From the Waterfront to Joan of Arc: Locating the Past in Riverside Park

Riverside Park, New York’s historic and revered park on the western edge of the Upper West Side of Manhattan, presents a complexity of routes for exploration. Walking a sunny path next to the Hudson River can connect the explorer to the timelessness and tranquility of the water. A walk through the interior of the leafy park is perfect for the naturalist intent on observations of trees and plants. A walk along the higher ground near Riverside Drive is recommended for historians, as dozens of memorials richly illustrate the concerns and values of New Yorkers over the decades. Yes, please, we want all of the above.

A blooming tree near the W. 79th Boat Basin in Riverside Park

A full picture of Riverside Park requires walking back and forth among the tiered slopes, so the walk is less a straight line and more a meandering path. Walking along the water here (increasing biking and running are the main pursuits) may be excellent for exercise and recreation, but much is missed in terms of New York history. As the city continues to revamp the waterfront, it’s worth contemplating the ways in which these efforts inadvertently disconnect people from a shared past. A fine day can be had walking the waterfront in the park, for example, but you’re going to miss Joan of Arc.

From Pier 1 in Riverside Park South, an overview of the Riverside Park landscape

The terrain cascades like drapes over descending terraces from the rocky walls of the Upper West Side down to the Hudson. Frederick Law Olmsted, and later Calvert Vaux, originally designed Riverside Park to mimic the landscape of the Hudson Valley. So, at its inception, the park offered a break from the turmoil and grit of the city.

The park expanded and evolved through the decades, with the bucolic site serving as the hallowed ground for many memorials, including the tomb of General Grant at its northern end and the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument near W. 90th Street and Riverside Drive. A dozen more monuments line the park, including the particularly fine Fireman's Memorial near W. 100th St., dedicated on September 5, 1913.

In the 1930s, Robert Moses added his own urban vision to Riverside Park. His “West Side Improvement” largely shaped the tiered construction of the park with the building of wide promenades and extension of the shoreline. Moses oversaw the park expansion as part of building the Henry Hudson Parkway, the city’s main western automobile artery. During the project, the rail lines were moved underground, moving the rail cars through the Freedom Tunnel, as it is known, and still used by Amtrak. The highway further cut off the Upper West Side from its park.

Along the river, the path in Riverside Park narrows above W. 83rd Street. Pedestrians should exercise caution while sharing the lane with faster traffic. Better yet, walk back up to the park's interior.

In the 1980s, Donald Trump purchased the land for the old Penn Central railyard south of 72nd Street to build a skyscraper city. After protestations, he agreed to provide a public park adjacent to his development. Trump later sold the property. That park land is now known as Riverside Park South, and it takes in a swath of riverfront from W. 72nd Street down to W. 59th Street. Much of Riverside Park South is cut off from city life by the presence of the highway. Pier 1 at W. 70th Street, part of the railyard, reaches out into the river. From Pier 1, now sporting a waterfront cafe, it’s possible to walk for many miles north along the river without ever having to roam back into the shade of Riverside Park. (A similar situation exists to the south where Riverside Park South connects to Hudson River Park.)

A gently sloping path in Riverside Park

A walk north from Pier 1 to the W. 79th Street Boat Basin or beyond makes a good walk for enjoying the water and the boats, but winding back to the higher slopes brings extra layers of depth. An underpass near W. 83rd St. affords the opportunity to return to the park promenade from the river.

The large landscaped plaza at the southern end of the promenade near W. 83rd Street is called the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial Plaza, named for the plaque at its center. Once planned as a larger memorial, the plaza still serves as a place to remember the lives lost in the Warsaw Ghetto, the story of its uprising, and all who died in the Holocaust. Dedicated in 1947 it was one of the first such monuments in the United States. Every year, people gather here on April 19 to remember the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Plaque, Warsaw Ghetto Memorial, Riverside Park

From the plaza, wander north to the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument near W. 89th Street and then to Joan of Arc Park near W. 93rd St, both along pretty sections of Riverside Drive. The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, inspired by a classical monument of Lysicrates in Athens, commemorates Union army soldiers and sailors in the American Civil War. Unveiled on Decoration Day (now Memorial Day) in 1902, the site continues to host observances on the holiday.

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Riverside Park

Before her marriage to Archer Milton Huntington, her first marriage and his second one, Anna Vaughn Hyatt created the equestrian Joan of Arc statue in 1915. For the New York statue, she won a design competition sponsored by fans of Joan to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the saint's birth. According to D. E. Cook's biography, Woman Sculptor: Anna Hyatt Huntington (1876-1973), the statue was the first equestrian statue in New York by a woman. Three other copies exist elsewhere, one in France.

