New book on Queensboro Bridge

The Greater Astoria Historical Society celebrated the release of its fourth book, “Images of America: The Queensboro Bridge,” with a book signing and lecture on Monday, April 7.
Previously, the society released books focusing on Long Island City and the East River. For their most recent book, they collaborated with the Roosevelt Island Historical Society.
“We’ve really been thrilled with the results of our labors,” said Judy Berdy, a co-author of the book who is from the Roosevelt Island Historical Society.
During the April 7 event, book author Bob Singleton, of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, detailed the history of Queensboro Bridge, which is also called the 59th Street Bridge.
“For a number of reasons, the Queensboro Bridge is very unique compared to all the other bridges,” Singleton said.
Singleton said that one of the unique qualities of the Queensboro Bridge is its enormous size. At about 3,600 feet, it is long enough to fit the Brooklyn Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge and half of the Manhattan Bridge across it.
The bridge opened on March 30, 1909 and was designed by Gustav Lindenthal. In order to improve the aesthetics of the bridge, architect Henry Hornbostel was brought in on the project.
The Queensboro Bridge took about seven years to build and cost $15 million, about $5 million of which Singleton said was to acquire land.
Singleton also said that the bridge had a huge impact on Queens.
“Queensboro Bridge is probably the single most important factor in the creation of the modern borough of Queens that we have today,” he said.
During the presentation, Berdy also highlighted the bridge as it related to Roosevelt Island, including its buildings and elevators that were used to get traffic off of the bridge and onto the island.
Dave Frieder, a photographer and bridge climber, also spoke briefly about Queensboro Bridge. He said he has climbed it several times and that it is one of the more difficult ones to climb.
For more information on “Images of America: The Queensboro Bridge,” contact the Greater Astoria Historical Society by calling 718-278-0700 or by visiting www.astorialic.org.