Just completed, Blackwell Park from the corner south of the house to the NYPL has just received a long needed restoration. The plaza outside the house has preserved its linear tree patter with a new smaller paver design. The are looks and feels larger and more open.
A wide open sidewalk
The area in the back (originally the front of the house which faces Queens) has new paving a great approach to the disabled accessible ramp the to the house and new signage.
The ramp offers a seamless entry into the house.
The ramp has extended grab rails making it easier for persons using assistive devices.
A sign clearly indicates the ramp entry.
EDITORIAL
This project’s first phase has been completed. There are many more improvements needed in our almost 50 year old Blackwell Park. With the new area next to the library, open space has been preserved.
Even the fountain is working again, after a long hiatus.
There is another fountain next to Blackwell House that hopefully will be restored or removed in the next phase.
Hopefully, RIOC will maintain these areas and not let them become neglected.
MONDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
A NEW FLEET OF TRUCKS HAS ARRIVED AT THE VISITOR CENTER NO DOUBLE PARKING FOR THESE, FROM CANDYLAB $18- EACH
WEEKEND PHOTO OF THE DAY
CITY, FORMERLY CHARITY HOSPITAL, DEMOLISHED IN 1992. GLORIA HERMAN AND ED LITCHER GOT IT!
TOMORROW ROOSEVELT ISLAND PARK DESIGNS FROM MAY 11, 2020 ISSUE
NOVEMBER 22, 1963
SOURCES
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 FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD
Let’s look at another architect who has shaped our Island.
The Octagon, the reconstructed Pauper Lunatic Asylum at the north end of our island, has been viewed as a singular achievement in design and construction. The developer and builder was Becker + Becker, founded in 1950 and directed since 1988 by Bruce Redman Becker. The firm’s website states: “Becker + Becker seeks projects that are social and environmental game-changers: restoring underutilized historic buildings and transforming urban sites to enrich and revitalize communities. We pride ourselves on finding creative interdisciplinary solutions to complex urban challenges through a fully integrated design and development process. We believe inspired design and sustainable development must result from a comprehensive understanding of how buildings should function, serve their users and impact the environment.”
We’ll look at the creation of The Octagon, but first, let’s talk briefly about the Lunatic Asylum.
Alexander Jackson Davis (1803–1892), widely considered America’s greatest mid-nineteenth century architect, designed the original Asylum. Davis is seen as an extraordinary figure in American architecture, introducing and developing new ideas and forms while producing some of the finest buildings of his time.
The Blackwell’s island Asylum was a new idea. It was the first municipal mental hospital in the country as well as the first in what became a large system of New York City Asylums comprised of hospitals on several New York islands. Before 1825, the City’s insane were housed in the city almshouse or at the Bloomingdale Asylum. Then they were moved to the basement and first floor of the General Hospital on Blackwell’s Island. Here the mentally ill remained in conditions described by the very commissioners in charge of the hospital as “a miserable refuge for their trial, undeserving of the name Asylum, in these enlightened days”. Only in 1834 did the city approve the construction of a separate institution for the insane on the island.
Designs for the Asylum were prepared by Davis in 1834-35, and the building was opened in 1839. Davis’ design was influenced by the Panopticon idea developed by Jeremy Bentham (1742-1832), a British philosopher interested in prison reform. In this design, jailers in a central structure would monitor inmates housed in radiating wings.
The RIHS article on the Asylum notes that construction had barely begun when disagreements with the City Council over the design halted work. In 1837, work resumed, but Davis’ signature “Tuscan Style” plan for two octagon structures within a U-shaped complex, ordered around a central rectangular pavilion was reduced to a single octagon joined to a single east-west wing. The upper portion of the octagon was altered to include a crenelated cupola and the architectural detail was changed to the Greek Revival style. In 1847-48, a north-south wing was built repeating the style of the earlier east-west wing. Architect Joseph M. Dunn was commissioned in 1879 to alter the Asylum. He raised the wings one story in height and, to retain the visual prominence of the Octagon, added a dome-like convex mansard roof with Neo-Greco detail. This is the structure that was later recreated by B+B.
In 1895, the Lunatic Asylum was renamed Metropolitan Hospital and became a general hospital with special emphasis on the treatment of tubercular patients, and the Metropolitan Hospital School of Nursing opened in 1902. The Metropolitan Hospital left the island around 1950 and, after that, the building was barely used. In the 1960’s, New York State took over much of what had become Roosevelt Island. The Asylum structure fell into disrepair and in the 1970s two 4-story wings flanking the octagon building were deemed too blighted for reconstruction and were razed. In 1982 and 1999, fires destroyed about 90% of the octagon building
After the first and second fires, 1982 and 1999
In 2004, after long negotiations, architect-developer Bruce Redman Becker started construction on a new 13-story apartment complex with 500 rental units, connected to a rebuilt octagon structure, which would be used for the main entry area, offices and common rooms. The firm replaced the 4-story wings with 14-story wings containing a total of 400 market-rate apartments and 100 affordable units and rebuilt the octagon structure using some of the original stone. This complex became The Octagon.
B+B conceived The Octagon to be eco-friendly from the start. The Octagon was to be 35% more energy efficient than New York State building code standards. With low-E argon-filled windows, insulated walls, high efficiency heat pumps and occupancy sensors in hallways and stairs and heat recovery units to capture energy from exhausted air and heat from waste water, it was constructed to consume far less energy than a traditional apartment building. The largest rooftop photovoltaic array of any Manhattan building was planned, producing 50 kilowatts of power – enough for all of the community’s common areas. It was to be one of the first in the world to be heated and cooled by a 400 kW fuel cell (which came online in 2011), and, contains low-VOC finishes, improved indoor air quality, and Energy Star appliances and lighting to help reduce utility bills.
