Riverside Park (Manhattan)
Riverside Park is a scenic waterfront public park in the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, and Hamilton Heights neighborhoods of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The park measures 4 miles (6.4 km) long and 100 to 500 feet (30 to 152 m) wide, running between the Hudson River and Henry Hudson Parkway to the west and the serpentine Riverside Drive to the east.
Riverside Park was established by land condemnation in 1872 and was developed concurrently with Riverside Drive. Originally running between 72nd and 125th Streets,[a] it was extended northward in the first decade of the 20th century. When the park was first laid out, the right-of-way of the New York Central Railroad's West Side Line blocked access to the river. In the 1930s, under parks commissioner Robert Moses's West Side improvement project, the railroad track was covered with an esplanade and several recreational facilities. Few modifications were made to the park until the 1980s, when it was renovated and extended southward as part of the Riverside South development.
Riverside Park is part of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, a pedestrian and bicycle route around Manhattan's waterfront. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation operates and maintains the park, although its operating activities are supported by the Riverside Park Conservancy. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a New York City scenic landmark.
History[edit]
Planning[edit]
The 191 acres (77 ha) of land in the original park between 72nd and 125th Streets[a] were once inhabited by the Lenape people, but by the 18th century, European settlers used it for farming.[3] Over the years, several villas were also constructed along the river. The area's two largest settlements were the villages of Bloomingdale and Manhattanville.[4] In 1846, the Hudson River Railroad (later the West Side Line and Hudson Line) was built along the waterfront, connecting New York City to Albany.[5][6]
By the 1850s, New York City was growing quickly.[4] The construction of Central Park nearby in the 1860s spurred construction in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Similar development in the Upper West Side was slower to come: by 1865, only West 76th and 86th Streets had been completed and opened.[7] By an act of the New York State Legislature passed that year, the Central Park commissioners had the responsibility of executing the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, the Manhattan street grid, within Upper Manhattan.[5]
In 1865, Central Park commissioner William R. Martin put forth the first proposal for a riverside park along the Hudson River.[6][8] An act providing for such was presented to the Legislature by commissioner Andrew Haswell Green in 1866 and approved the same year. In his argument for a riverside park, Green wrote that the only location on the Hudson River waterfront reserved for park space was the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan island.[9] The first segment of Riverside Park was acquired in 1872 by condemning lots for a cost of $7.25 million, or over $80,000 per acre ($200,000/ha) for each of the 119 acres (48 ha) in the original park.[10] The park also included the construction of Riverside Avenue, a boulevard lined with trees and overlooking the future park and the waterfront. The avenue was initially laid out in 1868 and was 100 feet (30 m) wide for its entire length.[4][9][11] The plans for Riverside Park and Avenue brought the attention of William M. Tweed, who bought several lots adjacent to the park in anticipation of its construction.[9]
Transportation[edit]
There are numerous subway stations that are located within two blocks of the park, all on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (1, 2, and 3 trains). From south to north, they are 72nd Street, 79th Street, 86th Street, 96th Street, 103rd Street, Cathedral Parkway–110th Street, 116th Street–Columbia University, 125th Street, 137th Street–City College, and 145th Street.[235] Direct bus service is provided by the M5 and M11 buses along Riverside Drive, as well as numerous crosstown routes such as the M79 SBS, Bx11 and Bx15. Several other bus routes also stop within a few blocks of the park.[236]