A Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge (Pre-9/11)

One Saturday, it was a beautiful day and I didn't have to work -- in fact, I didn't have to do anything that day. Although I started the day with no specific plans, I did know that I wanted to do something outside, and also, I wanted to take some pictures. In a very spur-of-the-moment fashion, I called my friend Todd, wondering what he was up to. It turned out he didn't have any plans either, so we decided to meet for brunch in Tribeca, at a cute, southern-style place called "Kitchenette."

After brunch, as we were strolling around, I was struck with an idea. I said, "Hey! Have you ever been in the amazing lobby of the Woolworth Building? It's spectacular!" He told me no, so we walked over to the gorgeous Woolworth Building. Todd was completely astounded by the lobby, as I was too, when I first saw it.

Here's a description of the Woolworth building's lobby, taken from its brochure:

"The beauty of the building is not confined merely to its graceful height and exterior. A lofty three-story-high entrance arcade frames walls of golden, veined marble. Wide, marble staircases lead up to the richly decorated second floor balconies with their huge frescoes of 'Commerce' and 'Labor.' The vaulted ceiling is set with brilliantly colored patterns in glass mosaics that glow like a million jewels. Lace-like wrought iron cornices are covered with pure gold leaf..."

 

And here's a view of the Woolworth Building (from this view it looks taller than the Twin Towers, but in real life, it's not).

After our visit to what has to be the most spectacular lobby in America, we continued walking around. Soon we found ourselves near the entrance to the walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge. Todd said, "Have you ever walked across the Brooklyn Bridge?" "Nope," I replied. "You haven't? Oh, it's great... let's do it!" "Sure!"

Our walk across the Bridge was fantastic. I thought to myself, "This is one of the reasons I love NYC -- even though I've been living here for a really long time, I can STILL find great things to do that I've never done before!"