Green Features promised by B+B
Over 50% of the construction materials were manufactured within 500 miles of the site, minimizing energy expended in transport; most construction waste was recycled.
400KW fuel cell provides green power and heat.
The Octagon and its sister building, 360 State in New Haven, CT are the first and only apartment buildings in the world to be powered and heated by a fuel cell.
Free of materials containing formaldehyde or volatile organic compounds
Regular testing of indoor air ensures strict quality standards
Manhattan’s largest array of photovoltaic panels
Energy Star appliances and lighting
Eco-friendly lifestyle and recreational atmosphere:
Five miles of bike paths, walking paths, and waterfront promenades
2-acre ecological park with indigenous plants
Underground parking keeps green space to a maximum
In 2008, the U.S. Green Building Council awarded The Octagon LEED-Silver Certification for excellence in sustainable design and environmentally conscious construction. Other awards include HGTV Restore America Grant; ABC 2006 Excellence in Construction Award for Historic Restoration; Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation Harlan Griswold Award for Historic Preservation; CEDAS – EDDY Award for Economic Development in a Community Project. The Octagon received the largest initial award of New York State Green Building Tax Credits and was recognized in the first New York City Green Buildings Competition with the “Green Apple Award” for leadership in applying sustainable design principles to residential development.
Thoughts: Design
First, for what it’s worth, The Octagon today embodies very little of what Davis first planned – but to be fair, the complex hasn’t retained much of Davis’ influence since the very first days. It recalls, instead, the 1879 rebuilding.
I’m not able to judge how green The Octagon is now. Hopefully, promises have been kept. The site has glorious river views, but the vaunted “ecological park” doesn’t exist. The Octagon sits on a very tight site. The interior decoration of the octagon building is modern, retaining little of the original style. The famous staircase has not been rebuilt but a good effort was made to create a modern version.
Stairway old and new
The 1879 mansard tower represents a brief romance with this style in New York architecture, and one wonders if an earlier version of the octagon building might have been more suitable in terms of Island history. But most of all, the huge 14 story wings overshadow the octagon building, including the mansard tower. Clearly, B+B had to build enough apartments to make the project viable, and an effort was made to tie the pieces together by using the same stone on the lower levels of the wings. But truly, it is a disagreeable compromise.
The apartment rooms are small – like everywhere else—and it’s a long haul to public transportation. But all in all, The Octagon has to be seen as a remarkable achievement on our Island.
HERALD SQUARE / GREELEY SQUARE LAURA HUSSEY AND ARON EISENPREISS GOT IT
SOURCES
BECKER +BECKER RIOC NY TIMES FULL LIST ON REQUEST
Funding Provided by: Roosevelt Island Corporation Public Purpose Funds Council Member Ben Kallos City Council Discretionary Funds thru DYCD Text by Judith Berdy
Edited by Deborah Dorff ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT RIHS. 2020 (C) PHOTOS IN THIS ISSUE (C) JUDITH BERDY RIHS
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 unless otherwise indicated
FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD
It happened on Broadway and 31st Street in room 84 of the Grand Hotel, in the middle of the Tenderloin—Gilded Age New York’s vast vice playground of brothels, dance halls, theaters, and gambling dens.
After knocking on the door several times on the morning of August 16, 1898, a chambermaid entered the room and found the corpse of a pretty young woman, her head in a pool of blood and her clothed body spread out on the floor.
The stylishly dressed woman “had been bludgeoned with a lead pipe to the skull, her neck was broken, and one of her earlobes was torn by the violent removal of an earring,” wrote John Oller in Rogues’ Gallery:The Birth of Modern Policing and Organized Crime in Gilded Age New York.
“Her clothing was undisturbed, the bed linens fresh and unmussed,” wrote Oller. “On a table in the center of the room stood an empty champagne bottle and two glasses.”
Police in the Tenderloin were used to gruesome crime scenes, and they were summoned to the hotel to piece together evidence.
The details were intriguing. Though the woman had signed into the hotel as “E. Maxwell and wife, Brooklyn” and was then seen by hotel staff meeting a man in a straw hat, her real identity was Emeline “Dolly” Reynolds, a petite 21-year-old who two years earlier left her well-off parents in Mount Vernon to try to make it as an actress in Manhattan.
Reynolds wasn’t getting anywhere as an actress however. For a time she sold books, then met a married man named Maurice Mendham (above). This wealthy stockbroker helped set her up in an apartment on West 58th Street, bought her jewelry, and lived with her “as man and wife,” as a prosecutor later put it.
Just as interesting to detectives was the check that fell out of her corset during her on-scene autopsy. “It was made payable to ‘Emma Reynolds’ in the amount of $13,000,” wrote Oller. “Dated August 15, 1898, the previous day, it was drawn on the Garfield National Bank, signed by a ‘Dudley Gideon,’ and endorsed on the back by ‘S.J. Kennedy.’”
Investigators soon learned that Mendham had an alibi; he was in Long Branch at the time. They also discovered that ‘Dudley Gideon’ didn’t exist. But S.J. Kennedy did, and they began taking a closer look at this 32-year-old Staten Island dentist who practiced on West 22nd Street and was introduced to Reynolds by Mendham.
“Reynolds’ mother told police that about a week before the murder, Dolly told her that Dr. Kennedy (above) volunteered to put $500 on a horse race for her,” according to Strange Company. “She had drawn the money from her bank, and would meet him on the evening of August 15 to deliver what he promised would be a highly profitable investment.”
