A cool Kings Beach image:
NYC – Brooklyn – Sheepshead Bay: Ocean Avenue Bridge
Image by wallyg
The Ocean Avenue Bridge is a wooden pedestrian bridge spanning Sheepshead Bay from Emmons Avenue and East 19th Street (one block east of Ocean Avenue) to Manhattan Beach.
In 1880, railroad tycoon, banker, developer and Manhattan Beach Hotel proprietor, Austin Corbin built the first bridge here–a simple wooden drawbridge. Corbin initially kept the bridge closed to keep "undesirables"–particulary Jews and gamblers from the new racetrack–out of his development and ultimately tore it down. Others built it back, and a cycle of demolition and reconstruction ensued. In 1881, New York’s Commission of Highways ruled that the bridge was a public highway, and the Supreme Court issued an injunction against tearing it down again.
After the State abolished gambling in 1910, and the Manhattan Beach Hotel was demolished in 1911, developers began replacing the resorts with moderate-income housing. Bait and tackle shops sprang up, and those who didn’t board the day boats for deep-sea fishing excursions could set up rod for shallower catch along the bridge.
The current version of the bridge was built, along with Sheepshead Bay’s piers, by WPA reconstruction in the 1930s. It used to be lit by mini-versions of the old Belt Parkway "woodie" poles; faux "bishop crook" fixtures were installed in the late 1990s.
In 1998, a group of residents advocated a fishing ban off the bridge.
The fishing community protested, and although casting is now prohibited, it still remains a popular spot for urban anglers.
Image automatically curated and published by www.free-mail.co.za – CLICK HERE to learn more about WP Robot for WordPress.
Have you tried: Travelling to South Africa?