On Saturday afternoon I took a bike trip up to the High Bridge and High Bridge Tower.
The High Bridge, which crosses the Harlem River, is the oldest standing bridge in New York City and connects Manhattan at 174th street to the High Bridge neighborhood in the Bronx. (view map – on Google maps you can only see the High Bridge in satellite view).
The High Bridge, completed in 1848, was part of the Old Croton Aqueduct system that brought a large, desperately-needed source of fresh water into Manhattan. A damn was built on the Croton River in Northern Westchester County from which the aqueduct carried the water forty-one miles to the Yorkville Receiving Reservoir (now the Great Lawn in Central Park) and on to the Murray Hill Distributing Reservoir (now the main branch of the New York Public Library at 42nd street).
In the slide show that follows, you will also see images of the High Bridge Tower (built 1872). The Tower, in conjunction with an adjacent reservoir (now a pool) provided water to the community in Northern Manhattan.
High Bridge Restoration Plans
Since 1958, the Old Croton Aqueduct has not been used to supply water to New York City and the High Bridge is currently closed. But the bridge will soon be refurbished and open to pedestrian and bike traffic (no cars will be allowed). To learn about plans for the bridge and the surrounding parks and neighborhoods, you can read about The High Bridge Coalition’s restoration efforts. The goal is to open the bridge by 2013.
Streetfilms produced a video in November 2009 about the redevelopment plans for the High Bridge. The video includes good shots of the bridge. You can watch the video and read the accompanying post.
My Bike Trip to High Bridge Park
I biked-up the Hudson River Greenway on the west side of Manhattan to 155th street. I biked across 155th and then went north on Edgecombe Avenue until it connects with Amsterdam Avenue. Then I biked north on Amsterdam Avenue to about 170th and entered High Bridge Park. I walked to the High Bridge Tower and read the historical markers about this national landmark site and looked down to see the bridge below. Then I biked south on Edgecombe Ave, retracing my earlier route, until about 164th Street where you will find the beginning of a bike path that dead-ends at the bridge. To locate this half-mile-long bike path on a map, you will need the print version of the New York City Bike Map – the online version does not include this route.
Learning More about the High Bridge and Old Croton Aqueduct
Since biking on the greenway along the Harlem River last year and looking-up and seeing the impressive High Bridge Tower, I’ve been wanting to learn more about this landmark and the Old Croton Aqueduct.
I’ll be blogging more about this topic, but I’d like to direct readers to two programs and resources that caught my attention:
- This fall the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter will host an exhibit of the winners of the “High Bridge: Bronx, Building Cultural Infrastructure” competition. There were over 170 submissions for this design competition where individuals and teams submitted plans for an “arts center that culturally reinforces the physical connection between the Manhattan and Bronx Highbridge communities of New York City.” You can see the list of winners and learn about the HB:BX design challenge.
- I’m soon going to ride the 41-mile bike trail along the Old Croton Aqueduct starting at the Croton Reservoir in Northern Westchester County and biking south to Manhattan. The Friends of Old Croton Aqueduct publish a map and guide to the Old Croton Aqueduct, which includes historical background and information about how to navigate the trails. I just ordered this guide and I wish I hadn’t missed all of their spring walking tours of the Aqueduct and High Bridge.
