Fort Washington Park (Manhattan)
Fort Washington Park | |
---|---|
Location | Along the Hudson River from 155th Street to Dyckman Street Upper Manhattan, New York |
Coordinates | 40°50′58″N 73°56′48″W / 40.84944°N 73.94667°W |
Area | 160 acres (65 ha) |
Created | 1896 |
Etymology | Fort Washington |
Operated by | NYC Parks |
Open | 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. |
Website | http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-washington-park |
Fort Washington Park is a
The 160-acre (65 ha) park features riverside views of the
Etymology
The name references the nearby site of Fort Washington, a fortified position where the Battle of Fort Washington took place in 1776 during the American Revolutionary War. The fort is physically located and commemorated in Bennett Park.[1][2]
Geography
Fort Washington Park covers 160 acres (65 ha). It is bounded on the west by the
History
During the American Revolutionary War, a series of fortifications were built on the steep cliff east of the park's northeast corner, which was known by the Americans as Fort Washington.[1] The actual site of Fort Washington is less than a mile south at Bennett Park.[1][2] The area was an ancillary site of the Battle of Fort Washington, fought on November 16, 1776,[4][5] in which British troops took Fort Washington after a two-hour battle, renaming it Fort Knyphausen, named after Hessian General Wilhelm von Knyphausen.[1] The British peacefully withdrew from Manhattan in 1783.[1][6][7] The fortification was later demolished and the surrounding area came to be known as Washington Heights.[3] A rock commemorating the "American Redout" (using an archaic spelling of redoubt) is located in the park near 181st Street, at a location that is hard to access.[8][9]
During the construction of Riverside Park and Riverside Drive to the south in the late 19th century, Frederick Law Olmsted devised plans for Riverside, Fort Washington, and Morningside Parks, which called for these parks to be designed around the existing landscape.[10] Fort Washington Park was created in 1894 through city legislation. Between 1896 and 1927, most of the parcels were acquired through five incidents of eminent domain.[3]
Several plans for development within Fort Washington Park were proposed during the early 20th century, such as a plan to build a waterside annex for the West End Hotel in 1912, and a theater-and-comfort-station complex the following year. These were never built due to neighborhood opposition. Two structures were built within the park during this time: the Little Red Lighthouse and the Inspiration Point shelter.[3] Improvements to the park in the 1910s, which entailed clearing hundreds of trees for bridle paths and walkways, resulted in a lawsuit from sculptor Gutzon Borglum.[11] Another project in the same area concerned the presence of the New York Central Railroad's West Side Line (now the Empire Connection) within the park. In 1916, the railroad and local groups agreed on a plan to build a tunnel for the railroad under Riverside and Fort Washington Parks.[12] Concurrently, Riverside Drive was to be extended northward through Fort Washington Park and to the Bronx.[13]
In January 1917,
In the following years, additional land for Fort Washington Park was acquired. This included from the Port of New York Authority in 1939, the New York City Board of Estimate in 1966, and the New York City Department of Real Property in 1989.[3] A survey in 2013 found that Fort Washington Park was 24 acres (9.7 ha) larger than previously measured,[24] making the park 160 acres in total.[3]
Several improvements were also made to Fort Washington Park. As part of the construction of a nearby psychiatric facility at 165th Street in 1994, a new footbridge to the park was built.[25] A marina at Dyckman Street was opened the following year,[26][27] and the Lily Brown Playground was renovated from 2001 to 2002.[28] In 2014, a $3.5 million, 1-mile (1.6 km) bicycle path was opened within the park, running from Dyckman Street to a dead end at 186th Street. A connection between the new bike path and the existing Manhattan Waterfront Greenway at 180th Street would cost $22 million, since it would require the construction of additional shoreline on the river.[29]
Structures
Inspiration Point
The Inspiration Point shelter is located in the park, close to the intersection of the Henry Hudson Parkway and 181st Street. It was designed in the Neoclassical style by Gustave Steinacher and opened in 1925.[3] The shelter consisted of two levels: a deck with Doric columns and a wooden trellis on the upper story, and restrooms on the lower story.[30] The shelter was popular among motorists who used it for private romantic encounters, but later fell into disuse.[31]
Lighthouse
The Little Red Lighthouse is located on a spit of land under the George Washington Bridge, called Jeffrey's Hook.
Dyckman Street Boat Marina
The Dyckman Street Boat Marina is located at the northern tip of the park at the end of Dyckman Street. Formerly the site of a car float across the Hudson River, which closed in 1941, the land was given to NYC Parks in 1966. Twenty-one years later, Dyckman Marine Venture proposed redeveloping the car float site with a marina, pier, and restaurant, and NYC Parks gave the organization permission to use the site.[27] The complex was partially paid through federal government funds due to an obscure stipulation in a federal law that primarily provided funds to suburban and rural fisheries.[26] Completed in 1995,[26][27] the marina also includes a fishing pier.[27]
Recreational facilities
Fort Washington Park contains Lily Brown Playground at 162nd Street. Built on a parcel that was acquired in 1925, the playground is located on an
See also
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d e National Park Service 1978, p. 8.
- ^ a b "Bennett Park Highlights". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. June 26, 1939. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Fort Washington Park Highlights : NYC Parks". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. June 26, 1939. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ^ Torrey 1936, pp. 12–13.
- ^ "History of WaHI: Battle of Fort Washington". washington-heights.us. Washington Heights & Inwood Online. June 4, 2012. Archived from the original on June 4, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1983, p. 2.
- ^ Torrey 1936, p. 15.
- from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
- ^ "Fort Washington Park Monuments - American Redout Marker : NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
- ^ Grimm & Schroeder 2007, p. 4.
- from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1983, p. 3.
- ^ Torrey 1936, p. 17.
- ISBN 978-0-520-27015-2.
- ^ National Park Service 1978, p. 9.
- from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ "Location of Great Anchorage for Fort Lee Bridge in Park Is Cause of New York Protests" (PDF). Newburgh News. February 15, 1926. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2018 – via Fultonhistory.com.
- ^ "Two Governors Open Great Hudson Bridge As Throngs Look On". The New York Times. October 25, 1931. Archived from the original on May 13, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2010.
- from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- ^ "Henry Hudson Parkway Highlights : NYC Parks". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. June 26, 1939. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- from the original on June 1, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ^ from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Dyckman Street Boat Marina : NYC Parks". Fort Washington Park Highlights. June 26, 1939. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ^ a b "Fort Washington Park Highlights - Lily Brown Playground : NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ^ Waldman, Benjamin (April 19, 2011). "An Ode to a Grecian Temple: The Inspiration Point Shelter". Untapped Cities. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ^ "Jeffrey's Hook, NY". Lighthouse Friends. Archived from the original on June 25, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "Fort Washington Park Highlights - The Little Red Lighthouse : NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ^ "Little Red Lighthouse" Archived 2010-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, Washington Heights & Inwood Online, NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation, August 2001, accessed February 27, 2012
- ^ "Field and Court Usage Report for Fort Washington Park : NYC Parks". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. June 26, 1939. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
Sources
- "Fort Tryon Park" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. September 20, 1983.
- Grimm, E.; Schroeder, E.P. (2007). Riverside Park: The Splendid Sliver. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-51219-0.
- "Historic Structures Report: Fort Tryon Park and the Cloisters" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. 1978.
- Torrey, Raymond H. (1936). "Fort Tryon Park : a new and distinctive unit of the New York City park system, of unusual scenic and historic qualities, given by John D. Rockefeller". American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society – via Internet Archive.
External links
- Fort Washington Park - NYC Parks
- Secrets of Fort Washington Park