Hell Gate is a narrow tidal strait in the East River in New York City. It separates Astoria, Queens, from Randall's and Wards Islands in Manhattan.
Hell Gate and the Hell Gate Bridge, looking south
Hell Gate, shown in red, in a satellite photo of New York Harbor. It separates Wards Island to the west and Astoria, Queens to the east.
The excavations and tunnels used to undermine Hallert's Point
The 1885 explosion
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, with the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, from Manhattan Island, and from the Bronx on the North American mainland.
East River (foreground) and the headquarters of the United Nations in Manhattan (background) seen from Roosevelt Island in December 2006
A "bird's-eye" view of New York City from 1859; Wallabout Bay and the East River are in the foreground, the Hudson River and New York Bay in the background
The 1885 explosion
A panorama of the suspension section of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (left) and the Hell Gate Bridge (right), as seen from Astoria Park in Queens
