Highbridge Pool, In The Heights, Volunteer at the Mansion SUNDAY 6/6 & More!

Dear Highbridge Park Community, 

It feels like summer and there is much to celebrate! More than $35 Million in city capital improvements are nearing completion in Highbridge Park. We've opened a brand new soccer field, a world class playground, an adult work-out area, and pathways improved with lighting. We look forward to the restored Grand Staircase at Laurel Hill Terrace and the mile long pathway improvements down to Dyckman Street, which will be completed later this summer. The restoration of the Highbridge Water Tower is progressing, with some of the uppermost scaffolding having been removed. Get gardening! 

Sunday June 6 at 10 a.m., you can volunteer at Roger Morris Park, Highbridge Park's sister-park, at 65 Jumel Terrace. More details about our Garden Day event and other upcoming volunteer opportunities are listed below. 

At the end of the month, Highbridge Pool is slated to reopen to the public for summer swimming! The COVID-testing center has transitioned out of the Recreation Center and pool into mobile vans. Highbridge Pool is one of the "stars" in the soon to be released In the Heights movie. Check out the recent Playbill feature, and the slide show including many Highbridge Pool photos! The article shares the film's stars' reflections on how the show has evolved since its inception in the early 2000’s, what it meant for the film to be delayed because of the pandemic, and how Highbridge Park Pool was selected for “96,000.”

https://www.playbill.com/article/watch-anthony-ramos-daphne-rubin-vega-more-go-behind-the-scenes-of-the-in-the-heights-movie 

As part of the film's release, the City's tourism agency, NYC & Co, developed a travel guide to Northern Manhattan, including Highbridge Park among other parks, restaurants and uptown destinations. You can view it here: 

https://www.nycgo.com/boroughs-neighborhoods/manhattan/washington-heights/ 

Upcoming Opportunities: 

Roger Morris Park - Garden Volunteer Day 

Sunday, June 6, 2021 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

Roger Morris Park- 65 Jumel Terrace 

Whether you have a green thumb or just a curiosity for what makes a garden grow, all are welcome to volunteer in Roger Morris Park, the grounds of the Morris-Jumel Mansion, under the supervision of NYC Parks at these scheduled Garden Days. 

All tools and instructions are provided, just bring a willingness to get a little dirty as we beautify our special park. Close-toed shoes are required. Volunteers under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. 

Please note: RSVP by emailing John.Kelly@parks.nyc.gov and write "Volunteer" in the subject line. Due to COVID, we are requesting individuals only, rather than large groups or organizations. 

Second Saturdays Trailwork Party + Bike Share at Highbridge Bike Park Highbridge Park 

Saturday, June 12, 2021 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. 

BMX Course at Fort George Avenue 

Dig, then ride with us on NYCMTB's monthly welcome days at Highbridge Park in Manhattan! 

Bring your friends and family for a day of fun in the woods and learn what it takes to build, maintain, and ride the most progressive urban bike park in America! There will be light trail maintenance tasks for all ages from 10:00 a.m. to noon. All participants, NYCMTB members, or anyone with logged volunteer hours, receive a free 20-minute clinic and a guided ride throughout the trails from 12:30 p.m to 3:00 p.m. Bikes and helmets provided! 

Highbridge Park is the home of NYC's first Mountain Biking Course. The 3-mile course offers trails of varying difficulty from intermediate to expert and a free-ride trail that includes drops, steeps, and berms. The park also features a dirt jump park and pump track, making it a good place to develop different skills at all levels. The course has been featured in national media and is stewarded by volunteers just like you! 

Make this day your introduction to the park, or to the sport of off-road cycling. Interested volunteers are encouraged to participate regardless of age, ability or gender. There is something for everyone at Highbridge - It's NYC's bike park! Please bring water, sunscreen, bug repellant, and sturdy shoes or boots. Register on Eventbrite at nycmtb.eventbrite.com. 

Monday Morning Pitch-In at Highbridge Park 

Monday, June 21 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. 

Highbridge Recreation Center 

2301 Amsterdam Avenue 

Show your park some love and join a Monday Morning Pitch-In! 

