24 Oct 1931: George Washington Bridge opens

On this day in 1931, the George Washington Bridge opened, the second direct land route between New York City and New Jersey.

The G.W. is perhaps best known these days for being the site of Bridgegate, also known as the Fort Lee lane closure scandal. In 2013, political allies of N.J. governor Chris Christie shut down several lanes of inbound traffic, ostensibly to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for not supporting Christie’s reelection effort in that fall’s election.

People who commute into Manhattan from New Jersey or Long Island are often pejoratively referred to as the bridge and tunnel crowd – particularly 20-somethings who come in to party on Friday and Saturday nights.

Other notable crossings in New York City:

• over the Hudson, between NYC and New Jersey:
  • Holland Tunnel (1927) – the southernmost of the three Hudson crossings to NYC
  • Lincoln Tunnel (1937) – comes out around Times Square (42nd Street); named as a response to the G.W.
• over the East River, connecting Manhattan and Queens
  • Queensboro Bridge (1909) – a.k.a. the 59th Street Bridge and namesake of a “groovy” Simon & Garfunkel song; now named for 3-term mayor Ed Koch
  • Triborough Bridge (1936) – also connects to the Bronx (hence the name); now named for Robert F. Kennedy
• over the East River, connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn
  • Brooklyn Bridge (1883) – first land connection between Long Island and Manhattan
  • Williamsburg Bridge (1903)
  • Manhattan Bridge (1909)
• over the East River, connecting Brooklyn and Staten Island
  • Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (1964) – the longest single-span suspension bridge in North America, also the starting line of the New York City Marathon

Image: National Park Service (1978)