[3] Construction began in August 1900[4] and was planned to be completed in October 1901, but the bridge did not open until December 1902.

[6] Soon after, the street was extended to Union Avenue in the new third ward of Williamsburg and bent on an angle to the east in order to pass through the property of several prominent land owners.

Two Long Island Rail Road stations existed along the street in both boroughs.

At some point between the construction of the Williamsburg Bridge and 1913 (it appears on a 1913 map of Brooklyn[7]), Grand Street was connected to the bridge plaza from the elbow bend near Union Avenue by the Grand Street Extension (now named Borinquen Place) and this became the main flow for car traffic.

The street is referenced in songs and books from many local artists, including Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan ("I Don't Wanna Grow Up", popularized by the Ramones) and Matt & Kim (the title of their album Grand, as well as in the lyrics of their songs "Cameras" and "Daylight").