Harlem River at W. 170th St. and High Bridge Park, New York, New York. County/parish: New York.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places December 04, 1972. NRIS 72001560.
2 contributing structures.
The High Bridge (originally the Aqueduct Bridge) is a steel arch bridge connecting Manhattan and the Bronx in New York City, New York, United States. Rising 140 ft (43 m) over the Harlem River, it is the city's oldest major bridge, having opened as part of the Croton Aqueduct in 1848. The eastern end is located in the Highbridge section of the Bronx, near the intersection of University Avenue and 170th Street, and the western end is located in Highbridge Park in Manhattan, near the intersection of Amsterdam Avenue and 172nd Street. Operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the bridge is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The High Bridge, measuring 1,450 feet (440 m) long, spans a valley that contains the Harlem River. The original bridge had fifteen stone round arches, each measuring either 50 or 80 feet (15 or 24 m) long. The five arches over the Harlem River were replaced by a single 450-foot (140 m) steel arch between 1926 and 1928. The bridge originally carried water pipes, and gatehouses at both ends controlled the flow of water in these pipes. In addition, the High Bridge Water Tower (which is still extant) pumped water to the Highbridge Reservoir at the Manhattan end.
The High Bridge was proposed in 1839 in lieu of a low-level bridge or a tunnel carrying water across the Harlem River, and water began flowing across the bridge in May 1848. The bridge originally carried two water tubes; a third tube and a walkway were added in the early 1860s. The bridge was proposed for demolition in the 1910s and 1920s, as it posed a hazard to navigation on the Harlem River. The city government approved the demolition in 1923 before instead ratifying a separate proposal to reconstruct only the central arch. Water stopped flowing across the bridge in 1958, and the bridge was closed to all traffic by the early 1970s due to safety concerns. A restoration began in 2013, following several years of planning, and the bridge was reopened to pedestrians and bicycles on June 9, 2015.
(read more...)National Park Service documentation: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319592