Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Borden Avenue Bridge turns 100 today!

As a member of the NYC Bridge Centennial Committee and a resident of Long Island City, I would be remiss in not informing you of the following:

According to the D.O.T. web site, on this date, March 25, 1908, the current version of the Borden Avenue Bridge opened to auto and trolley traffic.

Being a history guy, I had to share this with you.

The site goes on to say, "...the bridge is a rare survivor of its type [retractile] and retains sufficient period integrity to convey its historic design significance."

Sincerely,

Richard Melnick, President
Greater Astoria Historical Society
info@astorialic.org

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

looks like there's a small lawn by the bridge and road too. Wonder if it's possible to get down there on foot and have a look about?

Anonymous said...

I love that whole area of LIC. The place bristles with the energy of long ago. There are so many wild and wonderful things to see there. Thanks for the post QC.

Anonymous said...

Is this bridge landmarked? The only other bridge of its kind in NYC is the Carroll Street Bridge in Gowanus, which is landmarked.

Anonymous said...

Is this bridge landmarked?

Its in Queens.
Its in western Queens.
next question...

RC said...

The rails that the bridge rolls over run through the lawn adjacent to the bridge. I doubt that you'd be permitted to jump down there.

Anonymous said...

...oh well. Guess I'll have to try tracking down some other patch of lawn in Queens, if I can find one.