One World Trade Centre | Anotherdayinparadise2's Blog

Just a week ago, we were with our New Jersey family on a visit to Brooklyn for a modelling shoot which the grandchildren were doing. It was a beautiful autumn day as we headed into the Lincoln Tunnel.

Then it was across the Brooklyn Bridge, towards the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, where the photo shoot was to be.

We parked right underneath the bridge.

The Brooklyn Bridge, which spans the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn, was completed in 1883, and is the oldest steel-wire suspension bridge in the US. When it was opened in 1903, it was the longest in the world, with a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m).

Around the corner is the popular ‘Ice Cream Factory’, which was opened in 2001 shortly after 9/11. It sits at the Brooklyn end of the bridge, in a landmark fire-boat house on a ferry landing, which is the oldest one in the city.

The hibiscus were blooming beautifully in the autumn sunshine.

From this boat landing, there is an impressive view of the Manhattan skyline. There are many padlocks on the fence along the dock, and I read that the pop cultural phenomenon that turned the Ponte Vecchio in Florence into a locksmith’s paradise, has jumped across the Atlantic and is threatening to cover the Brooklyn Bridge in lovers’ padlocks. Many couples come to this area for their wedding photos, and to fix an engraved padlock onto the bridge, before throwing the key into the East River.

From here, you can see the 104-storey super-skyscraper, which is the ‘1 World Trade Centre’, formerly known as ‘Freedom Tower’. This is built on the site of the original ‘6 World Trade Centre’.

The Statue of Liberty is also visible in the distance.

We had a very interesting time, dressing the three children for their photo shoot. The two littlest were very excited.

Sienna wasn’t quite so enthralled with the outfit she had to wear.

After it was all over, we were rather hungry, so went across the road for pizza.

Then it was back to the Ice Cream Factory for dessert. Extremely serious business. 🙂

We really caught the traffic going home, and had to take a detour through the Brooklyn Tunnel, instead of over the bridge, which was now closed over the weekend for maintenance.