THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 – WHAT CROSSED THE EAST RIVER AND IS 12 FEET WIDE?
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020
The
159th Edition
From Our Archives
WARD’S ISLAND
WARD’S ISLAND BRIDGE
The Wards Island Bridge, also known as the 103rd Street Footbridge, is a pedestrian bridge crossing the Harlem River between Manhattan Island and Wards Island in New York City. The vertical lift bridge has a total of twelve spans consisting of steel towers and girders.It carries only pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
On the Manhattan side of the river, the bridge is located at East 103rd Street, between Exits 14 and 15 of the FDR Drive. The bridge is accessible from the East River Greenway and a pedestrian overpass across the FDR Drive to the East River Houses apartment complex in East Harlem. The bridge connects to the southwestern corner of Wards Island and provides access to the many playing fields and scenic waterfront of Randall’s Island and Wards Island Parks.
History
The first known bridge to Wards Island was a wooden drawbridge between East 114th Street in Manhattan to the northwest corner of the island. The bridge was built in 1807 to serve a cotton business run by Philip Milledolar and Bartholomew Ward and lasted until 1821, when it was destroyed by a storm.[3]
Pedestrian access to Randall’s and Ward’s Islands was established with the opening of the Triborough Bridge by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority in 1936. Although plans to construct a separate pedestrian bridge to provide Manhattan residents better access to the new Wards Island Park were developed by Robert Moses in 1937, construction of the bridge did not begin until 1949. Designed by Othmar Hermann Ammann and built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the footbridge was originally known as the Harlem River Pedestrian Bridge.
The Ward’s Island Bridge opened to pedestrians on May 18, 1951 and was completed at a cost of $2.1 million.[ The bridge was later opened to bicycles in 1967.Although the bridge was originally painted in a red, yellow, and blue color scheme, it was repainted in sapphire blue and emerald green in 1986.
Restricting access to the bridge during the overnight hours and winter months traces back to concerns from residents of the East River Houses in the 1980s and 1990s over patients from the Manhattan State Psychiatric Center who frequently crossed the bridge into Manhattan. Tenants believed that the patients were responsible for increased levels of crime in their neighborhood.
In 1999, the New York City Department of Transportation proposed that the bridge be converted to a fixed bridge status. However, this proposal was delayed due to the clearance necessary to float construction equipment up the Harlem River for reconstruction projects associated with the Third Avenue, Willis Avenue, and 145th Street Bridges.[12]
The Wards Island Bridge underwent reconstruction between April 2010 and April 2012, which included replacement of the walkway deck, steel superstructure, and electrical and mechanical control systems. It reopened in June 2012, with the overhaul project costing $16.8 million.
OTHMAR HERMANN AMMANN
Designed by master bridge engineer Othmar Hermann Ammann (March 26, 1879 – September 22, 1965) who is remarkably responsible for more than half of the bridges that connect the City to the mainland.
In 1933, Mr. Ammann became chief engineer for the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. He guided the construction of many of New York’s signature bridges, including the George Washington Bridge, Triborough, the Henry Hudson, the Bronx-Whitestone, and the Marine Parkway bridges. He was also responsible for managing the building of the Lincoln Tunnel. In addition, he sat on the Board of Engineers in charge of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. He collaborated on some of the best-known American bridges, including the Verrazano-Narrows, the Delaware Memorial, and the Walt Whitman bridges.
“In bridge designing, the aesthetics are quite as important as engineering details. It is a crime to build an ugly bridge, ” said Swiss-born and educated civil engineer and designer Othmar Hermann Ammann who immigrated to New York City in 1904.
In 1964, Amman was awarded the National Medal of Science from President Lyndon Johnson, the first time the medal was given to a civil engineer.
A number of years ago Ammann’s daughter, Margot Durrer, told this author that the 103rd Street Bridge was his favorite.
In 2003 the Parks Department dedicated the Othmar Ammann Playground in his honor. The playground is located in the shadow of the Tri-borough Bridge on E. 124th Street between 1st/2nd Avenues in Manhattan.
FACTS AND FIGURES
Wards Island Bridge Facts
Bridge ID Number: 2-24062-0
Borough: Manhattan
Type: Vertical Lift
Telephone: 212-369-5810
Location: FDR Drive at 103rd Street
Waterway: Harlem River
Miles from Mouth: 0 Channels: 1
Used by: Ped
Length: 1247′
Max. Span: 312
Roadways: 0
Sidewalks: 1 – 12′
Construction Cost: $2,160,031.01
Land Cost: free
Total Cost: $2,160,031.01
Date Opened: Oct. 11, 1941
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Letters to the Editor
This is awful info about Pennell, although well-written.
In 1998 I bought a Joseph Pennell lithograph of Atlantic City, 1885, at the Park Ave. armory show.
It’s going bye bye.
RL
Look what just traversed the E River heading north: North River!
Newly refurbished. New paint job. Single stack (versus Red Hook with stacks), but looking soooooo good!!
Jay Jacobson
Another informative, enlightening and uplifting view. If only the government could do something like that in these times.
Your work is an asset to my brain.
AC
Text by Judith Berdy
Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS
Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website
Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c)
Roosevelt Island Historical Society
NYC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
WIKIPEDIA
FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS
CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD
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