A Moment of Calm: The Rotating Sculptures of the Manhattan Bridge (Video)

Ignore the raucous noise of the rumbling trucks and cars making their way to the Manhattan Bridge and look up next time you are near Tillary Street and Flatbush Avenue Extension.

Perched on pedestals above the traffic your eyes should spot two slowly rotating sculptures — Miss Manhattan and Miss Brooklyn. If you can’t see it in person, enjoy this video (sans traffic noise) for a moment of calm.

The resin ladies are replicas of originals sculpted by Daniel Chester French for the Brooklyn entrance to the Manhattan Bridge. His original, massive sculptures were installed soon after the bridge opened in 1909 and watched over the entrance until they were removed in 1964 for a Robert Moses proposed re-configuring of the bridge entrance. The Brooklyn Museum offered the sculptures a new home, where they are still in residence.

The new, lightweight sculptures were installed in January 2017. Created by Brian Tolle, they not only rotate but are designed to light up at night. While Miss Manhattan (in the foreground of the above video) is surrounded by symbols of wealth and commerce — there’s a peacock, ship anchors and a treasure chest — Miss Brooklyn gracefully sits amongst symbols of education and religion, including a child reading a book and a church spire.

[Video by Susan De Vries]

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