High Bridge and Morris-Jumel FAM Tour review by Robin Garr

A High Bridge and Morris-Jumel Mansion FAM Tour was held on September 10, 2015 with GANYC guide Kevin Wilkinson, Kevin@GeneralToursNYC.com, leading the way; Coordinated by GANYC Ed Comm's Andrea Coyle, who also arranged for the tour of Morris-Jumel Mansion. 

GANYC guide Tony Chen included special guest Lesley Walter, Board Member, Friends of Old Croton Aqueduct, Aqueduct.org, who added to the raucous, informative and delightful day. 

 

The weather was damp and cloudy, but a group of about 20 guides managed to walk between raindrops and had a delightful 90-minute walking tour starting in the Bronx at University Avenue and W 170th Street and ending in Washington Heights at Manhattan's oldest house. 

 

Built between 1837-48, the High Bridge was a viaduct for the Croton Aqueduct based on ancient Roman concept. The Aqueduct system, and the conduit across the Harlem River west to Manhattan, were built in response to deplorable water conditions and cholera epidemics which reached epic heights in the 1830s.  Fresh, clean water was paramount for the growing population of New York.

 

Water flowed in 1848 in two, 3-foot pipes that still remain under the bridge. The aqueduct pipes continued water flow to two reservoirs, one in Central Park and  the other at 42nd St and Fifth Ave, where the NYPL sits at Bryant Park now. By the 1860s the conduit was proving inadequate for water demands and a third, 7'6" pipe was added. This new pipeline was paved over with bricks and the pedestrian walkway was completed and open in 1864. There are original bricks in the span near the gate houses, and original stone work in gate houses and short stack ventilators at each end of the span. 

 

The Chief Engineer and architect was John B Jervis. The design included 15 arches, five were located in Harlem River and were replaced with a single steel arch in 1927 to improve river navigation. High Bridge was always conceived as both a viaduct and as a pedestrian bridge park. (During his time in the Bronx, Edgar Allen Poe was a frequent walker.)  Upon its opening as a park it was a popular place to visit. People traveled by boat and walked up steep staircases from park landings below the bridge. Hotels, restaurants, casinos and amusements sprang up on both sides of the river.  (The High Bridge Coalition and Friends continue working towards total clean up effort of park on both sides.)

 

The black iron fence is original to the bridge and has been restored.  In 1872 High Bridge Tower on the Manhattan side was completed.  This was a gravity-powered water pressure tower for upper Manhattan utilizing water pumped by coal engines from the former reservoir, now Edgecombe Recreation Center, and City Pool, 1934-1936. Water flowed through the viaduct for over 100 years until the mid-20th century when the New Croton-Harmon Aqueduct was put in service.  The High Bridge pedestrian walk then closed in 1972 due to disrepair and disintegration. The High Bridge Coalition, including Friends of Old Croton Aqueduct and NYC Parks Dept., organized and funded refurbishing at a cost of $61.8 million and High Bridge re-opened as a public park in June 2015. The Coalition continues to raise funds. Ms Walter pointed out that Michael Bloomberg's Foundation gave $30 million to the project and it would not have been completed with out his donation.

 

Kevin pointed out many sights that the view from span provides:

To the north a single-arch bridge, the Alexander Hamilton bridge completed in 1963 and Washington bridge completed in 1889 (originally the Harlem River Bridge). Further north we viewed the dome and spire of the distant George Washington High School; Henry Kissinger and Jacob Javits are among the notable graduates.

 

To the south: Macombs Dam Bridge named for the farmer Robert Macomb who built a drawbridge in 1813 which was followed by controversy about damming the river.  Macombs dam had a boat lock, and presumably another toll for shippers. Disagreements and lawsuits eventually led to the replacement of the bridge. The current bridge is an iron swing bridge built late 1890s.

 

Also to the south, a red lighthouse on top of a building was noticed. GANYC guides Michael Dillinger and Matthew Cummings pointed out that it adorned a book publisher's headquarters and the lighthouse sits on a base designed as a book. According to 'Forgotten NY': The building is located at MLK Blvd & Sedgwick Ave, Bronx, and was headquarters of H(alsey) W(illiam) Wilson Co., an 1898 bibliography and periodical index publisher. Built 1929, the lighthouse on the book is meant to symbolize "guidance to those seeking their way through the maze of books and periodicals, without which they would be lost" company merged w/EBSCO publishing in 2011 and sold the building.  Looks like the new owners have kept sculpture so far.

 

A Circle Line Tour boat passed underneath as we strolled across the span--- we waved and chanted for fellow GANYC Tour guide Andy Sydor, who some thought was working the cruise. 

 

Looking to the south you can clearly see Coogan's Bluff at roughly 155th Street and Coogan's Hollow below, where the 1968 Polo Ground apartment towers are now and where the famed Polo Grounds sport venue(s) were located.  We could also see the white apartment building known as the Triple Nickel: 555 Edgecombe Avenue, 1914-1916, home to many prominent African-Americans, particularly jazz greats. Later on our walk Kevin pointed out the street sign dedications for both Count Basie Place and Paul Roberson Boulevard at corner of Edgecombe Ave and W160th Street.

 

An additional sight we were directed to while still on the span is the current roadway of the Harlem River Drive. In the late 19th c. the road was the Harlem Speedway and was built exclusively for horse and carriage drivers as a raceway. Built 1894-1898 with a specially designed surface suitable for equines, by law no bikes, sulkies (2-wheeled racing buggies) or drays (working horse carts) were allowed! In 1915 the Speedway was reclassified as a parkway and horse racing ceased. In 1919 it opened to autos. The famed packed dirt track was paved in 1922 for cars. It eventually merged with the East River Drive 1937. As part of the Robert Moses overhaul it now connects to the FDR, and in 1964 became 'Harlem River Drive'.  In 2003 it was designated the 369th Regiment Harlem Hell Fighters Drive honoring the all-black platoon who fought in France in WWI.

 

After we crossed the span we had a lovely stroll through the Manhattan-side of High Bridge Park. At 160th St we continued around the block through Sylvan Terrace with its 19th century townhouses in the Jumel Terrace Historic District, to the front door of the Morris-Jumel Mansion. Our group was provided an extensive tour of the house and programs by Education Assistant Kelly Sweeny. 

 

Built in 1765, the Morris-Jumel Mansion is the oldest residential structure in Manhattan. From its beginnings as Mount Morris, a summer country retreat for Colonel Robert Morris and his wife Elizabeth Philipse Morris;  to its role as a strategic site which served as George Washington's headquarters after the Battle of Brooklyn and during the Battle of Harlem Heights in September and October of 1776; through its occupation by British and Hessian military during the war; to its time as a roadhouse tavern 1790 - 1810 where President Washington and his cabinet dined after a north-country outing the summer of 1790; to its refurbishing as fine country house 1810-1865 for Steven and Eliza Jumel -- arguably the house's most colorful character; to its conversion to a museum by the Washington Heights Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1907; the Mansion has been and continues to highlight history, art and culture. A true treasure that we should encourage our visitors to experience! 

   

The FAM tour officially concluded here, but several members enjoyed a festive luncheon in Washington Heights. On our walk to the subway at 168th street and Broadway we passed an interesting sculpture. This is a 1922 monument dedicated to the 338 Inwood and Heights soldiers who perished in WWI. The sculpture is by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, founder of the Whitney Museum, and is one of several monuments she created to honor WWI efforts.  

 

Thanks to Kevin, Andrea, Tony, Lesley, and all our fellow guides for a fantastic day!