Kosciuszko Bridge, 1939. The Kosciuszko Bridge (originally called Meeker Avenue Bridge) is a vehicular bridge that replaced the old Penny Bridge over the Newtown Creek. It opened in August of 1939. The new structure was substantially larger than the earlier bridges. The two three-lane roadways, each 32-ft wide, were constructed of steel and 88,000 cubic yards of concrete. One year after its opening, Mayor La Guardia renamed the bridge after Tadeusz Kościuszko, a Polish military leader who volunteered on the American side during the Revolutionary War. The renaming ceremony was attended by thousands, largely Polish-Americans, many of whom lived in nearby Greenpoint. After long term studies of bridge infrastructure in the 1990s, the city decided the structure would need to be replaced. In 2014 a contract was awarded for a new cable-stayed bridge with new east and westbound viaducts. In the summer of 2017, after the first new viaduct is complete, the DOT plans on demolishing the original structure by blowing it up.

Bridges are icons, creating unforgettable outlines across beloved skylines. The Kosciuszko Bridge may not often have been deemed postcard worthy, but the show-stopping cable-stayed design of its replacement (opened in April 2017) is drawing nostalgia over the soon-to-be-removed historic span. Taking a closer look at the Kosciuszko Bridge – and the many bridges that have stood in the same location through centuries past – paints a picture of a changing neighborhood in a changing city.

“Penny Bridge (Meeker Avenue Bridge) connecting Queens and Kings counties at Meeker Avenue. August 13, 1938.” The old Meeker Avenue Bridge is here photographed 10 days before its closure. Nicknamed the “Penny Bridge” after the toll for its early 19th century ancestor, the bridge had been replaced several times before this structure, the Meeker Avenue Bridge, was built in 1894. It was replaced by the Kosciuszko Bridge, a truss span, in 1939.

The Penny Bridge connected Greenpoint, Brooklyn to Maspeth, Queens via Meeker Avenue. It was replaced by the first Kosciuzko Bridge in 1938. The namesake of the Penny Bridge was a wooden construction, built in 1812, which served the population surrounding Newton Creek. The Long Island Rail Road's Lower Montauk Branch once had a station named for the bridge on the Brooklyn side of the creek. The station was closed in 1998.

Kosciuszko Bridge, 1939.

Serving more as an outpost than a home, the Duryea House was one of the few early colonial structures left in Greenpoint when it was razed in the 1920s. The farmhouse sat at the bank of Newtown Creek and served as both a defensive outpost and later a "pivot house" for control of the Meeker Avenue Bridge in its over 200-year lifespan. The wooden farmhouse was likely built by Humphery Clay around 1681. He operated a ferry that docked near the home. The structure had thick outer walls, adorned with three V-shaped openings for shotguns and canons to be aimed through. If the outer wall was penetrated, inhabitants could retreat to a second wall, which was thick enough to support the second floor of the house. This wall was embedded with another series of holes for defense. In the back half of the ground floor, a central staircase led to rooms on the upper floor which included an ammunition magazine. Another of the rooms was a sort of crude holding cell, with an iron ring for chaining unlucky prisoners. The original inhabitants of the house were slaveholders, as slavery was legal in this area until 1827. For a long time, the house didn't even have a porch. To enter, a ladder was lowered and then raised to prevent American Indians from across the creek The home was acquired by Joost Durie in 1749, a member of the Duryea family. The family left the home in 1828, though the house kept the name Duryea. In the early days of the house, a penny bridge was used to cross the Newtown Creek. By the 1800s, the original bridge burned down and a pivot bridge was constructed. The inhabitant of the home was in charge of turning the bridge, and thus the home took the name "Pivot House." Unfortunately, the structure fell into disrepair by the 20th century. Repairs were estimated to cost $1,500, a huge sum at the time. The owners of the home decided to tear it down, and Greenpoint lost one of its oldest pieces of colonial history.