New York City’s parks are being used more than ever before as a result of the pandemic, which often means more litter. You can help! Join us at a Monday Morning Pitch in and beautify Highbridge Park so its clean and welcoming! Remember to wear a face covering when volunteering. You can also pitch-in at Highbridge Park on August 2. Flyer attached. Register at: https://www.nycgovparks.org/reg/pfp-private/11229. For any questions, contact Rene.Cuenca@parks.nyc.gov 

***** 

Thank you for your continued partnership in the ongoing revitalization of our 130-acre Highbridge Park! Hope to see you in the park soon!

best, 

Jennifer Hoppa for the Northern Manhattan Parks Team

Retrospective of the High Bridge Five Years After Reopening in Photos

Photo of the High Bridge by Duane Bailey-Castro

We are very fortunate, indeed, to have another set of photos by Duane

Bailey-Castro. An article has just appeared in Untapped New York with his

dazzling display of new photos. Bravo!  It is hard to imagine that it has been 

five years since the reopening ceremonies back in the summer of 2015.

155th St. and Edgecombe Ave, Washington Heights

  

        

Above, Troger's Restaurant, which was located on the south side of 155th St. at Edgecombe Ave. touted itself as the coolest place in Washington Heights.  It was located over by the Speedway near the High Bridge.  It was built in 1898 and they eventually had seating for 500 patrons.  We have no record of when they closed.

Above, Harlem River Drive at West 155 St., Washington Heights. Published in Leslie's Weekly in 1900.

Opening day of the "Speedway," Edgecombe Ave at W 155 St. along the Harlem River, what would become Harlem River Driveway. In the right lower corner is The Polo Grounds III stadium also known as Brotherhood Park where the New York Giants played before moving to San Francisco. The area above the stadium was and is still known as Coogan's Bluff or Coogan's Hollow. 

How Harlem River Speedway Became Harlem River Drive. 

Before it was called the Harlem River Drive, the parkway running north and south along the west bank of the Harlem River was called the Harlem River Speedway. Construction began in 1894, and the speedway opened in July of 1898. 

It stretched from 155th St. to Dyckman Street in Inwood. At first, use of the speedway was restricted to equestrians and carriage drivers. This pleased the wealthy, who worried that sharing the road with other vehicles would ruin their good time.  In advance of the speedway’s opening, a New York Times headline from May 15, 1898 announced: “No Danger that Bicyclists Will Mar the Horsemen’s Sport on the Speedway. THEY ARE EXCLUDED BY LAW.” The speedway became a tourist destination where people could watch horse and boat races, visit Highbridge and Fort George Amusement Park, and enjoy the scenery along the Harlem River.  Some New Yorkers were unhappy that tax dollars were used to build an exclusionary road. As Charles C. Sargent, Jr., noted in his article “A Horseman’s Paradise” in the November 1898 issue of Munsey’s Magazine, “For the men – a few hundred at most – who own fast horses and want to ‘try them out,’ the sapient rulers of New York have spent in making the Speedway money that would have built thirty school houses, and would have provided twice over for the twenty five thousand children turned away last September from the overcrowded primary schools of the metropolis.”

It was not until 1919 that the Harlem River Speedway was opened to motorists. Three years later, it was paved.

The World's Scariest Bridges

Here is an article on the world's scariest bridges that you may find interesting.

The World's Weirdest Bridges

Here is a very interesting article on the world's weirdest bridges.

Seoul’s Sky Garden~Reuse of an Urban Overpass

This Post by Sandy James Planner was originally posted in Annals of Walking, Inequality, Infrastructure, Landscape,
 Name That City, Public spaces, Rethinking Transportation, 
Urban Design, Urban Planning, Urbanism,  and Price Tags

This year I visited two of the great urban reuses of existing transportation infrastructure with local designers and creators~the High Line in New York City which was originally a New York Central Railway 1934 spur and the Seoullo 17, the Sky Garden built upon the 1970 Seoul Station Highway Overpass in South Korea. The High Line is 2.33 kilometers long and 30 feet above the ground, and has become an elevated greenway and popular people place. A recent visit was described in a Price Tag Post.

The Seoul Station Overpass was about to be demolished for safety concerns about structural integrity. It is one kilometer long and 17 meters (55 feet) above the ground, roughly the same height as the Georgia Viaducts. Instead of demolishing this overpass, it was seen as a catalyst for urban regeneration and linkages in an area that was previously disconnected for pedestrians.   In 2015 HRVDV won a competition to design a this 33 million dollar project as an arboretum which has 254 species of trees, rhododendrons, and plants (all labelled and in alphabetic order on the Sky Garden).  There are 24,085 trees planted and 645 large pots placed along the Sky Garden. There are baby trampolines (carefully constructed in conical forms), plant sculptures, a bakery, a library and even a nursery. The project opened in May 2017 and has been praised for its  adaptation of a motordom artifact.

