The Queensboro Bridge, also known as the 59th Street Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City that was completed in 1909. It connects the neighborhood of Long Island City in the borough of Queens with Manhattan, passing over Roosevelt Island. It carries New York State Route 25 and once carried NY 24 and NY 25A as well.
The Queensboro Bridge is the only one of the four East River spans that carries a route number (excluding the Triborough Bridge): NY 25 terminates at the west (Manhattan) side of the bridge. It is commonly called the "59th Street Bridge" by New York City residents because its Manhattan end is located between 59th and 60th Streets. The alternative name was popularized by the Simon and Garfunkel song The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy), although New Yorkers took to calling it the 59th Street Bridge long before the song.

Rail tracks

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway traverse the bridge on their way from Long Island to Manhattan. "The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge," Nick says, "is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world".
In the novel Charlotte's Web, Charlotte refers to the Queensboro Bridge as a sort of human-made spider web.
As previously mentioned, the bridge is featured (as the 59th Street Bridge) in the title of the Simon and Garfunkel song The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy).
The Queensboro is prominently displayed during the opening credits of the television series Taxi, as a cab (driven by series star Tony Danza) drives across it.
The bridge is the setting for a significant scene in the 2002 movie Spider-Man. In that movie, the Green Goblin throws Mary Jane Watson from the bridge, and Spider-Man must decide between saving her or passengers on the Roosevelt Island tram.
In Ultimate Spider-Man #25, the Green Goblin kidnaps Mary Jane Watson and throws her off the bridge.
The Queensboro Bridge is prominently displayed in anime Red Garden, even sustaining extensive damages due to a battle.
The theme song of the CBS sitcom The King of Queens include the lyrics "Sitting here in traffic on the Queensboro Bridge tonight."
The Queensboro Bridge was used in the thrill ride Kongfrontation at Universal Studios Florida. The ride, based on King Kong, had passengers riding the Roosevelt Island Tramway from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island. A mechanical King Kong attacked the cars while hanging off the Queensboro Bridge.
The 59th Street Bridge was blasted by supervillain Hank Scorpio in The Simpsons episode "You Only Move Twice", in a plot to blackmail the UN.
The Queensboro Bridge plays a key role in the opening and chase sequences in King of New York.
In 1992's Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, a taxi drives Kevin McCallister Macaulay Culkin across the upper deck of the bridge.
The bridge was featured in the 1981 John Carpenter film Escape from New York. The bridge was one of the last intact links to the Manhattan Island prison and was land mined to thwart escape attempts.
The bridge is seen in the Woody Allen film Manhattan in an iconic visual.
The opening sequence to the animated TV show The Critic recreates the aforementioned Manhattan scene, with the bridge collapsing in the river for comic effect.
The opening sequence in the film New Jack City is set on the bridge, in which Wesley Snipes' character throws a rival off to his death.
Musician David Mead included a song called "Queensboro Bridge" on his 2004 album Indiana.
The Queensboro Bridge was featured in the opening and closing credits of Archie Bunker's Place.
On the album Stillmatic by Queensbridge rapper Nas, the inner-lining features the bridge on many pictures.
Frequently seen in the background from a patio on which episodes of the Food Network show "Boy Meets Grill" featuring NYC chef Bobby Flay are filmed.
In "The Game's" song "300 Bars and Runnin'" these lyrics are featured: "He got G-Unit wings, throw them off the Queens Bridge"
The Queensboro Bridge was featured in the movie "Turk 182". Graffiti artist, Turk 182 (Jimmy Lynch) played by Timothy Hutton climbs the Queensboro Bridge and spells his tag "Turk 182" in lights.
The Queensboro Bridge lies along the 16th mile of the New York City Marathon race. It is considered a pivotal point of the route as the climb during on it approaches cause many runners severe fatigue.