The Verrazano Bridge

The Verrazano Bridge

as seen from Laurence Harbor in New Jersey.

The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the Narrows, the reach connecting the relatively protected upper bay with the larger lower bay.

The bridge is named for both the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first known European navigator to enter New York Harbor and the Hudson River, and for the body of water it spans: the Narrows. It has a center span of 4,260 feet (1,298 m) and was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its completion in 1964, until it was surpassed by the Humber Bridge in the United Kingdom in 1981. It now has the eighth longest center span in the world, and is still the longest bridge span in the Americas. Its massive towers can be seen throughout a good part of the New York metropolitan area, including from spots in all five boroughs of New York City. The bridge is also easily seen from points in New Jersey including a great viewpoint from the Laurence Harbor section of Old Bridge Township, New Jersey.