The High Bridge (originally the Aqueduct Bridge) is the oldest bridge in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, having originally opened as part of the

Croton Aqueduct The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842. The great aqueducts, which were among the first in the United States, carried water by gravity fro ...

in 1848 and reopened as a pedestrian walkway in 2015 after being closed for over 45 years. A steel

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

with a height of over the

Harlem River The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York, United States, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the New York mainland. The northern stretch, also called the Spuyt ...

, it connects the New York City

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

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 ...

and

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. The eastern end is located in the Highbridge section of the Bronx near the western end of West 170th Street, and the western end is located in Highbridge Park in Manhattan, roughly parallel to the end of West 174th Street. High Bridge was originally completed in 1848 with 16 individual stone arches. In 1928, the five that spanned the Harlem River were replaced by a single steel arch. The bridge was closed to all traffic from around 1970 until its restoration, which began in 2009. The bridge was reopened to pedestrians and bicycles on June 9, 2015. The bridge is operated and maintained by the

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolo ...

Construction and history

Construction

Originally designed as a stone

, the High Bridge had the appearance of a

Roman aqueduct The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported min ...

. Construction on the bridge was started in 1837, and was completed in 1848 as part of the

, which carried water from the

Croton River The Croton River ( ) is a river in southern New York with three principal tributaries: the West Branch, Middle Branch, and East Branch. Their waters, all part of the New York City water supply system, join downstream from the Croton Falls R ...

to supply the then burgeoning city of New York some to the south. The bridge has a height of above the Harlem River, with a total length of . The design of the bridge was originally awarded to Major

David Bates Douglass David Bates Douglass (March 21, 1790 – October 21, 1849) was a civil and military engineer, who worked on a broad set of projects throughout his career. For fifteen years he was a professor at the United States Military Academy, and after his ...

, who was fired from the project. The design then fell to the aqueduct's engineering team, led by

John B. Jervis John Bloomfield Jervis (December 14, 1795 – January 12, 1885) was an American civil engineer. America's leading consulting engineer of the antebellum era (1820–60), Jervis designed and supervised the construction of five of America's earliest ...

James Renwick, Jr. James Renwick Jr. (born November 11, 1818, Bloomingdale, in Upper Manhattan, New York City – June 23, 1895, New York City) was an American architect in the 19th century. ''The Encyclopedia of American Architecture'' calls him "one of the mos ...

, who later went on to design the landmark Saint Patrick's Cathedral on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping ...

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...

, participated in the design. 45 William England - High Bridge, Harlem River, New York

High Bridge and high service works & reservoir

The Croton Aqueduct had to cross the Harlem River at some point, and the method was a major design decision. A tunnel under the river was considered, but tunneling technology was in its infancy at the time, and the uncertainty of pursuing this option led to its rejection. This left a bridge, with the Water Commission, engineers and the public split between a low bridge and a high bridge. A low bridge would have been simpler, faster, and cheaper to construct. When concerns were raised to the

New York Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official te ...

that a low bridge would obstruct passage along the Harlem River to the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

, a high bridge was ultimately chosen. The contractors for the project were George Law, Samuel Roberts and Arnold Mason. Mason had prior engineering experience working on the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing ...

and the

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a common carrier anthracite coal canal across northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals at Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its western terminus at Phillipsburg, New Jers ...

Usage

In 1864, a walkway was built across the High Bridge. The

(NYC Parks), the bridge's current maintainer, described the walkway as the bridge's contemporary

High Line The High Line is a elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line's design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Opera ...

. However, the bridge was not used for vehicles. In 1928, to improve navigation in the Harlem River, the five masonry arches that spanned the river were demolished and replaced with a single

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

arch of about . Of the masonry arches of the original 1848 bridge, only one survives on the Manhattan side, while some ten survive on the Bronx side. Use of the structure to deliver water to Manhattan ceased on December 15, 1949. By 1954, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that the commissioner of the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity said that "the bridge entailed serious problems of maintenance and vandalism."