Police arrested Kennedy five hours after Reynolds’ body was discovered.
After denying he knew Reynolds, Kennedy then admitted to being her regular dentist, according to Oller, and that he saw her in his office the previous week. He insisted their relationship was professional and that he did not place any bets for her, had never been to the Grand Hotel, and his signature on the $13,000 check was forged.
Still, hotel employees ID’d him as the man in the straw hat they saw with Reynolds the day before her body was found. Kennedy also could not explain his whereabouts at the time of the murder, estimated to be at 1 a.m. He thought he’d been to Proctor’s Theatre on West 23rd Street (above), but he couldn’t recall the name of the play he’d seen, wrote Oller.
Police and prosecutors came up with a theory to connect Kennedy to Reynolds. “According to the theory, Dolly was just one of the ‘lambs’ that Kennedy, a feeder for a group of confidence men, was tasked with separating from their money,” explained Oller. But there were some holes, such as why the check was for $13,000, and why the dentist murdered her so viciously.
The March 1899 trial riveted New York City, and newspapers printed lurid front-page headlines with illustrations of the courtroom. Hotel staff and guests (like Mrs. Logue, above) took the stand; Kennedy did not. The jury quickly convicted Kennedy and sentenced him to die in Sing Sing in the electric chair.
But then, the convicted dentist got a lucky break, when in 1900 the Court of Appeals granted him a new trial due to “hearsay” that was used as evidence in the first trial.
The second time, the jury deadlocked, with 11 voting to acquit. At a third trial, Mendham testified, and “his evasiveness about the extent of his relationship with Dolly Reynolds fed the defense’s insinuation that he was somehow behind the murder,” wrote Oller.
While crowds sympathetic to Kennedy rallied outside the courtroom, the jury couldn’t agree on a verdict once again. The city declined to try the case a fourth time. Kennedy was released from the Tombs and returned to Staten Island to a hero’s welcome.
“He resumed his dental practice and lived quietly in New Dorp, dying at age 81 in August 1948, almost 50 years to the day after the murder of his patient Dolly Reynolds,” wrote Oller.
[Top image: San Jose Mercury News; second image: MCNY X2011.34.35; third image: New York World; fourth image: The Scrapbook; fifth image: MCNY 93.1.1.15639; sixth image: New York World; seventh image: New York Journal]
THURSDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY WISCONSIN STATE CAPITOL, MADISON
Construction of the present capitol, the third in Madison, began in late 1906 and was completed in 1917 at a cost of $7.25 million. The architect was George B. Post & Sons from New York. Because of financial limitations and the need for immediate office space to house state government employees, the construction of the new building was extended over several years and emphasized building one wing at a time.
The Capitol is 284 feet, 5 inches tall from the ground floor to the top of the Wisconsin statue on the dome.
The Wisconsin statue on the dome was sculpted during 1920 by Daniel Chester French of New York. Its left hand holds a globe surmounted by an eagle and her right arm is outstretched to symbolize the state motto, “Forward”. It wears a helmet with the state animal, the badger, on top. It is made of hollow bronze covered with gold leaf. Wisconsin is 15 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs three tons. The statue is commonly misidentified as Lady Forward or Miss Forward, which is the name of another statue on the capitol grounds.
The capitol ceiling, visible from the center of the building, features “Resources of Wisconsin”, a mural by Edwin Howland Blashfield. Due to the domed shape of the ceiling, the mural was painted in pieces and was assembled similarly to a jigsaw puzzle. It features a woman sitting on a throne of clouds, representing Wisconsin. Wisconsin is surrounded by other women, wrapped in a large American Flag, who are reaching for goods such as tobacco, lead, and fruits.
The capitol was constructed of 43 types of stone from six countries and eight states. The exterior stone is Bethel white granite from Vermont, making the exterior dome the largest granite dome in the world. The corridor floors, walls and columns are of marble from the states of Tennessee, Missouri, Vermont, Georgia, New York, and Maryland; granite from the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota; and limestone from the states of Minnesota and Illinois. Marble from the countries of France, Italy, Greece, Algeria and Germany, and syenite from Norway are also represented. Other Wisconsin granites are located throughout the public hallways on the ground, first, and second floors.
The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001. A 1990 state law prevents any building within one mile of the capitol from being taller than the base of the columns surrounding and supporting its dome.[
EPHEMERAL NEW YORK Tags: Dolly Reynolds Murder Trial, Dolly Reynolds S.J. Kennedy, Gilded Age Murders NYC, Gilded Age NYC Murder Dolly Reynolds, Grand Hotel NYC, Murder of Dolly Reynolds NYC, Murder of Emeline Dolly Reynolds, Tenderloin Grand Hotel NYC Posted in Chelsea, Disasters and crimes, Sketchy hotels
FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD
There’s a lot of enchantment on Riverside Drive, the rare Manhattan avenue that deviates from the 1811 Commissioners Plan that laid out the mostly undeveloped city based on a pretty rigid street grid.
Rather than running straight up and down, Riverside winds along its namesake park, breaking off into slender carriage roads high above the Hudson River. (We have Central Park co-designer Frederick Law Olmsted, who also conceptualized Riverside Park and what was originally called Riverside Avenue, to thank for this.)
But the surviving row house at number 294 deserves a closer look. More precisely, it’s the beautiful wrought iron grille protecting the wide front parlor window that invites our attention.
Number 294 was originally a four-story, single-family home completed in 1901. It’s a wonderful, mostly untouched example of the Beaux-Arts style that was all the rage among the city’s elite at the turn of the last century.