Statue of Joan of Arc in Joan of Arc Park, Joan of Arc Island, Riverside Park

Walking the length of Riverside Park from 72nd Street to 125th Street makes for an ambitious walk, especially with many backtracks and wanderings. It’s a distance of nearly three miles. A natural break occurs around W. 96th Street, so it’s fine to take in the northern and southern sections on separate days. The subway at W. 96th Street and Broadway can help with the way home.

In bloom, Riverside Park

Obviously, from the look of these pictures, the cherry blossom season would be a good time for a walk in Riverside Park.

Images by Walking Off the Big Apple from April 17, 2017.

A New York Spring Calendar: Blooming Times and Seasonal Events

See the UPDATED 2018 CALENDAR HERE . Updated for 2017 . At this time of year, thoughts turn to spring. Let's spring forward to blooming times, the best locations for witnessing spring's beginnings, and springtime events in the big city. While the occasional snow could blow through the city, we're just weeks now from callery pears in bloom and opening day at the ballpark. In The Ramble, Central Park. mid-April Blooming Times • Central Park Conservancy's website lists blooming times within the park. During the month of March we begin to see crocus, daffodils, forsythia, snowdrops, witch-hazel, and hellebores. Species tulips will emerge in several places, but the Shakespeare Garden and Conservatory Garden are particularly good places to catch the beginning of Spring blooms. Central Park near E. 72nd St., saucer magnolia, typically end of March. • Citywide Blooming Calendar from New York City Department of Parks & Recreation April is u

Museums in New York Open on Mondays

Please see this post for current announcements of reopenings . Please consult the museum websites for changes in days and hours. UPDATED September 23, 2020 Advance tickets required for many museum reopenings. Please check museum websites for details. • The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) reopened to the public on August 27 , with new hours for the first month, through September 27: from 10:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday to the public; and from 10:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. on Mondays for MoMA members on ly. Admission will be free to all visitors Tuesday through Sunday, through September 27, made possible by UNIQLO. See this new post on WOTBA for a sense of the experience attending the museum . • New-York Historical Society reopened on August 14 with an outdoor exhibition, "Hope Wanted: New York City Under Quarantine,” in the rear courtyard. The exhibit by activist Kevin Powell and photographer Kay Hickman will highlight how New Yorkers weathered the quarantine

25 Things To Do Near the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

(updated 2016) The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) at 11 W. 53rd Street is near many other New York City attractions, so before or after a trip to the museum, a short walk in any direction could easily take in additional experiences. Drawing a square on a map with the museum at the center, a shape bounded by 58th Street to the north and 48th Street to the south, with 7th Avenue to the west and Park Avenue to the east, proves the point of the area's cultural richness. (A map follows the list below.) While well-known sightseeing stops fall with these boundaries, most notably Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the great swath of famous Fifth Avenue stores, cultural visitors may also want to check out places such as the Austrian Cultural Forum, the 57th Street galleries, the Onassis Cultural Center, and the Municipal Art Society. The image above shows an intriguing glimpse of the tops of two Beaux-Arts buildings through an opening of the wall inside MoMA's scu

25 Things to Do Near the American Museum of Natural History

After visiting the American Museum of Natural History, explore attractions on the Upper West Side or in Central Park. Visitors to New York often run around from one major tourist site to the next, sometimes from one side of the city to the other, and in the process, exhaust themselves thoroughly. Ambitious itineraries often include something like coffee in the Village in the morning, lunch near MoMA, a couple of hours in the museum, a ride on the Staten Island Ferry in the afternoon, cocktails at the midtown hotel, a quick dinner, and then a Broadway show. It's a wonder people don't pass out at the theater. While sitting on the steps of the American Museum of History, consider exploring the Upper West Side and nearby sites of interest in Central Park. There's a better way to plan a New York trip. Consider grouping attractions together geographically. Several posts on this site address this recommended approach. The Wild West of the Tecumseh Playground Groupin

The High Line and Chelsea Market: A Good Pairing for a Walk

(revised 2017) The advent of spring, with its signs of growth and rebirth, is apparent both on the High Line , where volunteers are cutting away the old growth to reveal fresh blooms, and inside the Chelsea Market, where new tenants are revitalizing the space. A walk to take in both can become an exploration of bounty and surprise, a sensual walk of adventure and sustenance. A good pairing for a walk: The High Line and Chelsea Market Walking the High Line for a round trip from Gansevoort to W. 30th and then back again adds up to a healthy 2-mile walk. Regular walkers of the elevated park look for an excuse to go there. Especially delightful is showing off the park, a model of its kind, to visitors from out of town. A stroll through Chelsea Market. Time check. If you haven't stopped into Chelsea Market lately, you may want to take a detour from the High Line at the stairs on W. 16th St. and walk through the market for a quick assessment or a sampling. Among the sampli

