Bold
and Beautiful Brooklyn
My alarm clock awoke me to a beautiful
sun shining out my window. I was excited because Mike told me that as long as
the sun was shining we were going to Cony Island. I wanted to experience Brooklyn
and see exactly what it has to offer. I was especially excited for the roller coaster,
hot dogs, and games that were waiting for me in the theme park. Brooklyn is a place that I never really
thought of visiting before this class. I’ve only associated Brooklyn as a place
where my dad once worked and the home to the Brooklyn Bridge. I was ready to
start my second adventure with an open mind and a good pair of walking shoes.
We all arrived at Penn Station ready
to start our journey. We jumped on the Q train for a very long, but amusing
ride to the thrilling Cony Island. I was amazed to have learned that not only
does the Q train run to Stillwell Avenue, but the D, F, and N train do as well
(BG, 491). Even though the train ride
was long, it was a great time to get to know one another.
As a class, we were warming up to the idea of spending the next couple of weeks
together. As I stepped off the train, my stomach was in knots. It was the kind
of feeling I get whenever I go to Hershey Park, Six Flags, or Adventure Land. Unfortunately,
the Cony Island Exhibition Center was closed, but mike did a great job
explaining the significance of this amazing place in Brooklyn. The Dutch
settled Cony Island, naming it Konijn Eiland, after the type of rabbits that
were found there (BG, 492). The Golden age of Cony Island was in the 20th
century, when three outstanding amusement parks opened their doors. The
Steeplechase Park (1897), Luna Park (1903) and Dreamland (1904), all offered a
variety of entertainment for children and adults of all ages (BG, 492). We proceeded
to walk down the boardwalk and admire the beach before us. The boardwalk and
beaches attracted many people in the 1920’s and 30’s. By the 1940’s, the crowds
started to become smaller because of “the rise of the automobile, the development
of air-conditioning, and the policies of Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, who
built parks and beaches that would lure people to more salutary forms of
entertainment” (BG, 492). Mike then told us that we had an hour to explore on
our own.
I decided to ride the Cyclone, play some games, grab a Nathan’s Famous
hot dog, and walk the boardwalk. I walked towards Luna Park and felt like a
five year old child. I thought to myself “I need more than one hour!” Kids were
screaming, parents were laughing, and everyone seemed to be enjoying
themselves. I seriously feel that Luna Park does not get the recognition that
it deserves. It may be an old amusement park, but people love their old grandparent’s
right? Haha… I always heard stories that the park was run down and nothing
special to visit, but this trip definitely proved everyone wrong.
There were
games, rides, food, and people of all different ages. I bought my ticket for
the Cyclone and was excited to ride in the very first row. As old as this roller
coaster is, it still made my stomach flip, my hair flew, and I screamed with my
friend beside me. The Cyclone was
built in 1927 by Vernon Keenan and Harry Baker. The coaster has
an eighty five foot drop and runs at sixty miles per hour, which made my heart beat
a thousand times a minute! Some people still consider it to be the standard to
which all other roller coasters are compared by. The Parachute Jump (not
operating), Cyclone, and Wonder Wheel are all rides that are landmarked and
cannot be destroyed (BG, 492). It was amazing to think that I just rode on one
of those rides! Now it was time to play some games! I played whack a mole,
shoot the target, and the horse races. The games were kind of expensive, but I was
in Luna Park and it was worth every penny. I even won the horse race game (how
ironic?). Next, it was time to get something to eat. I wanted to get a hot dog
at Nathan’s Famous, a desirable hot dog stand that was founded in 1916 at 1316
surf avenue, which is now know was Stillwell Avenue (PG, 492). As I was
walking, I wanted to go see the mounted horses. Luckily, I had a classmate that
was willing to go with me. To my surprise, the police officer riding the horse
knew my father! The officer even let me sit on his horse. Even though this was
not planned on the trip, it was so cool.
It seems like NYC is a small world,
considering I met one person who knows my father out of the thousands of people
who were there that day. We started to make our way to Nathan’s Famous hot
dogs, but the line was just too long, and we needed to meet Mike in five
minutes. Unfortunately, I had to skip on the hot dog and make my way back on
the boardwalk. The boardwalk was beautiful and reminded me of Long Beach. There
were people biking, roller skating, and jogging all along the pathway and many
different types of vendors. As we made our way back to the meeting point, I became
really depressed that we did not have more time to spend here. I understand that
this trip is only going to give us a little taste of what Cony Island has to
offer, but I wanted more. I will definitely be visiting Cony Island with my
friends in the near future. The City of New York Parks
and Recreation puts it perfectly by stating “Whether you’re a beach bum or
a thrill-seeker with a day off, Cony Island is the perfect getaway.”
Our next stop was Brooklyn Heights.
