Williamsburg Bridge

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With trusses said to have been inspired by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the Williamsburg Bridge stretches from its namesake Brooklyn neighborhood to Delancey Street on the Lower East Side. At 7,308 feet, and with a 1,600-foot-long main span, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world when engineer Leffert L. Buch and architect Henry Hornbostel's design was completed in 1903 after a seven-year, $30 million construction. Today, it stands out for its superlative views of the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building to the north, and the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges to the south, seen through a cage-like red pedestrian path that rises well above traffic. Graffiti often mars the path, which splits on the eastern side into two narrow trails running just above either side of the J-M-Z subway lines, making the Williamsburg one of just two city suspension bridges that still carries both cars and trains. — Caroline Kinneberg