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid 20th century. Despite never being elected to any office, Moses is regarded ...

agreed to take responsibility for the bridge, which was transferred to the Parks Department in 1955. There were incidents, in 1957 and 1958, of pedestrians throwing sticks, stones, and bricks from the bridge, seriously injuring passengers on Circle Line tour boats which passed under the bridge. Concerns due to these incidents supposedly contributed to the bridge being closed as early as 1960, although NYC Parks said that it was not closed until 1970, when high crime and fiscal crisis led to the contraction of many city services and public spaces. However, a reporter for ''The New York Times'' wrote that when he had tried to walk across the bridge in 1968, it was closed. The

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

(LPC) designated the High Bridge as a city landmark on November 15, 1970.

Aqueduct

The High Bridge was part of the first reliable and plentiful water supply system in New York City. As the City was devastated by

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting an ...

in 1832 and the Great Fire in 1835, the inadequacy of the water system of wells-and-cisterns became apparent. Numerous corrective measures were examined. In the final analysis, only the

in northern Westchester County was found to carry water sufficient in quantity and quality to serve the City. The delivery system was begun in 1837, and was completed in 1848. The Old

was the first of its kind ever constructed in the United States. The innovative system used a classic gravity feed, dropping per mile, or about 1/4" per 100' (~0.02%) and running into New York City through an enclosed masonry structure crossing ridges, valleys, and rivers. University Avenue was later built over the southernmost mainland portion of the aqueduct, leading to the bridge. Though the carrying capacity was enlarged in 1861–1862 with a larger tube, the bridge became obsolete in 1910 with the opening of the

New Croton Aqueduct The New Croton Aqueduct is an aqueduct in the New York City water supply system in Westchester County, New York carrying the water of the Croton Watershed. Built roughly parallel to the Old Croton Aqueduct it originally augmented, the new sys ...

. In the 1920s, the bridge's masonry arches were declared a hazard to ship navigation by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

, and the City considered demolishing the entire structure. Local organizations called to preserve the historic bridge, and, in 1927, five of the original arches across the river were replaced by a single steel span, while the remaining arches were retained.

Restoration

In November 2006, the Department of Parks and Recreation announced that the bridge would reopen to pedestrians in 2009. This date was repeatedly put off. A $20 million renovation project would include strengthening the arch, improving staircases, cameras on both ends of the bridge, and boat beacon lights among other features. In 2009, preliminary planning, funded by

PlaNYC PlaNYC was a strategic plan released by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2007 to prepare the city for one million more residents, strengthen the economy, combat climate change, and enhance the quality of life for all New Yorkers. The plan b ...

, began for restoring the High Bridge. The High Bridge Coalition raised funds and public awareness to restore High Bridge to pedestrian and bicycle traffic, joining the Highbridge Parks in both Manhattan and the Bronx that together cover more than of parkland, and providing a link in New York's greenway system. In early 2010, a contract was signed with Lichtenstein Consulting Engineers and Chu & Gassman Consulting Engineers (MEP sub-consultant) to provide designs for the restored bridge. On January 11, 2013, the mayor's office announced the bridge would reopen for pedestrian traffic by 2014,Artz, Kristen (January 11, 2013)
"Mayor Bloomberg Breaks Ground On Project To Restore The High Bridge Over Harlem River And Reopen It To Pedestrians And Bicyclists"
''NYC'', the official website of the City of New York. Retrieved June 27, 2015. but in August 2014, the open was postponed to spring of 2015. In May 2015, the Parks Department announced a July opening and a July 25 festival. The ribbon was cut for the restored bridge at about 11:30 a.m. on June 9, 2015, with the bridge open to the general public at noon."High Bridge reopens to bikes, pedestrians"
MyFox TV The High Bridge was illuminated at night following its restoration.

High Bridge Water Tower

The High Bridge Water Tower, in Highbridge Park between West 173rd and 174th Streets, on top of the ridge on the Manhattan side of High Bridge, was built in 1866–1872 to help meet the ever-increasing demands on the city's water system. The octagonal tower, which was authorized by the State Legislature in 1863, was designed by

, the engineer who supervised the building of the High Bridge Aqueduct. Water was pumped up to a reservoir next to the tower – now the site of a play center and public pool built in 1934–1936 – which then provided water to be lifted to the tower's tank. This "high service" improved the water system's gravity pressure, necessary because of the increased use of

flush toilet A flush toilet (also known as a flushing toilet, water closet (WC) – see also toilet names) is a toilet that disposes of human waste (principally urine and feces) by using the force of water to ''flush'' it through a drainpipe to another loca ...

s. The High Bridge system reached its full capacity by 1875. With the opening of the New Croton Aqueduct in 1890, the High Bridge system became less relied upon; during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, it was completely shut down when sabotage was feared. In 1949, the tower was removed from service, and a

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoni ...

