Editing Queensboro Bridge (section)

== Impact ==

=== Reception ===
When plans for the bridge were being finalized in 1901, there was commentary on its cantilevered design; all of the other bridges across the East River at the time were suspension bridges. The city's bridge commissioner at the time, John L. Shea, said that the Queensboro Bridge would not be as "picturesque" compared to a suspension bridge but that it could look as attractive as either the Williamsburg or Brooklyn bridges. Buck said that the U.S. had some "homely" cantilever bridges but hoped the Queensboro Bridge was not ugly.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 14, 1901 |title=Will the New Bridge Be Ugly?: Discussion as to the Architectural Beauty of the Blackwell's Island Structure |page=A1 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|571018973}}}}</ref> The chief engineer of the city's Bridge Department said in 1904 that he believed the cantilever design was "a mistake" and that a suspension bridge on the same site, supported by three towers, would have been a novelty.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 18, 1904 |title=Eye-Bar Tests Seen by Bridge Engineers |pages=12 |work=Times Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-eye-bar-tests-seen-by-bridge/134968426/ |access-date=November 10, 2023}}</ref>

When the bridge was finished in 1908, ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' wrote that the Queensboro was "one of the greatest bridges in the world, and one of the most beautiful of its type", despite having received relatively little media attention during construction.<ref name="p507939040" /> Two decades after the bridge opened, ''The New York Times'' said the "Brooklyn Bridge has the reputation but Queensboro Bridge has the traffic".<ref name="nyt-1959-03-28">{{Cite news |last=Feinberg |first=Alexander |date=March 28, 1959 |title=Queensboro Bridge Will Be 50 on Monday; Span That Opened Queens to Growth to Have Birthday |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/03/28/archives/queensboro-bridge-will-be-50-on-monday-span-that-opened-queens-to.html |access-date=January 18, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US}}</ref> The ''New York Daily News'' wrote in 1981 that the Queensboro Bridge "reminds people of the bridges they built with erector sets as children".<ref name="n133321693" /> Nonetheless, the bridge was not as widely appreciated as the Brooklyn Bridge further south, especially in the late 20th century,<ref>{{Cite news |last=LaRosa |first=Paul |date=March 29, 1984 |title=Bridging the Gap: A Modest Gala |pages=204 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-bridging-the-gap-a-modest-ga/133325723/ |access-date=October 12, 2023}}</ref> and ''The Los Angeles Times'' wrote in 2010 that "the Queensboro appears far grittier than the romantic Brooklyn Bridge or the soaring [[Verrazano-Narrows Bridge]] to the south".<ref name="Susman 2011 u996" />

=== Impact on development ===
The ''New-York Tribune'' wrote in 1904 that the Queensboro Bridge's construction would cause Blackwell's Island to "lose at least a share of its sinister reputation".<ref>{{cite news |date=December 4, 1904 |title=Ever on the Island!: Soon You Can Inspect Blackwell's Without Inconvenience |page=A4 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|571616885}}}}</ref> Even before the bridge was completed, real-estate values in Queens had been increasing several times over,<ref name="n135270495" /><ref>{{cite news |date=March 25, 1906 |title=All Past Booms Eclipsed by Queens Speculation: Prices Advanced in Many Instances Threefold—Total Investment Estimated at $40,000,000—Facts And Conditions of the Movement. |page=RE12 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|96672807}}}}</ref> and its construction also spurred the sale of property along 59th Street in Manhattan.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 24, 1907 |title=East 59th Street Again to the Fore; Buying Stimulated by Advancing Work on Blackwell's Island Bridge |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/03/24/archives/east-59th-street-again-to-the-fore-buying-stimulated-by-advancing.html |access-date=November 16, 2023}}</ref> Its development allowed various parts of Queens to be served by direct train and streetcar lines to Manhattan.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 4, 1905 |title=New L.I. Lines Expected |pages=3 |work=New-York Tribune |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-new-li-lines-expected/135221887/ |access-date=November 15, 2023}}</ref><ref name="n136012035">{{Cite news |date=June 12, 1909 |title=The Queensboro Bridge Dedicated to a New Era for Long Island |pages=1 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-the-queensboro/136012035/ |access-date=November 30, 2023}}</ref> The ''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' predicted in 1908 that the bridge's completion would draw investors toward Long Island and away from [[New Jersey]] to the west.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 26, 1908 |title=Blackwell's Island Bridge Gives Further Realty Stimulus |pages=26 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-blackwells-isl/135951214/ |access-date=November 29, 2023}}</ref> The same newspaper predicted that the bridge, along with the [[Steinway Tunnel]] and [[East River Tunnels]], would change Long Island from a sparsely populated rural outpost to a densely packed suburb of New York City.<ref name="n136012035" /> A ''New York Times'' article from 1923 wrote that the bridge's opening "marked the first step in eliminating the East River as a barrier to the spread of population eastward".<ref>{{cite news |date=September 16, 1923 |title=Queens and Transit.: Development of the Borough Due to Good Transportation |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |page=REA1 |id={{ProQuest|103199641}}}}</ref>

