Thursday marks the 55th anniversary of the completion of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which spans the New York Harbor, connecting Staten Island to Brooklyn. Construction began on Aug. 13, 1959. The upper deck opened on Nov. 21, 1964, and the lower deck opened on June 28, 1969, with costs totaling $325 million. Seven Staten Island friends were the first to cross the span 55 years ago.

Formerly the longest suspension bridge in the world at 4,260 feet (the Akashi Kaikyo Brdge in Japan is the current titleholder, at 6,532 feet), the Verrazano boasts a double-decked six-lane-wide roadway, 228 feet above mean high water at midpoint. The towers are 693 feet high and support the four cables, each weighing 10,000 tons.