We visited the Transit
Museum, which was much more interesting then I planned,
because it is a
real subway. The Museum was opened in 1976 for the bicentennial celebrations
and ended up becoming extremely popular with the public (PG, 468). The Museum
consists of two floors and has exhibits on trains, buses, bridges and tunnels.
It also shows a variety of tickets booths and tickets stubs, which have evolved
throughout time.
On what was the former Court St station, there are examples of
different types of cars that have traveled since 1904 (BG, 468). It was very
interesting to walk into all of the old subway cars and to see how they have
evolved throughout time.
I actually loved the subway car that was made in 1916.
It is very comfortable and more inviting then the cars that are made today. It
seems that the trains have become more modernized throughout the years with the
use of different types of fabrics and materials. Train builders should take
notes from people back then.
The
museum also taught me about how the tunnels were made for the subways.
Although dynamite was able to make pathways for where the tracks would go, it
also can become very dangerous. I learned that on October 24, 1903, a disaster occurred
in the Washington Heights tunnel. Ten people died after a dynamite blast
loosened rock and killed the people underneath. After this disturbing event,
more safety precautions were instituted in the making of the subways. There are
now subway precautions and rules that are instituted for the workers and
passengers of the subway. Even though the museum is based off of subways, it
was nice to be able to sit in the buses and ticket booths and see what it is
like to be on the other side. It was interesting to see how all the train cars
have evolved throughout the years. It is another museum that I hope I can visit
with my nephews, who are obsessed with Thomas the train.
From the Transit Museum, we
continued on to get lunch. My classmates and I ate at this cute pizzeria, which
was really good. The price was reasonable and I always associated ridiculous prices
with the city. We had just about a half an hour to eat before we were on to our
next venture. After lunch, we walked and walked and walked and walked through Brooklyn
Heights, learning history on each one of the buildings. I learned that Brooklyn
Heights is known as the borough of churches, because there is a church on
almost every corner. It was also considered New York’s first suburb and became its
first designated historic district in 1965 (BG, 466). We saw the Church of the Saviour, which really
was an exquisite church. “Some of the windows are by the Tiffany Studios" (BG,
471). We also learned about the Brownstone
and how unique it is to the buildings in the city. Before the 1830’s, most of
the buildings were constructed with either brick or wood. Many materials were
available, such as marble, but they all were too expensive. By the mid-19th century, the middle class wanted a more
refined look.
The brownstone was available in New Jersey and Connecticut, which
made it easily accessible. This was the beginning of how the Brownstone entered
the architectural era. There were many beautiful churches, but they were
surrounded by buildings. I feel that they would be even more striking if we
were able to see all the sides of the church. The architecture of the churches is
breath taking and you can truly see how much religion meant to the people
during that time. We eventually made it to DUMBO, Down Under the Manhattan
Bridge Overpass. Mike explained to us how DUMBO was a home for artists of
all kind because there were enough studios to accompany all of them. The
atmosphere of DUMBO has changed a bit because of the pricy rise in the
apartments. Still, there are gorgeous art studios, delicious places to eat, and
an ice cream shop that we all stopped in. As we walked on, I saw that there was a merry go round.
For two dollars a ride, I had to go. I felt like a little kid again. The ice cream shop we stopped in, Jacques Torres Chocolate
shop, offers a variety of ice cream flavors and is perfect for the traveling
DUMBO tourist. I would recommend the vanilla. It’s traditional, but so good!
Finally, we made it to the Brooklyn
Bridge! This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. The bridge opened on May
25, 1883. It was considered one of the wonders of the world. It is known as the
largest suspicion bridge in existence.
This bridge was able to employ 4,000
people at the time. It took 14 years to make, costing a shocking $15 million
dollars (BG, 464). The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge took just about 14
years to makeThe
Brooklyn Bridge stretches at 5,989 feet between Brooklyn and Manhattan,
making it much easier for people to travel to different parts of the city.
The
view was unbelievable. As I was crossing the bridge, I could not help but think
that it was an amazing Idea to build different paths for people to drive,
bicycle and walk across. I was happy to have completed the bridge because my
mom used to walk it five days a week when she was in nursing school. Here i was now, on the bridge, in nursing school, trying to complete the same dream she did. I give her
so much credit now, considering this was not a short bridge. At the end, mike
dismissed us and explained how to get home. I was happy to get to Penn Station,
where I could sit in the train car with my feet up and my head back!
Today I learned that Brooklyn is a miraculous
place. Today’s trip changed my entire outlook on what I thought Brooklyn was about.
The culture and architecture had me at a loss of words. Because I went into
today’s class with an open mind, I was able to learn more about Brooklyn then I
ever would in a classroom. I can’t wait until next week, when we start a new
journey and learn even more beyond the textbooks!
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