October in New York: The High Bridge – 1

Time to wrap up this series on scenes from New York City, taken during a trip in October, with one of the reasons we went: to see the High Bridge.

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This recently restored pedestrian-and-bike connection between Manhattan and the Bronx is the oldest bridge in the city – actually built in 1848 as an aquaduct for the Croton system, which (though High Bridge was decommissioned in 1917) still provides the city with some of the best water on the continent.  That’s a water tower from from 1872 in the distance, from a time when public works aspired to classical grandeur.

After being closed for more than 40 years, the High Bridge reopened on in June, after after a $61.8 million restoration (New York Times story here) – connected to the Manhattan Greenway that practically circumnavigates the island.

To get there, we took the A train to 168th Street in Washington Heights (map here) – not a neighbourhood I would have thought to traverse a few decades ago.

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Today, safe and vibrant, with a multi-ethnic population, a wonderful stock of heritage housing, much restored, with new schools, recreation centres and public facilities mixed in.

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