Riverside Park History

Starting in the early seventeenth century, European colonizers began to populate the island, engaging in trade with the Lenape and creating farms and country estates on the then-rural landscape. The Lenape population declined drastically in this period due to a combination of disease, starvation, and forced displacement by the settlers.

In the eighteenth century, the river, which became known as the Hudson River, evolved into a commercial and transportation artery to Albany and other cities and towns to the north, resulting in the beginnings of the industrialization of the West Side waterfront at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

The 191 acres of land which form the original area of Riverside Park (from 72nd to 125th Streets) were undeveloped prior to the Hudson River Railroad, built in 1846 to connect New York City to Albany.

The first proposal to convert the riverside precipice into a park was contained in a pamphlet written by William R. Martin, a parks commissioner, in 1865.

Riverside Park was acquired and designed in several stages. In 1866, a bill introduced into the Legislature by commissioner Andrew Green was approved, and the first segment of park was acquired through condemnation in 1872.

With the beginning of the City Beautiful Movement in the early twentieth century, the landscape evolved. The Park began to serve as a repository for monuments and sculptures, and its border was extended north to 155th Street. F. Stuart Williamson designed the extension with its decorative viaduct, castle-like retaining walls and grand entry ensembles.

In 1937, during Robert Moses’ administration, the Park underwent another growth phase, with the addition of 132 acres of land along the entire expanse of the Park. In planning the new area, landscape architect Gilmore D. Clarke and architect Clinton Loyd focused on creating recreational spaces.

Today, Riverside Park Conservancy also cares for a stretch of Fort Washington Park – from 155th to 181st Streets – along the shoreline. Fort Washington Park was acquired by the city in 1894, and was also designed by Frederick Law Olmstead.

In the early 1900s, more areas were acquired as part of the Park, which consists of 160 acres and connects to Fort Tryon Park to the north. Upon construction of the Fort Washington Bridge, Port Authority acquired jurisdiction of part of the Park.

In 1985, the North River Sewage Treatment Plant was constructed on the Park’s shoreline. Stretching from 137th to 145th Street, the plant was originally planned for 72nd Street and was relocated to West Harlem – a decision that received strong resistance from the community, and led to the formation of local environmental justice organization, WE ACT for Environmental Justice.

Another addition of green space – Riverbank State Park – was completed in 1993, seven years after the sewage plant opened. It was the first park to be built on top of a sewage plant — the first of its kind in the United States. This park is not maintained by Riverside Park Conservancy, but has been a welcome addition of 28 acres of greenspace to the overall landscape and is a highly-used resource in the community.

Meanwhile, in 1985 Donald Trump purchased the abandoned Penn Central railyard between 59th and 72nd Streets with the intention of building the city’s tallest skyscraper. Many objections were raised to this plan, but finally in 1991, Trump gained the City’s approval for his project by agreeing to build several smaller buildings and a 21.5 acre public park. Thus, Trump Place and Riverside Park South were born.

Designed by Thomas Balsley & Associates, the first of six phases of the new park broke ground in November 1998. In April 2001, Phase I of Riverside Park South, a 7-acre section from 72nd to 68th Street was officially opened to the public. This section of the new park includes a soccer field, basketball courts, handball courts and a recreational pier.

Pier I, at 70th Street in the Park, was originally part of the railyard and was reconstructed to its original length of 795 feet, but where it was once wide enough to fit four parallel railroad tracks, it has been narrowed considerably and is now only about 55 feet at its widest part. Most piers are perpendicular to the shore, but Pier I was built at a 55E angle to the shore to facilitate the transfer of rail cars from their tracks to a waiting barge.

West Harlem Piers Park is another relatively new space along Riverside Park’s six mile stretch. In 1998, local organization WE ACT for Environmental Justice (WE ACT) partnered with New York City Community Board 9 to organize the Harlem-on-the-River Project. Community leaders and residents organized to develop a community-driven plan that would increase access to the Harlem waterfront and bring attention to one of Northern Manhattan’s neglected neighborhoods. More than 200 residents worked with elected officials and representatives from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to create a community vision plan for the waterfront. The plan was submitted to the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) by WE ACT in 1999.

In late 2000, EDC scrapped requests for proposals for commercial development at the site and instead developed a master plan based on the Harlem-on-the-River community plan. Approval for the final West Harlem Waterfront Park plan came in 2003 and applications for construction were quickly completed. A groundbreaking took place in October 2005, and construction on the Park was completed in late 2008.
The park was officially opened as the West Harlem Piers Park on May 30, 2009, and today features beautiful gardens and open river views for people to enjoy all year.