The Beaux Arts triumphal arch and colonnade at the Manhattan entrance
In Manhattan, the bridge terminates at a plaza originally bounded by the Bowery and Bayard, Division, Forsyth, and Canal streets.[10] This plot covered 400 by 750 feet (120 by 230 m).[132][337] The arch and colonnade were completed within this plaza in 1915;[135] they surround an elliptical plaza facing northwest toward the Bowery.[337]
The arch and colonnade are made of white, fine-grained Hallowell granite.[337][338] They are decorated with two groups of allegorical sculptures by Heber and a frieze called "Buffalo Hunt" by Rumsey.[339][132][135][340] The design of the arch and colonnade reference the fact that the Manhattan Bridge continues into Brooklyn as Flatbush Avenue, which runs south to the Atlantic Ocean. The arch thus signified the Manhattan Bridge's role as an ocean "gateway".[339] The plaza was influenced by the New York Improvement Plan of 1907, which sought to create plazas and other open spaces at large intersections; a massive circular plaza, connecting the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, was never built.[339]
The arch was based on Paris's Porte Saint-Denis.[132][129] It is one of the city's three remaining triumphal arches, the others being the Washington Square Arch and the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch.[339] The arch's opening measures 36 feet (11 m) high and 40 feet (12 m) wide.[337][339] On the northern side of the arch, the opening is flanked by carvings of classical ships, masks, shields, and oak leaves.[338] The western pier contains the sculptural group Spirit of Commerce, depicting a winged woman flanked by two figures. The eastern pier contains Spirit of Industry, depicting the god Mercury flanked by two figures.[340] The arch's keystone contains a depiction of a bison. Above is the "Buffalo Hunt" frieze, which depicts Native Americans hunting animals while on horseback.[341][339] The relief is topped by dentils and egg-and-dart ornamentation.[342] The cornice of the arch contains modillions as well as six lion heads.[342][339] The interior of the arch contains a coffered ceiling. There are rosettes on the arch's soffit. The southern side of the arch, facing Brooklyn, is less ornately decorated but has rusticated stone blocks indicative of a Parisian or Florentine bank.[132] On the southern side, there are decorations of carved lions at the bases of each pier.[343]
The colonnade and plaza was modeled after the one surrounding St. Peter's Square in Vatican City.[132][129][343] The colonnade is elliptical and rises to 38 feet (12 m). It is supported by six pairs of 31-foot (9.4 m) Tuscan columns on either side, with each pair of columns flanking rusticated piers inside the colonnade.[344][337] Above each column is a stone with a classical motif, such as a boat or a cuirass.[343] There is an entablature above the columns, as well as a cornice and balustrade at the top of the colonnade.[344][337] The entablature contains roundels with floral motifs.[343] The arch and colonnade were initially surrounded by granite retaining walls that contained decorative balustrades surrounding parkland on either side of the arch and colonnade.[132][337] Only a small segment of parkland remains at Canal and Forsyth streets, while the south side of the park became Confucius Plaza.[132]
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