“The most striking features of the facade of 294 Riverside Drive—the orderly, asymmetrical arrangement, the finely carved limestone detailing, the graceful Ionic portico, the slate mansard roof, the elaborate dormers, and the ornate ironwork—eloquently express the richness embodied in the Beaux-Arts style,” wrote the Landmarks Preservation Commission in a 1991 document, which designated the house, built in 1901, as a city landmark.
That unusual front window grille, however, seems to be the one part of the house that aligns more with the Art Nouveau style, which emerged in Europe in the early 1900s and wasn’t widely adopted in New York City. Take a look at the the graceful, flowing lines and curlicues that mimic flower stems, petals, and other forms found in nature. This grille is original to the house, according to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which called it “intricate and naturalistic.” The AIA guide to New York City pays homage to its Art Nouveau beauty, calling it “remarkable.” Why such a fanciful window grille (below on the house in 1939-1941) became part of the house likely has to do with the man who commissioned number 294 and was its first owner.
William Baumgarten, born in Germany and the son of a master cabinetmaker, was one of the most prominent interior designers in Gilded Age New York City. Baumgarten designed the inside of William Henry Vanderbilt’s Fifth Avenue mansion; along with his firm, Herter Brothers, he was responsible for the interiors of other mansions and luxury hotels.
He and his wife, Clara, occupied the Riverside Drive row house until first William and then his wife passed away. In 1914, their survivors family sold it off. It was soon carved up into apartments, as it remains today. (The photo above has a “for rent” sign on the facade, but I just can’t make out a price.)
Baumgarten was known for his creative genius and talent. He would certainly want to live in a row house mansion (now known as the William and Clara Baumgarten House) of his own that reflected the beautiful design touches of his era.
FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD
THIS PROGRAM WILL BE EXCLUSIVELY ON ZOOM, PARTICIPATE FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16th, 2021
The 521st Edition
Harsenville to Carmansville:
The Lost Villages of the
Upper West Side
from 6 SQFT
Via NYPL
In the 18th century, Bloomingdale Road (today’s Broadway) connected the Upper West Side with the rest of the city. Unlike lower Manhattan, this area was still natural, with fertile soil and rolling landscapes, and before long, countryside villages began sprouting along the Hudson River. They were a combination of farms and grand estates and each functioned independently with their own schools and roads.
6sqft has uncovered the history of the five most prominent of these villages–Harsenville, Strycker’s Bay, Bloomingdale Village, Manhattanville, and Carmansville. Though markers of their names remain here and there, the original functions and settings of these quaint settlements have been long lost.
The Harsen house in 1888, via New-York Historical Society
Harsenville ran from 68th Street to 81st Street, between Central Park West and the Hudson River. It began in 1701 when Cornelius Dyckman bought a 94-acre farm at Broadway and 73rd Street. His daughter Cornelia then married a farmer named Jacob Harsen, and they built their homestead at Tenth Avenue and 70th Street in 1763. Other farming families began to follow suit, setting up what became a small village, complete with schools, churches, and shops. At its height, it had 500 residents and 60 buildings, thanks largely to the perfect-for-tobacco soil and waterfront views. Harsenville Road was the main street, and it ran through present-day Central Park.
Somarindyck house at 77th Street
The Somarindyck family, another great farming clan, took up residence next to the Harsens on land from Columbus Circle to the 70s. Their home stood at Broadway and 75th Street, and it’s believed that Prince Louis Philippe lived here while exiled from France. They also had a second home at 77th Street, which was purchased in the late 1840s by Fernando Wood, who lived there while he served as NYC Mayor.
By the 1870s, the Harsen family began selling their land when farming fell out of fashion. In 1893, the Harsen home was torn down, and by 1911, Harsenville was no more, as brownstones and grand apartment houses began to dot the Upper West Side. There is one remnant of the village, however. The condo building at 72nd Street is named Harsen House.
Strycker’s Bay maps via the Strycker’s Bay Neighborhood Council
From 86th to 96th Streets was the village of Strycker’s Bay, situated atop an elevated piece of land next to an inlet. The name came from Gerrit Striker, who built his farm at Columbus Avenue and 97th Street. At the southern end, John McVickar had a 60-acre estate at 86th Street, where his grand Palladian house stood. The enclave was a wealthy suburb, made possible by a ferry that took residents downtown. Striker’s farmhouse eventually became the Striker’s Bay Tavern in the late 19th century. It featured a lawn along the river, dance floor, and shooting targets.
Today the name lives on with the Strycker’s Bay Neighborhood Council, a group that supports affordable housing on the Upper West Side, as well as the Strycker’s Bay Apartments on 94th Street.
Bloomingdale Insane Asylum
North of Strycker’s Bay was Bloomingdale Village, which stretched between 96th and 110th Streets. The Dutch brought the name with them in the 1600s, as “Bloemendaal,” which translates to “valley of flowers.” The Bloomgindale District originally encompassed the entire west side from 23rd Street to 125th Street, made up of the farms and villages along Bloomingdale Road. But in 1820, this particular area got its moniker when the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum opened on what is today the Columbia University campus
The Clendening mansion, depicted in an 1863 edition of Valentine’s Manual
The physical outline of the village is defined by a natural depression in the land (hence why it’s today called Manhattan Valley), and in the 1800s, most of it was occupied by the farm of wealthy merchant John Clendening. His land ran from Bloomingdale Road to Eight Avenue, between 99th and 105th Streets. At Amsterdam Avenue and 104th Street was his personal mansion, so within Bloomingdale Village the area became known as Clendening Valley.
