Editing Manhattan Bridge (section)

==== Brooklyn plaza ====
The Brooklyn approach to the Manhattan Bridge also contained a terraced plaza with balustrades.<ref name="ML p. 23" /> The Brooklyn plaza was originally bounded by Sands, Bridge, Nassau, and Jay streets.<ref name="nyt-1909-06-06" /> French designed a pair of {{Convert|20|ST|LT t|abbr=|adj=on|sp=us}} pylons named ''Brooklyn'' and ''Manhattan'' on the Brooklyn side of the Manhattan Bridge. These were installed in November 1916.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1975|p=1}}<ref name="The New York Times 1964" />{{sfn|National Park Service|1983|p=2}} Each pylon measured {{Convert|12|ft|m||abbr=|adj=}} high and rested on a base {{Convert|15|ft}} off the ground.<ref name="p575405714">{{cite news |date=April 11, 1915 |title=Proud and Militant Manhattan To Patronize Domestic Brooklyn: Heroic Size Statues. Typifying Characteristics of Both Boroughs, At Across River Approach to Manhattan Bridge Will Aid in Making Plaza Beautiful |work=New-York Tribune |page=5 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|575405714}}}}</ref><ref name="p97806010">{{cite news |date=April 11, 1915 |title=To Place Bridge Statues.: Figures by D. C. French Are Almost Ready for Manhattan Structure. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/04/11/archives/to-place-bridge-statues-figures-by-d-c-french-are-almost-ready-for.html |access-date=January 11, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |page=13 |id={{ProQuest|97806010}}}}</ref> The statues on each pylon represented French's impressions of life in each borough. The ''Brooklyn'' pylon depicted a young woman with a child and symbols of art and progress, while the ''Manhattan'' pylon depicted a seated, upright woman with symbols of art and prosperity. There were granite railings and walkways at the base of either pylon.<ref name="p575405714" />

A [[bas-relief]] memorializing former mayor [[William Jay Gaynor]] was dedicated at the bridge's Brooklyn plaza in 1927;<ref name="p1112926396">{{cite news |date=May 13, 1926 |title=Walker Praises Gaynor at Unveiling Of Memorial to Him: Mayor Extols Predecessor's "Philosophical Mind" When Bust Is Dedicated at the Manhattan Bridge |work=The New York Herald, New York Tribune |page=12 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1112926396}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=May 13, 1926 |title=Gaynor Memorial Presented to City; Bronze Bust of Late Mayor Is Unveiled at Brooklyn End of Manhattan Bridge. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/05/13/archives/gaynor-memorial-presented-to-city-bronze-bust-of-late-mayor-is.html |access-date=January 14, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US}}</ref> it was relocated in 1939 to the nearby Brooklyn Bridge Plaza.<ref name="p1247806077">{{cite news |date=February 24, 1939 |title=Monument to Gaynor Dedicated at New Site: Daughter Unveils Bust of Former Mayor |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=19A |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1247806077}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=February 22, 1939 |title=Tablet to Gaynor Moved to Plaza |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-tablet-to-gaynor-moved-to-pla/138738831/ |access-date=January 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251  |pages=324}}</ref>  The pylons were relocated to the Brooklyn Museum in 1963.<ref name="The New York Times 1964" /> The pylons never constituted a true portal, even when they were in place. Following their removal, the Brooklyn approach did not contain a formal entrance.{{sfn|National Park Service|1983|p=2}}