Queensborough Bridge Tower Stairs

Each and every bridge in NYC has some unique characteristics that set them apart from the others around town. The 59th street bridge is no exception.

One little known fact is that the outer roadways, which are current used on the north side for pedistrian traffic and on the south for queens bound auto traffic, were orginally built for a trolley line. These trolleys made several stops along the bridge. these stops were located just across land on either end, where long staircases and elevators lead down to street level, and in the center of the bridge, over roosevelt island. trucks

The staircases located within the bridge towers have been (and still are) locked up tight and not to be used by the public. They are currently a very dark forbidding place. The stairs are covered in concrete rubble in locations, with the thick yet well preserved banisters occasionally knocked over from the various work that was performed on the bridge over the years. Running parallel to these stairs is an elevator shaft, encased not in concrete walls but iron fencing. At the top of the shaft, one might find a very old school floor indicator, also forged of solid iron and installed when the bridge was built in 1910.

In an exploration sense, this location isn’t all that interesting, but it’s historic value made it worth the trip and worth the risks.