New York Cancer Hospital
The Village began to change course in the mid 1800s when the Croton Aqueduct was constructed above the valley. Later in the century, large institutions—the Hebrew Home for the Aged, the Catholic Old Age Home, and the New York Cancer Hospital, to name a few—were erected in the area. It was thought that their location resembled the bucolic countryside, and would therefore attract wealthy patients and patrons. In 1904, Bloomingdale Village’s fate was sealed when Columbia University purchased the insane asylum building and the IRT – Seventh Avenue subway opened.
Tiemann Estate depicted in an 1858 edition of Valentine’s Manual
Manhattanville was perhaps the most bustling of the West Side villages. It also sat within a valley, this one running roughly from 122nd to 134th Streets. It was officially incorporated as a village in 1806, thanks to its commercial waterfront, warehouses, and factories, as well as the fact that it had a rail station and ferry terminal. The area was laid out by wealthy Quaker merchants who owned nearby country homes.
One of Manhattanville’s most prominent residents was Daniel F. Tiemann, who owned D.F. Tiemann & Company Color Works, a paint and pigment manufacturer. The factory had originally been located in Gramercy, but moved uptown in 1832 when a fresh water spring was discovered. Tiemann would go on to become a founding trustee of Cooper Union and mayor of NYC from 1858 to 1860. In addition to wealthy industrialists like Tiemann, the neighborhood was made up of a mix of poor laborers, tradesmen, slave owners, and British loyalists. After the Civil War, Jewish immigrants moved into the area.
In 1847, the Academy of Convent of the Sacred Heart, which would become Manhattanville College, moved just atop the hill of the village, and in 1853 the Catholic Christian Brothers moved their school from Canal Street to 131st Street and Broadway, establishing Manhattan College. Unlike Bloomingdale Village, Manhattanville didn’t change when the IRT subway opened in the early 1900s, as it only enhanced the area’s industrial and commercial nature. However, after the stock market crash of 1929, the neighborhood lost its manufacturing base and jobs and residents began to move to Harlem proper and elsewhere in the city. Today, Manhattanville is best known for being the site of Columbia University’s controversial expansion plan.
The northernmost of the Upper West Side’s lost villages, Carmansville stretched from about 140th to 158th Streets (the exact location is up for debate), today’s Hamilton Heights. It was named after the wealthy contractor, Richard Carman, who founded the area and lived on 153rd Street. He was a box manufacturer who got rich in the real estate and insurance businesses after the Great Fire of 1835. He was also friends with naturalist John James Audubon, who had his estate called Minniesland at 156th Street.
Carmansville, from an 1863 edition of Phelps’ New-York City Guide; via NYPL
It was a popular neighborhood for socially prominent families. An 1868 issue of the Atlantic Monthly described the setting: “Trim hedges of beautiful flowering shrubs border the gravel walks that lead from the road to the villas. Cows of European lineage crop the velvet turf in the glades of the copses. Now and then the river is shut out from view, but only to appear again in scenic vistas.” By the end of the 19th century, the views had become obstructed with tenements and apartment buildings for middle-class families, and most of the wealthy residents moved out. Carmansville Playground today serves as a reminder of this lost hamlet.
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 FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD
Born in New York. A pioneering abstract painter known for expressing natural forms, sounds, and musical motifs in his paintings.
Nora Panzer, ed. Celebrate America in Poetry and Art (New York and Washington, D.C.: Hyperion Paperbacks for Children in association with the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1994)
Arthur Dove, one of the pioneering abstract painters of the early twentieth century, graduated from Cornell in 1903 and worked for a period as a magazine illustrator. His discovery, in Paris in 1908, of Matisse, the Fauves, and the Cubists, as well as his encounter with aesthetic theories that stressed spiritual expression, had a crucial effect on his subsequent work. He spent much of his year abroad in southern France with Alfred Maurer, who provided Dove’s introduction to his lifelong friend and dealer, Alfred Stieglitz. Throughout Dove’s work, from the early “Nature Symbolized” series, in which houses, sails, and landscape elements are at times almost unrecognizable, to his later abstractions, Dove translated natural forms, sounds, and musical motifs into powerfully expressive paintings. Although during the 1920s Dove’s sense of humor emerged in a group of witty and formally inventive assemblages, his watercolors of the 1930s and 1940s, in which he wove imagery “into a sequence of formations” analogous to musical harmonies, are among his most distinctive works.
Virginia M. Mecklenburg Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press for the National Museum of American Art, 1987
Arthur Dove, Untitled (Landscape), ca. 1938, ink and watercolor on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1993.22.1
Arthur Dove began creating small watercolors as studies for larger paintings, but he came to appreciate them as stand-alone works and by the 1930s began to include them in exhibitions. Lyrical color and freely sketched forms reveal Dove’s impulsive, of-the-moment response to nature and his surroundings. Although celebrated as one of the country’s most accomplished abstract artists, Dove captures the American landscape through gestural lines and washes of color.
Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014
Arthur Dove, Car across the Street, 1940, pen and ink and watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.24
Dove suffered from various illnesses that kept him housebound for weeks at a time. Nevertheless he painted the world that was visible from his glass-enclosed front porch. For a painter inspired by nature, this confinement was frustrating, but Dove transformed the nearby activity into imaginative compositions. In this watercolor, he created a colorful, visually exciting scene from an otherwise banal subject, the neighbor’s car. Defined by only two black lines, the car seems to merge with the surrounding environment.
