Manhattan Bridge Plaza ca. 1979

The Manhattan Bridge was completed in 1909 during a post-Consolidation building boom. The decorative grand plaza and colonnade completed in 1915 at the Manhattan entrance have been chipped away at by city administrations and the elements. It was almost torn down by Robert Moses during bridge reconstruction in 1961. Though it never achieved the elegance depicted in this postcard, the colonnade is still a part of the bridge.