Brooklyn Heights Promenade
A promenade in Brooklyn's oldest neighborhood offering breathtaking vistas on the East River
The Brooklyn Heights Promenade will take your breath away. Made famous by cameo appearances in movies like Annie Hall and Moonstruck, it is one of the most romantic spots in New York City, and has been the destination for thousands of first dates, wedding proposals and anniversary celebrations. One-third of a mile long, it offers a vista of the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan skyline and the majestic Brooklyn Bridge. Lined with flower beds, trees, benches and playgrounds, the promenade is a favorite destination for tourists, joggers, strollers, families and lovers.
Looking out on the East River, the promenade is bordered by grand townhouses and mansions, and is part of Brooklyn's first Historic Preservation District. The adjacent neighborhood of charming brownstone homes and quiet streets is well worth investigating. Brooklyn Heights encapsulates the history of New York and America. The Dutch first appeared in 1645, forming the settlement of "Breuckelen" near the site of today's Borough Hall. The bluffs of Brooklyn Heights were already a popular location in the 18th century when many of Manhattan's early merchants built mansions here overlooking the city on the island below. It was from Brooklyn Heights that George Washington watched the Battle of Brooklyn unfold into a terrible defeat for the young Colonial Army. Under the cover of darkness on August 29th, Washington's army crossed the East River from Fulton Ferry, below where the Brooklyn Bridge rises today, leaving Brooklyn to the British. Learn more about New York's colonial past.
During the 1800's, New York and Brooklyn boomed and many of New York's wealthiest investors settled in Brooklyn Heights. In 1807, Robert Fulton captained his steamboat, The Clermont, from Brooklyn on its maiden voyage up the Hudson River. In 1814, Fulton gained a franchise to operate ferry service via steamboat from Brooklyn to Manhattan. As the population exploded, Brooklyn became a city in 1833, and throughout much of the 1800s was the third most populous city in America.
In the mid-1940s Robert Moses wanted to construct a new expressway right through the heart of Brooklyn Heights. He was stopped by the outcry of the Brooklyn Heights Association, and a solution emerged to build a two-tiered highway above the waterfront. The Promenade was constructed in part to insulate the neighborhood from the noise of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. It opened to the public in October 1950 and has been a magnet for local residents and visitors alike for over half a century.
