High Bridge (New York City)
The High Bridge is the oldest bridge in New York City, having originally opened as part of the Croton Aqueduct in 1848 and reopened as a pedestrian walkway in 2015 after being closed for over 45 years. A steel arch bridge with a height of 140 ft (43 m) over the Harlem River, it connects the New York City boroughs of the Bronx and Manhattan. 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.
View of the closed bridge from Highbridge Park in 2008
Photo from William England, 1859
View of the High Bridge, 1861
The High Bridge, High Bridge Water Tower, and Highbridge Reservoir in 1871
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 41 miles (66 km) from the Croton River in Westchester County to reservoirs in Manhattan. It was built because local water resources had become polluted and inadequate for the growing population of the city. Although the aqueduct was largely superseded by the New Croton Aqueduct, which was built in 1890, the Old Croton Aqueduct remained in service until 1955.
The Croton Aqueduct at High Bridge in 1859
Double Arch over Sing Sing Kill, Ossining, from a 1907 postcard; upper arch carries the aqueduct, the lower one carries a local street
Profile and ground plan of the lower part of Croton Aqueduct
Croton Distributing Reservoir (1842)