Graphic Masters II: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2009
Arthur Dove, Black and White, 1940, gouache on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.23
Arthur Dove, Oil Tanker II, 1932, watercolor and conte crayon on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.25
Arthur Dove, Untitled (Centerport), 1941, watercolor, gouache, ink and pencil on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1993.22.2
Arthur Dove, The Court Room Scene, ca. 1904-1907, pencil and crayon on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Paul M. Dove, 1978.79
JAY JACOBSON, ED LITCHER, JOHN GATTUSO ALL GOT THE SUBWAY PASSING OVER THE UPPER LEVEL OF THE QUEENSBORO BRIDGE
SOURCES
SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM
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 FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD
I learned this morning that Ethel passed away. Ethel Grodzins Romm was a child of the depression and a true American character.
I met her when she lived in Island House in the 1980’s. I knew she was unique when I met her at the tram station loaded down with bags of Entenmenn’s cakes. She was a construction project manager at a 5th Avenue mansion. She had figured out that the workers had to walk to Lexington Avenue for refreshments. She installed a coffee maker and daily schlepped goodies for workers.
Ethel was a character, sometimes funny, serious and never forgetful.
She left the Island to live in Boston with her brother’s family and help run a radon detection business. Her brother Lee was a MIT PhD who had worked in research and development.
Ethel had three sons. Daniel passed away a few years ago whose interests were literature and science fiction. David, a rehabilitation physician who retired from the VA and at one time did an internship at Goldwater. Joe is a well known author and speaker on science, climate change and the future.
Judith Berdy
One of my most vivid memories of Ethel is that of her tooting around Roosevelt Island on her Segue. I’m not even sure they were “street legal,” but nothing stopped Ethel. I loved – not only that she had the chutzpah to get up and learn to ride the thing- but that she was one of the first people to adopt the new technology. I’m sure Ethel was well into her 80s at the time.
Ethel was one of a kind. Nothing ever stopped her and I loved her for it. Of course, she would tell you that, too! She WAS the original “Rosie the Riveter” but really, Ethel was an original in everything she did.
Her memory is a profound blessing. Her life was an inspiration and I know she made a powerful impact in countless areas during her life, for which we have all been enriched.
Rabbi Leana Moritt
Be still. Listen. Listening is the singing and life is the song. Pray for peace. Speak up. Do justice.
Rabbi Leana Moritt (she/היא) Temple Beth-El of Jersey City 2419 Kennedy Blvd, Jersey City, NJ 07304 201.333.4229 www.betheljc.org
We just learned early this morning about the passing of Ethel Romm, on Tuesday, November 9th, of our good friend, long-time Roosevelt Islander, RIRA & RIJC member, and generous benefactor to many causes. Ethel was a genuine Woman of Valor, an accomplished author, journalist, mechanical engineer, architect and urban development expert, CEO, teacher, dedicated student of everything, and so much more. She was frequently the “first woman to be…” in many different fields. Loved History and made History on many occasions. Ethel loved her family & friends, her life here on Roosevelt Island & in NYC, and the world itself. Always out & about, her energy, curiosity and desire to learn and share her knowledge knew no bounds.
Nina Lublin
Memorial service for Ethel Romm Sunday
Subject: Remembering Ethel Romm’s extraordinary life memorial Zoom service
For those who don’t know, my mother, Ethel Romm, died 11/9 from end-stage Alzheimer’s disease
Dan Romm is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom memorial meeting.
Sunday 11/14, 1 to 3 PM
After the short service, you are invited to share one or two memories of Ethel Romm.
Meeting ID: 878 8139 3129 Passcode: 020567 One tap mobile +13126266799,,87881393129#,,,,020567# US (Chicago) +19292056099,,87881393129#,,,,020567# US (New York)
Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 878 8139 3129 Passcode: 020567 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdDYhFclT8
Ethel with Lynne Shinozaki a few years ago in Washington, D.C.
Andy Sparberg, Rob Mac Kay, Ed Litcher, Gloria Herman got it.
Among the oldest homes in New York City and New York State,
the Bowne House was built ca. 1661 by John Bowne, who emigrated from England to Boston in 1649 and settled in Flushing, Queens, when New York was under Dutch rule. His family prospered in America: the nine generations born and raised in the house produced businessmen, horticulturists, educators and politicians.
Over the course of 300 years, the family left its mark on American culture, participating in events of both regional and national significance -starting with John Bowne’s courageous defense of religious freedom in 1662, an act which inspired the principles later codified in the Bill of Rights -and continuing with subsequent generations’ abolitionist activities and participation in the Underground Railroad.
The Bowne House Historical Society was founded in 1945 by a group of local Flushing residents for the sole purpose of purchasing the house and opening it to the public as a museum in 1947. BOWNE HOUSE, FLUSHING, NY.
CORRECTION
Andy Spanberg
May I add that the description of yesterday’s photo as shown in this morning’s edition is not correct. It is not the Second Avenue Subway. It is a part of the old Second Avenue elevated line. As I wrote, it is the “Manhattan end of Queensboro Bridge, with an IRT elevated train from either Astoria or Corona turning south onto Second Avenue. This service ended in 1942 and the tracks and structure were removed soon afterward.”
