| We've arrived at the next big traffic report landmark, following the Koskiosko Bridge. Exit 34, for Meeker and Morgan Avenues in Greenpoint probably got it's abundant attention from reporters because it's catchy sounding. As a kid, Meeker was one of my favorite streets for reasons I'm sure I'll never understand in hindsight. It was lit throughout much of the 60's by Westinghouse OV25 Silverliners, hanging on my favorite eliptical crookarmed masts. Since traffic was usually very slow, any trip down this stretch was bound to afford anyone curious enough, a good clear view of the goings on below the highway. Our family took this stretch every Sunday, down to the Fort Greene neighborhood, to visit my grandmother. The cobraheaded streetlights of Meeker, which was the default service road for the BQE down to Williamsburgh, came very close to the edge of the elevated highway and thus were clearly in my line of sight, as I'd watch Greenpoint slowly pass by as we crawled through the weekly jams. |
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For a little kid, that was about as close a view as
you'd be likely to get, of a streetlight that is normally way
above your head. Whether that familiarity was behind it, I'll
never know, but the OV25's became my favorite light fixture of
all time and Meeker's name always seemed to seep into the endless
fantasy roadmap drawings that I drew as a little kid. As for
the BQE itself, aside from the traffic, it was best known to
my family throughout the 60's, for having the most bumps and
ruts of any road my family tended to use alot. The zoom view above exposes clearly the Brooklyn tower of the Williamsburgh Bridge, on the left. Soon, at exit 32, traffic will have to choose between the Willie on the left, or the rest of the BQE on the right. To this day, the careful eye will spot a few surviving Silverliners on Meeker Ave. All photos shot 2/99. |
