MovieChat Forums > The Naked City (1948) Discussion > Williamsburg bridge

Williamsburg bridge

posted 13 years ago by bruno-32
7 replies | jump to latest

Thar was the Williamsburg bridge entrance Delancey street, where they were chasing the bad guy. The Lowe's Delancy on the corner where i have spent many a dime watching movies. I was 18 at the time, and watching it again this morning brought back many fine memory's of the old New York that i was brought up on. Some scenes I actually never recalled..where they are talking about drug addicts...at that time it was well hidden ..they did not dare show themselves in the street, unlike today. The tennis courts are not there anymore below the bridge. To me the star of the movie was NYC, but also that riveting music score, which brought much tension in that last chase scene, which i never got way back then. Miklos Rozsa original music with Frank SKinner..Spellbound, On the waterfront to name so many popular sound tracks they made...None come close till this day.

reply

[–] pan-10 13 years ago

"To me the star of the movie was NYC"

No question about it. Magnificent film.

reply

[–] jsrrtzjr10 13 years ago

In the 1970s classic "The French Connection" there is a scene filmed exactly in the same street at the entrance of the Williamsburg Bridge. And it changed in just 22 years!

reply

[–] cw4227 11 years ago

NYC was the star of this movie....I found the closing scene when they chase the perp onto the Williamsburg Bridge very funny. They show construction or repair work being done....look at it today and they are still doing it.....wondered if they will ever complete it....LOL

reply

[–] rjd1-1 11 years ago

Just watched the movie on TCM, and was intrigued in that final chase scene, with the long area where the kids are playing jump-rope, etc. Is that on top of the bridge? I don't mean at it's highest point, but it looked like they were playing on top of something, not on the street.

reply

[–] mickeeteeze 11 years ago

There used to be a fairly wide 'upper walkway' on the bridge. I would know.....as an ironworker, I was part of the crew that took it down, around 1999-2000, when we replaced the subway train trestle. I think there is a smaller bike path now.

True story, no bigotry intended. It was often referred to as the 'Jew Bridge' years ago. The Hassidics used to walk to and from work over it.....from Williamsburgh, to the East Side factories.

reply

[–] rjd1-1 11 years ago

Very interesting. Thanks for the reply. I think it is cool in a large city, where the neighborhood residents make use of every bit of open space, like that walkway in the movie. Kids jumping rope, people have shops, etc.

reply

[–] mickeeteeze 11 years ago

No problem. This page I'm linking shows the old and the new.
http://www.timeshutter.com/image/east-promenade-williamsburg-bridge-ny -city

The old one ran across the center of the bridge, basically going eat to west, center. The subways run outside of it. It was much wider, undoubtedly could have fit a car going both ways.

The new one is much less wide, (as memory serves, it's been over 10 years, and I've done a few jobs), is split on between both sides of the bridge, above, running east to west. One side is a bicycle lane. The train trestle eventually rises between them. I think the old walkway was centered the whole way across, and the train used to roll just below it to on both sides.

http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Williamsburg_Bridge

Matter of fact, the work I did is written up in the article under the second pic/link..Quote

The bridge opened to elevated train and streetcar traffic in 1909. According to city engineers the bridge really three bridges in one: the bridge to Manhattan, the transit structure, and the bridge to Brooklyn. A new walkway, ADA compliant, is being installed. At the Brooklyn side, there is a long viaduct with S-curve into the Marcy Ave. station. Before arriving at Marcy, there is steelwork for the long-demolished Broadway Ferry spur. A tower is also at this location. Between May 1, 1999 and September 5, 1999, the bridge was closed to subway trains while the transit structure was demolished and totally rebuilt.

reply