the use of pedestrians and cyclists only (a yellow line keeps you out of the cyclists' lane) and the 35-40 minute walk across to Brooklyn Heights on a warm evening, with a cooling breeze from the river, is a treat for New Yorkers and visitors alike.
Completed in 1883, the bridge was at that time the world's largest single-span suspension bridge and was the first to use steel cables. It is these cables, together with the constantly changing view of Manhattan, that provide opportunity for some of the most dramatic photographs of New York. If you enjoy taking pictures you'll find yourself snapping away at every new angle.
New York - Brooklyn - Brooklyn Heights
You probably will not have time to explore the whole of Brooklyn, nor would you want to. If it were a separate city it would be the fourth largest in the United States and there’s a lot of it that is not of particular interest to tourists. Brooklyn Heights is a real treat, so make your way there. It’s just a short walk from the bridge.
In 1965 Brooklyn Heights became New York's first designated Historic District. It is a quiet residential neighbourhood of tree-shaded streets with names like Cranberry, Orange, Pineapple and Willow, where you will find perfectly preserved houses representing the many styles of 19th-century American architecture. It is a peaceful and pretty area to wander in. Many houses have lovely scrollwork with wrought iron balconies covered with gnarled vines and there are small neighbourhood cafes where you can have a coffee and rest your feet for a while.
One of the nicest parts of Brooklyn Heights is the tree-lined promenade which overlooks the river and provides one of the best viewpoints of New York. There are benches to sit upon and much to observe in the busy life of the harbour and the parade of families out for a walk.
New York - Brooklyn - Famous Residents
No longer only for those established New York families who could afford to live here, Brooklyn Heights has become more cosmopolitan and has been home to people like Thomas Wolfe, Truman Capote and Arthur Miller. In the 19th-century Thackeray and Lincoln visited the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims on Orange Street where the abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher delivered his hard-hitting moral sermons. Perhaps better known as the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Beecher railed against the horrors of slavery and war and warned his congregation of the dangers of alchohol and immorality.
Brooklyn Heights is a piece of gracious old New York - don't miss it. The walk back across the bridge to Manhattan, with the constantly shifting view of the skyscrapers, is spectacular.
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