Friday, July 20, 2012

Now starring in The Dark Knight Rises: The Queensboro Bridge

Chrysler Building & Queensboro/59th Street Bridge
I hadn't been to the top of the Empire State Building since I was a kid, and my daughter had never been, so Wednesday we made the trip. Even though the the air was hazy with humidity, it was a great view and I got some wonderful pictures of the lower Manhattan bridges before the thunderstorms hit.

Closest to us was the Ed Koch Queensboro/59th Street Bridge, looking from this height like a kid's popsicle stick bridge.

This morning I went to see the new Batman movie, the Dark Knight Rises, in which many of the bridges of Manhattan play a pivotal role -- and the Queensboro Bridge, most of all. I'm not going to spoil the movie, but if you've been a fan of Manhattan's bridges, you'll probably enjoy the focus on them in the movie.

Except -- one tiny, tiny thing. They moved the bridge. They moved the bridge. In actual real Manhattan, the bridge is midtown, connecting the island with Queens. In the movie's climactic scene, the bridge has apparently replaced the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, Staten Island has disappeared entirely, and the Marine Parkway Bridge now connects to Manhattan. Or something. And is now reddish instead of gray.

When I got home I checked a NYC map just to be sure I wasn't crazy, but I was right. They moved the bridge.

Didn't they think anyone would notice?

Found a story with some good additional links about the filming on the Queensboro Bridge last autumn.
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2 comments:

  1. CassaendraJuly 21, 2012 at 7:53 AM

    They probably do that all the time in tv shows and movies. I've noticed this in cities where I know/knew the streets well -- Honolulu and San Francisco. Artistic license. That's a beautiful shot you got there. I need to make another trip out to NYC. It's been quite a few years and I only spent 1 day there. :P

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    1. TipaJuly 21, 2012 at 8:02 AM

      My daughter and I intended to do a lot more, but we made the tactically bad decision to walk to the Empire State Building from Grand Central Terminal instead of taking the 6 train downtown -- which, given we had a five year old with us, just tuckered him out. Did get to see the library, though, so that was nice. And eat at a genuine New York City lunch truck.

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