Manhattan Bridge, Looking Up

Shot in 1936, Manhattan Bridge, Looking Up sucks us straight in. Berenice Abbott’s composition and use of light and line evoke awe of the mechanical structure above. Though we’re used to the Manhattan Bridge being part of the New York City skyline, it was barely thirty years old when Abbott photographed it for her series Changing New York. It certainly must have felt like the city was changing around her as Brooklyn and Manhattan became even more closely connected.