There is great attention to detail in the finishings and the construction,  and the Sky Garden is bathed in blue light in the evenings. It is used by people of all ages for walking and for visiting, and is seen as an “observatory” over the different lanes of vehicular traffic below. One of the desired outcomes was for users to become more aware of the heavily used streets  and the glassed in guard rails  of the Sky Garden invite that conversation. There is also an “observatory” platform on the Sky Garden for a more bird’s eye view. The designers have playfully cut large diameter cores into the centre of the overpass and placed clear plexiglass covers over those holes so that pedestrians can view for themselves the “structural integrity” of the bridge’s inner workings.

View from Seoullo 17 of TrafficOne of several entrances to Seoullo 17 integrated into new plazas at ground level

Like the High Line the Sky Garden has been very popular with local citizens and the travelled width of the walkway is only fifteen feet, the same width as much of High Line in New York City. Adminstrators now say that they wish the pathway widths had been a bit wider, but no one anticipated the overwhelming use and acceptance of the space. Even the wayfinding and local maps  are  now designed with the Sky Garden being the central artery to scores of attractions, shops and services from the many entrances to the elevated walkway.  Seoullo 17 has quickly become a central part of Seoul’s revitalization and you can view more about the project’s background and opening day in this YouTube video.

Sarah Cimperman's Photo Shoot in Highbridge Park

copyright 2016, Sarah Cimperman, all rights reserved

Sarah Cimperman has been kind enough to provide us with some photos she shot last year at Highbridge Park.  We thought that, now, in the middle of the winter season, you might enjoy seeing them.  In spite of the snow and cold weather we are faced with now, there is hope that spring is not too far away.

copyright 2016, Sarah Cimperman, all rights reserved

copyright 2016, Sarah Cimperman, all rights reserved

copyright 2016, Sarah Cimperman, all rights reserved

copyright 2016, Sarah Cimperman, all rights reserved

copyright 2016, Sarah Cimperman, all rights reserved

copyright 2016, Sarah Cimperman, all rights reserved

Sarah Cimperman is an amateur photographer and a naturopathic doctor. She is passionate about healthy living and photography that incorporates natural elements like the rich colors of autumn leaves. Her interest in photographing the High Bridge is a natural extension of her love for adventure and travel. She lives and works in Manhattan but spends her free time exploring all five boroughs of New York City as well as national parks across the United States and cultures around the world, from the Central and South America to Europe, Africa, and Asia. Find her at www.drsarahcimperman.com.

Screening of PBS's "Hamilton's America" at Morris-Jumel Mansion

“Hamilton’s America,” the PBS documentary chronicling the creative process behind the hit musical HAMILTON (portions of which were filmed at Morris-Jumel) will be screened on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at 2:00 pm at the Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum. After the screening, there will be a talk back with the documentary’s director, Alex Horwitz.  For more information click here.

Completion of Croton Aqueduct Celebrated October 14, 1842

Here is a historical silk ribbon commemorating the completion of the Croton Aqueduct on October 14, 1842.  The ribbon tells the complete history of the project -- recommended in 1832 by Col. DeWitt Clinton; in 1833 the NY State Legislature began surveys; there are 110 miles of pipes;  the cost was 12 million dollars;  Robert Morris was the Mayor of NYC at the time of completion.  The whole history is printed on the ribbon.  This year is the 175th anniversary of the completion of the aqueduct.   The water crossing the Harlem River in 1842 passed through a siphon tube below the water.  However, it wasn't until July 4, 1848 that the High Bridge was completed, allowing shipping and navigation on the river.  The ribbon measures 3" x 7.75".

Interestingly, this ribbon was published by W. L. Ormsby, who may be familiar to our readers.

See our post on Dorman L Ormsby.

Computerworld Runs Article on Soofa Benches in Highbridge Park

The Soofa Smart Park Bench

Matt Hamblen, Senior Editor at Computerworld, has written an interesting article on  Hi Tech in New York City.  Among the items he writes about he highlights the new Soofa Smart Park Benches that have been installed in Highbridge Park in Washington Heights.   This is a follow up post to the one we had last year when it was first announced that the City was participating in the experiment.

One of the more charming uses of smart tech in New York is being tested with several park benches installed in Highbridge Park at 175th St. and Amsterdam Ave. in Washington Heights.  The solar-powered benches, designed by Soofa, a startup with connections to the Mit Media Lab, allow park visitors to charge a smartphone or other device while resting, socializing or sunbathing.

The smart benches also allow park officials to count Wi-Fi-enabled devices as they pass by the bench, which allows them to estimate foot traffic and in turn determine if more security or trash removal might be needed in an area of a park.

Assuaging citizen concerns, the Soofa pilot incorporates a set of "internet of things guidelines" created by the city which govern privacy and security concerns for the new devices.