The Riverdale–Spuyten Duyvil–Kingsbridge Memorial Bell Tower or Riverdale Monument is a memorial tower in Bell Tower Park located in the Riverdale section of the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. It was completed on September 17, 1930 to commemorate World War I veterans from the neighborhoods of Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, and Kingsbridge. The plaque attached to the memorial lists the names of those Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil and Kingsbridge residence who served in World War I. In 1936, it was moved 700 feet south to make room for the

Henry Hudson Parkway The Henry Hudson Parkway is a parkway in New York City. The southern terminus is in Manhattan at 72nd Street, where the parkway continues south as the West Side Highway. It is often erroneously referred to as the West Side Highway throughout it ...

which it now stands next to. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on January 3, 2012.

Description

The tall and wide monument is located on West 239th street between Riverdale Avenue and the Henry Hudson Parkway. It was designed by

Dwight James Baum Dwight James Baum (June 24, 1886 – December 14, 1939) was an American architect most active in New York and in Sarasota, Florida. His work includes Cà d'Zan, the Sarasota Times Building (1925), Sarasota County Courthouse (1926), early residenc ...

for the Riverdale American Legion Post and built by John Zambetti, Inc. It is made of fieldstone and Indiana limestone and is estimated to weigh 500 tons. In the tower is a 1762 Spanish bell which had been made for a Mexican monastery. General Winfield Scott captured this bell during the Mexican War and brought it back to New York City where it resided in the Jefferson Market and a Riverdale firehouse before it was installed in the newly constructed tower.

References

External links

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Bell Tower Park History (nycgovparks.org)
Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Buildings and structures in the Bronx Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City National Register of Historic Places in the Bronx World War I memorials in the United States Riverdale, Bronx 1930 establishments in New York City {{Bronx-struct-stub