Funding Provided by: Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation Public Purpose Funds Council Member Ben Kallos City Council Discretionary Funds thru DYCD Text by Judith Berdy
ROOSEVELT ISLAND JEWISH CONGREGATION
Edited by Deborah Dorff ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT RIHS. 2020 (C) PHOTOS IN THIS ISSUE (C) JUDITH BERDY RIHS
BRING YOUR PENNIES, NICKELS DIMES AND QUARTERS TO OUR TABLE AT THE FARMER’S MARKET THIS SATURDAY,WEATHER PERMITTING.(IN CASE OF RAIN, LEAVE AT 531 DOOR STATION FOR JUDY BERDY)
THE PENNIES WILL BE SUPPORTING THE R.I.H.S. AND HELP RE-CIRCULATE COINS.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2021
THE 518th EDITION
NYC UNVEILS A NEW
MEMORIAL HONORING
AFRICAN AND NATIVE
AMERICAN BURIAL GROUND
6SQFT
BY DEVIN GANNON
Photo: NYC Parks/ Malcolm Pinckney
Hundreds of New Yorkers, mostly African and Native American residents, who were buried in Flushing at least 150 years ago were finally honored with a memorial this week. The city’s Parks Department and Queens officials on Tuesday cut the ribbon on a new commemorative plaza at the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground. The site, located north of 46th Avenue between 164th and 165th Streets, was used as a public burial ground starting as early as 1840, with over 1,000 individuals buried there until 1898. A new memorial wall includes the name of the sacred site, a brief history, and 318 recorded names of those buried there, and the new plaza has a butterfly garden and surrounding benches.
http://Photo: NYC Parks/ Malcolm Pinckney
“The reconstructed Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground memorial is a fitting tribute to those buried here who deserve dignity and respect and a space for reflection of the past and the promise of the future,” Gabrielle Fialkoff, commissioner at NYC Parks, said.
“This project is the result of the tireless efforts of the community. We are grateful to the Council Member and Borough President’s offices for their support, and to the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground Conservancy for their unfaltering dedication to preserving this site’s legacy.
” Starting in the middle of the 1800s, the town of Flushing suffered from cholera and smallpox epidemics. The town, afraid those who died from these diseases would contaminate church burial grounds, purchased land from the Bowne family to create a separate burial. According to the Parks Department, following the discovery of a link between contaminated water and cholera and improvement of hygiene, the frequency of epidemics diminished and the burial ground fell into disuse.
According to the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground Conservancy, the plots were “indiscriminately arranged, often unmarked, and as shallow as six inches below the surface.”
At the end of the 1800s, the burial ground was used by the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, which had run out of burial space at their property. Starting in 1880, the site was used as a final resting place for African Americans and Native Americans. The last burial there was in 1898, the year the City of New York was incorporated.
After Parks acquired the property, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses in 1936 built a playground on the site as part of a Works Progress Administration project, with a comfort station and wading pool added later. During construction, WPA workers found evidence of the burial ground, including pennies in the eyes of the dead, an ancient burial tradition seen also in burials excavated from the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan.
A Long Island Press article from 1936 detailed the WPA workers selling the coins for profit and described the men finding “bones galore” from the lot.
Photo: NYC Parks/ Malcolm Pinckney
When Parks started a renovation of the site in the 1990s, community activist Mandingo Tshaka called for the city to research its history. The city conducted an archaeological study in 1996, which discovered the site served as the final resting place for between 500 and 1,000 New Yorkers. Death records for the town of Flushing dated 1881 until 1898 show that during this period, 62 percent of the buried were African American or Native American, 34 percent were unidentified, and more than half were children under the age of five.
The site, formerly called “Pauper Burial Ground,” “Colored Cemetery of Flushing,” and “Martin’s Field,” was renamed in 2009, “The Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground.”
In 2018, plans were finally unveiled for the commemorative plaza and reconstructed pedestrian paths at the burial ground. Now open, the $1.76 million project involved the construction of a memorial wall made of an etched barre gray granite top. There is a butterfly garden at the center of the new plaza, which is surrounded by benches, flowering ornamental trees, and cardinal directions written in a local Native American language.
“At long last, this monument vividly restores the important history of this site, a burial ground unjustly desecrated and paved over by the city of New York decades ago in callous disregard for this final resting place of so many African and Native American residents in this community,” State Sen. John Liu said. “History must be memorialized so terrible mistakes will not be forgotten and repeated.”
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);
6SQFT
FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD
Staff Sgt. Ruth Hanks, Sentinel, 4th Battalion, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) places a rose at each of the four crypts of the Unknowns during her last walk ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington National Cemetery, Va., Sept. 3, 2017. Staff Sgt. Hanks is the 4th female Sentinel to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and has been guarding the tomb since September 2015. (U.S. Army Photos by Pvt. Lane Hiser)
On Veterans Day 1921, President Warren G. Harding presided over an interment ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery for an unknown soldier who died during World War I. Since then, three more soldiers have been added to the Tomb of the Unknowns (also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier) memorial—and one has been disinterred. Below, a few things you might not know about the historic site and the rituals that surround it.
THERE WERE FOUR UNKNOWN SOLDIER CANDIDATES FOR THE WORLD WAR I CRYPT. To ensure a truly random selection, four unknown soldiers were exhumed from four different WWI American cemeteries in France. U.S. Army Sgt. Edward F. Younger, who was wounded in combat and received the Distinguished Service Medal, was chosen to select a soldier for burial at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington. After the four identical caskets were lined up for his inspection, Younger chose the third casket from the left by placing a spray of white roses on it. The chosen soldier was transported to the U.S. on the USS Olympia, while the other three were reburied at Meuse Argonne American Cemetery in France.
SIMILARLY, TWO UNKNOWN SOLDIERS WERE SELECTED AS POTENTIAL REPRESENTATIVES OF WORLD WAR II. One had served in the European Theater and the other served in the Pacific Theater. The Navy’s only active-duty Medal of Honor recipient, Hospitalman 1st Class William R. Charette, chose one of the identical caskets to go on to Arlington. The other was given a burial at sea.
