Americas

[Visited: July 2008]

After a very early rise, I took the subway from Manhattan; when I walked out, the sun was just starting to shed its light on the city of New York. I quickly walked towards the Brooklyn Heights Promenade on the western side of Brooklyn Heights, and was able to enjoy fantastic light over a perfect view of Lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge. Early risers were jogging, and I hooked up a conversation with a Brooklyn resident walking his dog. He explained that the area below, the piers, would be developed into a huge park - I could only imagine how nice that park will be once it is finished. I walked on towards Brooklyn Bridge, to Empire Fulton Ferry State Park, and back to the south, to really plunge into Brooklyn Heights.
What followed, was a long walk in surprisingly attractive Brooklyn Heights, that took much longer than anticipated. I saw a succession of colourful row houses, mansions, many churches in very different appearances; quiet tree-lined streets and busy ones with restaurants and shops, squares with children playing, and intricate ironwork decorating many brick houses. All the while, I had the distinct feeling of being in a town, rather than being in a suburb of what is perhaps the most exciting city in the world.
In fact, Brooklyn Heights was mostly a spacious town with farms until the 19th century. Before that, the location on top of a bluff rising almost directly from the East River gave it strategic importance; the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War was actually fought here. With the advent of a steam ferry service connecting it to Manhattan, and, later, Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights became the first well-connected suburb where people could live while commuting to Manhattan. Brooklyn heights is a protected historic district, which explains the virtual absence of high-rise buildings; fortunately, it also guarantees the look and feel of the district will be preserved for a long time to come.

Around the World in 80 Clicks

Personal travel impressions both in words and images from Brooklyn Heights (United States). Clicking on the pictures enlarges them and enables you to send the picture as a free e-card or download it for personal use, for instance, on your weblog. Or click on the map above to visit more places close to Brooklyn Heights.
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Brooklyn Heights > United States > Americas

[Visited: July 2008]

Around the World in 80 Clicks