Wednesday, May 11, 2011

First You Take The Bridge

It was a beautiful day and the road toward Brooklyn was wide open ...


Inexplicably the Verazzano Narrows Bridge was backed up. I didn't mind, it gave me a chance to get a few shots of what I consider one of the most beautiful bridges in the world. Made more special by the fact that, as a child, I watched them build the bridge.




Views of the bridge dominate my old neighborhood ...


We used to play at the Bay 17th Street park (I have another post for the park) and then we would cross the foot bridge over the Belt Parkway to walk along Narrows Bay toward the bridge.


This is the street where I grew up ...


The downstairs window with the tree in front of it was our home. I think that car was parked there back then ...


We would walk down to the end of the street to see if anyone had made a new hole in the fence. Then we could climb through and play on the side of the Belt Parkway. Safe? No - Fun? Yes
Plus you could watch all the ships and tankers make their way toward lower Manhattan



The service road that ran along the parkway was usually quiet so we would ride bikes and skate board and roller blade. Years later this very spot would be made infamous when it became the last place that Son of Sam struck.



And on we go ...

Thanks for sharing a bit of my childhood with me.

24 comments:

Hilary said...

They were so wrong when they said that you can never go home again. Thanks for bringing us back to your childhood digs. I loved the tour and almost felt like we shared some of those memories. Different cities.. different times.. different adventures but same nostalgic tugs. Thank you for that.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely walk down memory lane.

Trisha said...

Thanks for taking us along on your trip down memory lane! It was fun.

Ron said...

Oh lordy....I LOVED this post, Dianne!

Such great memories!

What a lovely neighborhood you grew up in.

When I first moved back to Philly, a friend drove me out to the burbs where I use to live growing up. Seeing that house again, brought back so many memories for me. I sat there staring at the house; getting very emotional. I kept wondering who was living there now.

As always, I so enjoy your photos. The fifth one down is spectacular!

Thank you for sharing your childhood, dear lady!

X

CrystalChick said...

Always a joy to share in your picture tours! Thank you for sharing some childhood memories.
I'm from the other part of our lovely state... near the Ben Franklin and Walt Whitman bridges and use them for our excursions to Philadelphia... or Philly for the locals. lol
Have a great day, Dianne!

Sylvia K said...

Yes, you can go home again and you have and thanks for sharing the trip with us! Loved seeing where you grew up and that beautiful bridge! Terrific post for the day, Dianne! Have a beautiful weekend!

Sylvia

Mike said...

The old neighborhood is still looks like a good place to grow up.

Kay Dennison said...

What a lovely neighborhood and your bridle reminds of the big bridge up in my hometown!

Imaginography said...

As a kid we used to go and play at the local reservoir (which was a large lake with a floodgate). We used to climb all over the floodgate and fish for newts. Probably not safe either but good fun. Thanks for sharing. I like the bridge too :)

Daryl said...

Makes me want to go to the Bronx and see what's happened to the places I grew up

kenju said...

Nice photos! We once got stuck on that bridge in ice and snow when our Volks Beetle hood got caught by the wind and blown back. It was a scary time; winds of 75mph.

Jay said...

I love it when bloggers take us along on a trip down memory lane. Thanks for sharing babe. ;-)

Betty said...

Great pics. Interesting history.

Ken said...

Loved it thanks! I've sailed "under" that bridge more than a few times.

Jeni said...

Love the photos you put up on your blog! I've never been to Brooklyn, probably never will get to see it in person, but with your photos, it does give me a good bit of insight! Great job, Dianne!

Jackie said...

I loved seeing where you grew up! My folks still live in the house I grew up in.

Arlene said...

Thanks for the trip to Brooklyn. Looks like a pleasant place to grow up.

HermanTurnip said...

FANTASTIC pics! I can't tell you how much I enjoy looking at photos from parts of the world that I'll most likely never get to see firsthand. Couple that with details from native residents and we're talking gold mine here. Can't thank you enough for this post! :-)

And, honestly, your pics of the Verazzano Narrows Bridge reminds me of the Golden Gate bridge, which I've been across several times. Nice!

OldLady Of The Hills said...

This brings back memories for me, too....The Bridge wasn't there when I was growing up but the Belt Parkway was....By the time I was able to drive to 'the city', myself....I would get on the Belt from Northern Blvd and go from there....One time my dearest friend from from the time we were in Kindergarten, and I, were walking on the side of The Parkway and this man stopped and yelled out to us..."Hey Girls, You Wanna F**K?"
We were so shocked we laughhed out of nerves. Thank God he drove off!!! I never walked there again!!!

Your pictures of the Bridge are really WONDERFUL, Dianne...you get such a sense of "place", and on the street where you grew up, too....Such a pretty Spring Day, my dear....!

OldLady Of The Hills said...

BTW: I've had so much trouble with blogger....It was all screwed up again today---and for days before that...OY!.....So, this is the first I've been able to get here.

HUGS to Dear HOPE! And To You, Too!

Imaginography said...

I did comment before but blogger lost my comment! Thanks for sharing an insight into your life. That is an impressive bridge!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Fabulous pictures (I'm GLAD you got stuck in traffic ;>))....I really enjoy learning about your childhood, which is so different from where I grew up in a tiny uninspiring Eastern Washington desert town. But some of the same adventures (from finding dangerous places to the later typical teenager stuff)....its very interesting to compare and contrast!

Cloudia said...

VERY cool post!




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Mare said...

Your childhood home reminds me of mine in NJ. We lived ia a garden apartment[ in the 50's and 60's] with lots of kids around. Loved reminiscing with your pictures of yours.