1-Geography

Queens has been here for more than 10,000 years. Native Americans were forced to move away from Woodside by the Dutch Colonists in 1640. Woodside was one of the earliest European settlements. In 1867, Benjamin Hitchcock bought a 115 acre farm, divided into building lots. When the **Queensboro Bridge** was built, it let people from Manhattan come over to Woodside. Shortly after the bridge was built, the population of Woodside started to increase tremendously. Woodside became a suburb for the working class. Woodside is a neighborhood located in the borough of Queens. It is bordered on the south by another neighborhood called Maspeth, on the north is Astoria. Our Postal Zip Code is 11377. If you are close to the #7 train on Roosevelt Ave, you will know this area is more urban; while some parts of Woodside are very residential and quiet The Queensboro Bridge, also known as the 59th Street Bridge, is a bridge over the East River in New York City. It connects the neighborhood of Long Island City in the borough of Queens to Manhattan, passing over Roosevelt Island. It also connects to Northern Blvd. It is commonly called the "59th Street Bridge" by New York City residents. They say this because its end is located at 59th and 60th street in Manhattan. It was built in 1838 and was finished in 1909. The reason for the delay was due to the collapse of an incomplete span during a windstorm. The bridge opened to the public on March 30th,1909, having cost about $18 million which resulted in the loss of 50 lives. First, it was known as the Blackwell's Island Bridge, from an earlier name for Roosevelt Island. The bridge has two levels. Originally, the top level contained two car paths and two elevated railway tracks, the lower level contained four traffic lanes, and what is now the "outer roadway" and two trolley lanes. Late in 1913 the railway was removed. In the early 1940's the 2nd Avenue elevated line was also removed. The trolly lanes were removed in the 1950's. During the next few decades the bridge carried 11 lanes of car traffic. No tolls were charged for motor vehicles to use the bridge. Later, an extensive renovation of the Queensboro Bridge had begun in 1987 and is still in progress, having cost over $300 million. The northern outer roadway was converted into a permanent pedestrian walkway in 1999. This bridge has also been featured in movies such as "Spider-man" and "King Kong".
 * Gabriella from class 4-6** **More Facts on the Queensboro Bridge**