The opening of the bridge encouraged development of vacant land in Queens, where tracts were resold for residential and commercial use.<ref name="p278774250" /> Many industrial firms began operating in western Queens,<ref name="p278774250" /> including vehicle-manufacturing plants in Long Island City.<ref name="n133321693" /> By the early 1910s, numerous industrial structures and loft buildings had been built around the bridge's Queens end, particularly on Queens Plaza.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 28, 1914 |title=Industrial Plants Costing Millions of Dollars Within Few Blocks of Queensboro Bridge Plaza |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/06/28/archives/industrial-plants-costing-millions-of-dollars-within-few-blocks-of.html |access-date=January 7, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US}}</ref> Further east, neighborhoods such as [[Jackson Heights, Queens|Jackson Heights]] were built on former farmland.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 16, 1931 |title=Jackson Heights Built Since 1909: Queensboro Bridge Transformed Farm Land Beyond-- New Projects in Sight |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=22 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|130916844}}}}</ref> The Queensboro Chamber of Commerce's spokesperson said in 1924 that real estate values in Queens had tripled within 15 years of the bridge's opening, while the population grew from 284,000 to 736,000.<ref name="p1113078518" /> At the bridge's 50th anniversary, ''The New York Times'' credited the bridge with encouraging industrial and residential development in Queens.<ref name="nyt-1959-03-28" /> ''Newsday'' wrote in the 1990s: "More than any other development, the Queensboro Bridge created the modern urban borough of Queens."<ref name="p278774250" /> The completion of the Queensboro Bridge inspired what became Queens Boulevard, although the thoroughfare was not finished until 1936.<ref>{{cite news |last=Robin |first=Joshua |date=March 4, 2001 |title=Queens Blvd. In Reverse |page=A07 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|279403746}}}}</ref>

=== Media ===

Because of its design and location, the Queensboro Bridge has appeared in numerous media works, including films and TV shows, set in New York City.<ref name="n133321693" /> For example, the title of [[Simon & Garfunkel]]'s 1966 song "[[The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)]]" refers to the Queensboro Bridge,<ref name="n133326018" /><ref name="NYT" /> and it has been mentioned in media such as [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]]'s 1925 novel ''[[The Great Gatsby]]''.<ref name="Susman 2011 u996" /><ref name="NYT" /> The bridge has been the setting or filming location for several movies, such as ''[[Manhattan (1979 film)|Manhattan]]'' (1979),<ref name="Susman 2011 u996" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Alleman |first=Richard |title=New York: The Movie Lover's Guide: The Ultimate Insider Tour of Movie New York |publisher=Crown |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-8041-3778-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f_0Z5SxTKLkC |page=441}}</ref> ''[[Spider-Man (2002 film)|Spider-Man]]'' (2002)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Robin |first1=Joshua |last2=Cheng |first2=Mae M. |date=May 4, 2002 |title=Spidey's Web Over Queens |page=A06 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|279616127}}}}</ref> and ''[[The Dark Knight Rises]]'' (2012).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flegenheimer |first=Matt |date=November 14, 2011 |title=Traffic to Stymie Even the Batmobile Shows the Two Sides of Movie Production |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/nyregion/batman-movie-shooting-disrupts-queensboro-bridge-traffic.html |access-date=October 10, 2023}}</ref>