, donated by the Altman Foundation, was installed in 1958. The tower's cupola was damaged by an arson fire in 1984. It was reconstructed, and the tower's load-bearing exterior stonework – which Jervis designed in a mixture of

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

and

neo-Grec Néo-Grec was a Neoclassical Revival style of the mid-to-late 19th century that was popularized in architecture, the decorative arts, and in painting during France's Second Empire, or the reign of Napoleon III (1852–1870). The Néo-Grec v ...

styles – was cleaned and restored in 1989–1990 by the William A. Hall Partnership.

Christopher Gray Christopher Stewart Gray (April 24, 1950 – March 10, 2017) was an American journalist and architectural historian,Schneider, Daniel B (August 27, 2000)"F.Y.I. Hell's Kitchen in the Raw" '' The New York Times''. March 4, 2010. noted for his wee ...

has said of the tower's design that "Its rock-faced granite gives the tower a chunky, fortified appearance, as if it were a lookout for a much larger castle complex that was never built.... The granite is competently handled, but the details are not very inspired or elegant. The tower is more picturesque than beautiful." The interior of the tower, which was never open to the public, features a wide well-detailed

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

spiral staircase with six large landings and paired windows. The High Bridge Water Tower was designated a

New York City landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

by the

Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

in 1967. The High Bridge Water Tower underwent a 10-year, $5 million renovation during the 2010s and reopened to the public in November 2021. After the water tower reopened, NYC Parks began hosting free tours of the structure.

Gallery

File:High Bridge, New York City, 1900.jpg, A print from 1900, showing original stone arches File:HighbridgeNewYork.jpg, The transition from the steel arch over the

to the stone arches over the

Major Deegan Expressway Interstate 87 (I-87) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of New York. It is most of the main highway between New York City and Montreal. The highway begins at exit 47 off I-278 in the New York ...

Image:HarlemRiverBridges.jpg, Three

bridges: High Bridge nearest;

Alexander Hamilton Bridge The Alexander Hamilton Bridge is an eight-lane steel arch bridge that carries traffic over the Harlem River between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx in New York City. It connects the Trans-Manhattan Expressway in the Washington Heights ...

; and

Washington Bridge The Washington Bridge is a -long arch bridge over the Harlem River in New York City between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. The crossing, opened in 1888, connects 181st Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Washington Heights, Manhattan, w ...

, farthest. Washington Heights on left;

on right File:Interior spiral staircase (3), Highbridge Water Tower, Manhattan, 2008-10-04.jpg, Interior staircase of the High Bridge Water Tower File:High Bridge re-opening - plaque High Bridge Construction.jpg, High Bridge Construction (1848) File:High Bridge re-opening first weekend - plaque The High Bridge.jpg, The High Bridge (1839–1848) File:High Bridge re-opening first weekend - plaque Steel Arch.jpg, Steel Arch (1927–1928) File:High Bridge re-opening first weekend - plaque Changing City.jpg, Changing City (1934–1936) File:High Bridge re-opening - plaque High Bridge Restoration.jpg, High Bridge Restoration (2015)

References

Notes

External links

Friends of the Old Croton AqueductHigh Bridge Park Development AssociationNYCRoads.com: High Bridge (Aqueduct Bridge)thehighbridge.orgHigh Bridge
Documentary produced b
The City Concealed
*
bridgesnyc: High Bridge
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York 1848 establishments in New York (state) Brick bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 1848 Bridges in Manhattan Bridges in the Bronx Bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City Bridges on the National Register of Historic Places Bridges over the Harlem River Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Deck arch bridges in the United States Highbridge, Bronx Historic American Engineering Record in New York City National Register of Historic Places in the Bronx New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan New York City Designated Landmarks in the Bronx Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States Pedestrian bridges in New York City Steel bridges in the United States Washington Heights, Manhattan Bridge light displays