Highbridge Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Highbridge Park is located in Washington Heights on the banks of the Harlem River near the northernmost tip of the New York City borough of Manhattan, between 155th Street and Dyckman Street. The park is operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
It was once an urban oasis on the order of Central Park, but delayed upkeep following the closure of the High Bridge has caused the park to deteriorate significantly.
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[edit] History
The land for Highbridge Park was acquired starting in 1865 from the New York City Water Commission. The park grew over the next 50 years. Upper-middle class New Yorkers would promenade along the wide boardwalks in top hats and bustles. The park provided access to the Harlem River and places for horseback riding and other outdoor sports. In the 1890s, the City of New York built a racetrack along the river (for horses) known as the Harlem River Speedway. In 1940, Robert Moses turned significant portions of the Speedway into the Harlem River Drive, a 6-lane highway from the Manhattan end of the Triborough Bridge at 125th Street to the tunnels under Manhattan connecting to the George Washington Bridge. This highway blocked public recreational access to the riverfront. Robert Moses also built a huge swimming pool and several playgrounds in the park. By this time, Higbridge was a park for working class emigrant families.
[edit] The High Bridge
High Bridge is a footbridge in the park that connects The Bronx to Manhattan and is the namesake of the park. It is the oldest surviving bridge in New York City, built in 1848 during the construction of the Croton Aqueduct. Although the disused bridge is structurally stable, it has been closed since the 1970s, purportedly because of incidents of rock-throwing.
[edit] The Park today
The New York Restoration Project (chaired by Bette Midler) has been working since 2000 or so to restore the park. As the fortunes of Washington Heights have lifted, the park has improved and is no longer a haven for petty crime. The infrastructure of the park has decayed significantly and has not been fully restored.
The cost of rebuilding the crumbling stairs and pathways and installing bike ramps for the High Bridge is estimated at over $6 million.
