We’ve already mentioned the opening today of Pier 1, the first piece of Brooklyn Bridge Park. But for those of you less concerned with park governance and public-private funding mechanisms—most of you, really—than with the actual park itself, herein is our guided tour (click the photo above to begin). While the rain may have dampened the mood of some New Yorkers today, not here in the park, which seemed brighter for the downpour, verdant as Ireland and twice as lucky for having opened after a 25-year struggle. The park, and even this first sliver of it, is magnificent and majestic, a transformative place so different and particular—not unlike the High Line—that it can change your entire perception of the city. Dan Kramer, chair of the BBP Conservancy, agrees. “When I walk around, I get the same feeling I get walking around the High Line” he said at today’s ribbon cutting. “This park feels like it was always here, like it always belonged here.”

Michael Van Valkenburgh sees the park as a civics lesson. “I’m always reminded when a park opens that there’s nothing more democratic or important to the city than a park,” he said. “I’m always struck how this is for everyone.” He and principal-in-charge Matt Urbanski said they expected the newly empowered to city to keep on building, and the opening would only help boost their momentum. “It’s like serving the entree without all the fixings,” Urbanski said. “This is a big slice of roast beef, and it’s gonna be good, and everyone’ll want more.” Regina Myer, head of the park development corporation and maestro of its construction, certainly believes New Yorks will like their first taste of the place. “It’s a park like none other, given its place on the water and in the city,” Myer said, “but really, it’s extraordinary for the way it embraces beautiful design and sustainability and I think that, maybe after the bridge, is what people are going to notice.”