Riverside Park at 148th Street. Behind
Palisades Playground is this grand staircase to
the lower park,
some ballfields, and the
Hudson River shoreline, passing over the railroad tracks and under the Henry
Hudson Parkway. The original destination was the
148th Street
Boat Basin, which was never constructed because of World War II. So
instead, at the last minute, just as the War was about to start, the boat
basin site was converted into an “overlook sitting area on the shore
of the Hudson River adjacent to the promenade in Riverside Park Extension
opposite West 149 and West 150 Streets”[4]. Here are some Parks
Department views from January 22, 1941[5] (before the last-minute
conversion) that show the work that had been completed by that date on the
boat basin. Everything you see beyond the highway was demolished; today
there are only basketball courts, ballfields, and a parking lot.
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Same view in 1941
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Wider view in 1941
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References:
- NYC
Department of Parks press release, October 11, 1937.
- NYC
Department of Parks press release, October 19, 1940, discussing the
pedestrian overpass at 148th Street. No mention is made of the previously
announced 148th Street boat basin. Funding source is unclear.
- NYC
Department of Parks press release, January 25, 1941, the opening of the
pedestrian overpass.
- NYC
Department of Parks press release, July 15, 1941, announcing the
completion of work on the overlook, “built by the Work Projects
Administration from plans prepared by the Department of Parks also included
drainage and lighting”.
- New York City Department of Records & Information Services:
Parks and Parkways drawings and plans, NYC Department of Parks &
Recreation. Thanks to Christian Hincapie for pointing these out to me.