Our first stop was Coney Island, and I was excited to be able to explore and ride the roller coaster. Unfortunately, the roller coasters were closed since they were filming a movie on the boardwalk. Coney Island is a New York City neighborhood that features an amusement area that includes 50 or more separate rides and attractions.
Also, Coney Island was settled by the Dutch, who named it Konijn Eiland after the rabbits they found there and is the birthplace of the hot dog and home of the world’s most terrifying roller coaster, it is also a place remarkable for high energy and dubious taste (BG, 492). I was surprised to observe the boardwalk so empty when we arrived to Coney Island and the reason was due to the weather, since it is not summer weather anymore.
However, the beach and the boardwalk turned out to be what I did not expect, it was clean and extremely peaceful, it reminded me of the city where I live in Long Beach located in Long Island, NY. Before we left Coney Island, I got to experience and taste the delicious hot dogs Nathans is famous for having.
We later headed over to The New York Transit Museum, a museum with a large amount of information about our New York subway system throughout the early 1900’s to present. The New York Transit Museum, one of the city's leading cultural institutions is the largest museum in the United States devoted to urban public transportation history, and one of the premier institutions of its kind in the world.
I thought everything in this museum was fascinating, especially how it was located underground as if you were heading down to a subway and be able to experience the real deal. I was impressed how subway cars varied from early in the 1900’s to the present. Every time I stepped into a different subway car I would mentally picture if I was from that year and it was an amazing feeling.
Our next stop was a museum called Brooklyn Historical Society located in Brooklyn Heights. The Brooklyn Historical Society was founded in 1863 as the Long Island Historical Society. Brooklyn at that time was the commercial and cultural center of Long Island. It was incredible to see how buildings in Brooklyn Heights were mad out of historical rich brown stones. Before we got to explore the museum of Brooklyn Historical Society, our class was taken on an incredibly interesting tour around Brooklyn Heights.
I never expected Brooklyn Heights to be as beautiful and the history was absolutely appealing. We got to explore a good amount of places in a short amount of time which was exciting. What attracted my interest the most was how the TD bank on Court Street is the old building of what used to be Mechanic Bank of Trust. Our tour guy explained how the Brooklyn Dodgers signed their first contract in this building in 1827, and Jackie Robinson was the first African American on the baseball league to sign there as well. Also, what brought my attention was how the creation of the steam ferry changed everything for the wealthy people, since they now had transportation from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Although I was exhausted after the tour around Brooklyn Heights I was excited to continue exploring things I have never seen before. After our tour ended we continued on to the museum of Brooklyn Historical Society. At 128 Pierrepont St, at the southwest corner of Clinton St, is the Brooklyn Historical Society, founded in 1863 as the Long Island Historical Society (BG, 472).
I found both the exhibit and the library to be extremely interesting. The exhibit provided full facts about Brooklyn’s history and culture. The library on the second floor was exceedingly beautiful. I was amazed that the library was open to the public but books weren’t allowed to be taken out of the library due to old conditions.
Our last adventure of the day was walking the entire Brooklyn Bridge, which i thought was going to be a lengthy walk. The Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883, and is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. The bridge connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn that spans nearly 1,595.5 feet across the East River and was the longest suspension bridge until 1903. We first walked through the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge Park and pier where my classmates and professors took amazing pictures with buildings and the Brooklyn Bridge in the background.
I was a bit nervous to cross over the bridge by foot since I have a fear of bridges, especially in the beginning where the walls were condensed due to remodeling of the bridge. However, in the end I was thankful I walked through the Brooklyn Bridge and got such a beautiful educational experience while walking. It was incredible to walk over a bridge and imagine the hard labor put into the bridges structure.
Dr. Russo stated before walking over the bridge that a woman was the one to finish the bridge, which makes me extremely proud, and demonstrates how women have the ability to accomplish goals as well. The Brooklyn Bridge took about 14 years to finish, employing approximately 4,000 people, and costing 15 million dollars (BG, 464). Also, not to forget how many workers died due to the caisson disease is extremely unpleasant.
As I saw the end of the bridge, I pictured a big tape through a finish line as if I was running a marathon. It was a great accomplishment since I have this fear of bridges and I was very proud of myself. I don’t regret walking through it because I learned so much and I would definitely do it again when I have the opportunity. Although at the end of the day I was exhausted as well as my classmates and professors, I was satisfied in exploring so many places in one day. I love how we are not only sitting in classroom learning, but also getting hands on experience to such beautiful places in New York I never knew about, and learning at the same time.
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