Manhattan Bridge, 1915.

In 1910, a year after the bridge opened, the architectural firm Carrère and Hastings drew up preliminary plans for a grand entry to the bridge on the Manhattan side, in keeping with the City Beautiful movement’s emphasis on monumental architecture. Construction began that year, and plans were finalized in 1912. The arch and colonnade, completed in 1915, feature ornate sculptural detail, including pylons by the sculptor Carl Augustus Heber and a frieze by Charles Rumsey, entitled "Buffalo Hunt."

The arch and colonnade were designated a New York City landmark on November 25, 1975. After years of neglect and appeals by traffic engineers to remove the structure, the arch and colonnade were repaired and restored in 2000.