25 Things to Do Near the Metropolitan Museum of Art

(updated) Sitting on the steps in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of those iconic things to do in New York City. On a sunny day, the wide steps can become crowded with the young and old, the tourist and the resident. It's tempting to stay awhile and soak in the sun and the sights. Everyone has reasons for lingering there, with one being the shared pleasure of people watching along this expansive stretch of Fifth Avenue, a painting come to life. Certainly, just getting off one's feet for a moment is welcome, especially if the previous hours involved walking through the entirety of art history from prehistoric to the contemporary. The entrance to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue The Metropolitan Museum of Art should be a singular pilgrimage, uninterrupted by feeble attempts to take in more exhibitions along Museum Mile. Pity the poor visitor who tries "to do" multiple museum exhibitions in one day, albeit ambitious, noble, and uplift

Taking a Constitutional Walk

A long time ago individuals going out for a walk, especially to get fresh air and exercise, often referred to the activity as "taking a constitutional walk." The word "constitutional" refers to one's constitution or physical makeup, so a constitutional walk was considered beneficial to one's overall wellbeing. (Or, as some would prefer to call it, "wellness.") The phrase is more common in British literature than in American letters. As early as the mid-nineteenth century, many American commentators expressed concern that their countrymen were falling into lazy and unhealthy habits. Newspaper columnists and editorial writers urged their readers to take up the practice of the "constitutional" walk. One such essay, " Walking as an Exercise," originally printed in the Philadelphia Gazette and reprinted in New England Farmer , Volume 11, 1859, urges the people of farm areas to take up walking. City dwellers seemed to have the

Introducing Birds of Inwood

Introducing a New Website It's been a moment since I posted last. Please forgive me. I have been in the forest down the street. After spending many of my leisure hours taking photographs of birds in my local neighborhood of Inwood, I am introducing to you a new website featuring these beautiful and often enigmatic creatures. It's called Birds of Inwood . As I write there, "Inwood is my Amherst." With time, my advancing age, and the pandemic, I have learned to find depth and beauty in places close to home. I have also found to my delight that designing a new website presents great opportunities. Birds of Inwood is pretty flashy! The birds are even larger than life on these new pages! Please visit. You'll be glad I didn't call it "Flying Off the Big Apple." Check out my forest home. - Teri

14 Useful Mobile Apps for Walking New York City

Texting and walking at the same time is wrong. Talking on the phone while strolling down the street is wrong. Leaving the sidewalk to stop and consult the information on a cellphone, preferably while alone, is OK. What's on Walking Off the Big Apple's iPhone: A List Walkmeter GPS Walking Stopwatch for Fitness and Weight Loss . While out walking, Walkmeter tracks routes, time, speed, and elevation. This is an excellent app for recording improvised or impromptu strolls, especially with many unplanned detours. The GPS function maps out the actual route. The app keeps a running tally of calories burned while walking, useful for weight loss goals. Another welcome feature is the ability to switch over to other modes of activity, including cycling. An indispensable app for city walkers. $4.99 New York City Compass , designed by Francesco Bertelli, is an elegant compass calibrated for Manhattan, with indications for Uptown, East Side, Downtown, and West Side. While facing a cert

Visiting New York on a Monday

Mondays are OK. Let's have a look at some of the museums open Mondays - • American Museum of Natural History • Jewish Museum • Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) • National Museum of the American Indian • Neue Galerie • Guggenheim Museum • South Street Seaport Museum Any of these museums could be paired with a nearby restaurant or bar, making a complete full afternoon or day in New York. Monday is especially good for a museum visit, because the crowds tend to be thinner, and restaurants, too, tend to be less busy than on a weekend. A fun museum and bistro walk on the Upper West Side would be a combination of the American Museum of Natural History and the nearby Cafe Lalo on W. 83rd St. I also would suggest a pairing of the Neue Galerie with a nearby cafe, but the two cafes inside the musuem are so good, why go anywhere else? Image above: The Guggenheim on left and Beaux-Arts townhouse on right. View from E. 88th St. by Walking Off the Big Apple.

Walking Off the Big Apple

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