This is a post from the past. But I think that these two activities are in the category of pretty neat things to do in New York City. In one day or apart. The Brooklyn Bridge is a fascinating structure with interesting cable patterns. The Cloisters is a step into the past, courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Try them both!
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed suspension bridge in NYC. It connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, spanning the East River. The bridge has a main span of almost 1600 feet and a height of 276.5 feet above high water. It is one of the oldest roadway bridges in the country and was the world’s first steel-wire suspension bridge.
It was built over 14 years beginning in 1869. The towers are built of limestone from Essex County, NY, granite from Maine, and Rosendale cement. The bridge was built with numerous passageways and compartments in its anchorages. The city rented out the large vaults in order to fund the bridge; the vaults were used to store wine as they were always at 60 degrees!
An enjoyable hour or two can be spent strolling across the bridge on the pedestrian walkway, enjoying the views and admiring the bridge construction. Or take a bit longer, stroll across to Brooklyn, have lunch and then cross back to the city.
The Cloisters
The Met Cloisters, which opened to the public in 1938, is the branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. Located in Fort Tryon in northern Manhattan, on a spectacular four-acre lot overlooking the Hudson River, the modern museum building is an ensemble arranged in chronological order. Elements from medieval cloisters and from other sites in Europe have been incorporated into the fabric of the building.
Much of the sculpture at the Cloisters was acquired by George Grey Barnard, a prominent American sculptor and avid collector of medieval art. The generosity of John D. Rockefeller enabled the conversion of the collection into a modern museum structure which opened in 1938. Rockefeller donated some 700 acres along the palisades to preserve the spectacular view from The Met Cloisters.
The Carefree Photographer 