When I woke up this
morning I knew that it was going to be a great day. I was hoping that it would
be a little cooler out, but to my disappointment it was another scorcher. Mike
informed us that today we would be going to Brooklyn and the famous Coney Island.
The only times I have been to Brooklyn were with my father when I went with him
on his construction sites. I knew nothing about Brooklyn before today and to be
honest I didn’t even know that Coney Island was in Brooklyn, that’s how
oblivious I am. I was excited to go to the amusement park, go to the beach, try
Nathan’s Famous Hotdogs, but especially excited to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge.
Even though I knew it was going to be brutally hot today, I put on a smile and
headed out on my journey to Brooklyn.
Our first stop for the day was going to be Coney Island. I felt like a little kid. I was so happy to be
going to Coney Island and going to the amusement park. I absolutely love rides
and I heard that Coney Island had plenty of them. Coney Island was settled by the Dutch, who
named it Konijn Eiland after the rabbits they found there (BG, 492). When Coney
Island opened up three amusement parks, they hit their golden age. The three
parks offered rides for people of all ages. They were The Steeplechase Park
which opened in 1897, Luna Park which opened in 1903, and Dreamland which
opened in 1904 (BG, 492). The
boardwalk was filled with people from all over and all different ethnicities.
Everyone was enjoying this beautiful summer day. Children were running around on the sand and
play gyms, young adults were lying out on the beach and just hanging out. From
the looks of it, the beach looked magnificent. It we had more than an hour to
explore, I definitely would have taken my bathing suit and soaked up the sun.
I knew I was going to ride the Cyclone. The Cyclone
opened in 1927 and was designed by Vernan Keenan and was declared a New York
landmark in 1988. It was one of the best roller coasters I have ever been on
and I have been to a lot of amusement parks. Rose and I could not stop
laughing. The seats were so small that she and I were sitting right on top of
each other and the speed of the car was so fast that our sunglasses almost fell
off. I was in my glory. When it came time for lunch I already knew I had to try
Nathan’s Famous, the ionic hotdog founded in 1916 (BG, 492). I know why people
say it’s the best hotdog because it really is. Probably the best hotdog I have
ever tasted. I thought Coney Island was fantastic and I wish I had more time to
hang out there. There was so much to see and absorb and not enough time to do
it. I plan on going back and experience it from inch to inch.
Our
next stop was the New York Transit Museum. This was the most interesting museum
I have ever been to and the most interesting we have been to in this class so
far. The Transit Museum is a two-level subterranean museum located in an unused
subway station (BG, 468). The Transit
Museum shows the development of the greater New York
Metropolitan area. There are presentations and tours that show the technological
history of public transportation. Our tour guide Catherine was very passionate
and very knowledgeable about what she was talking about. She made it
interesting to learn more about the subway system and the history of it. It was
fascinating to learn how smart the engineers who designed the subway system
were and how dangerous it was for the men working on it. Catherine told us that
New York City was not the first city to have a subway system which I would not
have known if I hadn’t taken this class. The lower level of the museum was so
cool. There were old train cars lined up and you could go and sit and look
around them. It was fascinating to see how people used to get around by horse
trolleys and the amount of time it would take for them to get to point A to point
B, and how the travel time is cut in half. From early wooden ticker chopper to
a full-body turnstile known as the “iron maiden”, (BG, 468) it is amazing to
see how far technology has come and how the subway system is keeping up with
the times. The Transit Museum is the perfect place to go to learn and
understand the development of the subway system and the evolution of travel. 
We
made our way to the Brooklyn Historical Society. The Brooklyn Historical Society
was founded in 1863 as the Long Island Historical Society. It maintains a
library, a museum, and an educational center which is dedicated to the history
and culture of Brooklyn (BG, 472). The museum is a four-story Queen Anne style
and has the most beautiful library I have ever seen. Our tour guide was nice
enough to let us walk around it quietly because there were people researching
and didn’t want to disturb them. I didn’t know that the library was open to the
public and people could go there and do research on Brooklyn. The
Brooklyn Historical Society was acknowledged as a National
Historical Landmark in July 1991. Our walk through Brooklyn Heights was
amazing. To walk the streets and feel how Brooklyn once looked was phenomenal.
The brownstones were stunning. The trees made the streets have a certain
glamour I cannot describe. Looking down
one of the streets I thought to myself that I could live there on that beautiful
street in this beautiful city. Brooklyn Heights was exquisite and I cannot wait
to go back and visit again.
We finally made it to the Brooklyn Bridge. The
bridge opened on May 25, 1883 and was considered one of the world’s greatest
wonders. It has huge granite towers that stretch 276 ft above the water, and
has spans arching 1,595 ft across the East River making it the largest
suspension bridge in existence (BG, 464). The
Brooklyn Bridge is one of the most popular landmarks in
New York. The bridge stretches 5,989 ft, and connects
Brooklyn and Manhattan making it easier and quicker for people to get to and
from the city. The design of the elevated pathway was genius. People can walk
back and forth on the bridge and not worry about getting run over by a car,
just by bicyclists! The view from the top of the bridge was like nothing I had
ever seen. I took my time walking across the bridge, whether it was from
exhaustion or from the fact that the skyline of New York City was captivating.
The sun was setting as I was making my way to the other end of the bridge
making the city look like a dream. If it wasn’t for this class, I don’t know if
I would have ever walked over the Brooklyn Bridge or even have thought about
doing it.
Today’s experience of Brooklyn has
changed my entire outlook on it. I never would have thought that Brooklyn had
so much to offer. The history and culture of Brooklyn was something I never
would have learned sitting in a class. I had to experience it hands on to truly
say I learned something. During these past two classes, I have done more and
been more places in the city than I have ever been before. I am looking forward
to Friday and what that journey has to hold.
No comments:
Post a Comment