THERE WERE FOUR POTENTIAL REPRESENTATIVES OF THE KOREAN WAR FOR THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER. The soldiers were disinterred from the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii. This time, Army Master Sgt. Ned Lyle was the one to choose the casket. Along with the unknown soldier from WWII, the unknown Korean War soldier lay in the Capitol Rotunda from May 28 to May 30, 1958.
THE VIETNAM WAR’S UNKNOWN SOLDIER WAS SELECTED ON MAY 17, 1984. Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Allan Jay Kellogg, Jr., selected the Vietnam War representative during a ceremony at Pearl Harbor.
THE VIETNAM VETERAN WASN’T AN UNKNOWN SOLDIER FOR LONG. Thanks to advances in mitochondrial DNA testing, scientists were able to identify the remains of the Vietnam War soldier. On May 14, 1998, the remains were exhumed and tested, revealing the “unknown” soldier to be Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie. He had been shot down near An Loc, Vietnam, in 1972. After his identification, Blassie’s family had him moved to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis. Instead of adding another unknown soldier to the Vietnam War crypt, the crypt cover has been replaced with one bearing the inscription, “Honoring and Keeping Faith with America’s Missing Servicemen, 1958-1975.”
THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER’S MARBLE SCULPTORS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY OTHER U.S. MONUMENTS. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was designed by architect Lorimer Rich and sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones, but the actual carving was done by the Piccirilli Brothers. Even if you don’t know them, you know their work: The brothers carved the 19-foot statue of Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial, the lions outside the New York Public Library, the Maine Monument in Central Park, the DuPont Circle Fountain in Washington, D.C., and much more.
THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER HAS BEEN GUARDED 24/7 SINCE 1937. Tomb Guards come from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, “The Old Guard.” Serving the U.S. since 1784, the Old Guard is the oldest active infantry unit in the military. They keep watch over the memorial every minute of every day, including when the cemetery is closed and in inclement weather.
BECOMING A TOMB GUARD IS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT. Members of the Old Guard must apply for the position. If chosen, the applicant goes through an intense training period, in which they must pass tests on weapons, ceremonial steps, cadence, military bearing, uniform preparation, and orders. Although military members are known for their neat uniforms, it’s said that the Tomb Guards have the highest standards of them all. A knowledge test quizzes applicants on their memorization—including punctuation—of 35 pages on the history of the tomb. Once they’re selected, guards “walk the mat” in front of the tomb for anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the time of year and time of day. They work in 24-hour shifts, however, and when they aren’t walking the mat, they’re in the living quarters beneath it. This gives the sentinels time to complete training and prepare their uniforms, which can take up to eight hours. Tomb Guards serve for an average of 18 months.
THE HONOR OF GUARDING THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER IS ALSO INCREDIBLY RARE. The Tomb Guard badge is the least awarded badge in the Army, and the second least awarded badge in the overall military. (The first is the astronaut badge.) Tomb Guards are held to the highest standards of behavior, and can have their badge taken away for any action on or off duty that could bring disrespect to the tomb. And that’s for the entire lifetime of the Tomb Guard, even well after his or her guarding duty is over. For the record, it seems that Tomb Guards are rarely female—only six women have held the post.
THE STEPS PERFORMED IN FRONT OF THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER HAVE SPECIFIC MEANING. Everything the guards do is a series of 21, which alludes to the 21-gun salute. According to TombGuard.org:
“The Sentinel does not execute an about face, rather they stop on the 21st step, then turn and face the Tomb for 21 seconds. They then turn to face back down the mat, change the weapon to the outside shoulder, mentally count off 21 seconds, then step off for another 21 step walk down the mat. They face the Tomb at each end of the 21 step walk for 21 seconds. The Sentinel then repeats this over and over until the Guard Change ceremony begins.”
GUARDS DO NOT WEAR THEIR RANK WHILE ON DUTY AT THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER. Every other service member wears insignia on their uniforms that denote their rank—but not the Tomb Guards. Since the identities and ranks of the soldiers within in the tomb are not known, the guards don’t wear their insignia to avoid potentially outranking the soldiers they’re watching over.
M. FRANK, GLORIA HERMAN, LAURA HUSSEY, ARLENE BESSENOFF GOT IT RIGHT………………..ERIE LACKAWANA TERMINAL IN JERSEY CITY
PENNIES FOR PRESERVATION
BRING YOUR PENNIES, NICKELS DIMES AND QUARTERS TO OUR TABLE AT THE FARMER’S MARKET THIS SATURDAY
THE PENNIES WILL BE SUPPORTING THE R.I.H.S. AND HELP RE-CIRCULATE COINS.
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 Deborah Dorff All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
MENTAL FLOSS
FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD
80-foot-tall sculpture and new public plaza unveiled on Jersey City’s waterfront
6sqft
Photo Credit: SJ Martinez Photography
A massive sculptural portrait was unveiled on the Jersey City waterfront this week, along with a new public plaza. Created by Barcelona-based artist Jaume Plensa, Water’s Soul is a monumental 80-foot-tall sculpture depicting a young person in contemplation. The new permanent artwork sits on the Hudson River in Newport, the master-planned, mixed-use community developed by the LeFrak Organization and Simon Property Group.
“I believe in the spirit of water too, and its great capacity for connection and transformation. Water is the great public space — it does not belong to anyone and at the same time belongs to all of us.”
The sculpture is Plensa’s tallest work and second major installation in the New York area, preceded by “Voices” at 30 Hudson Yards in 2018.
Along with the new sculpture, a new walkway designed by MNLA was unveiled. The landscaped path connects to Newport’s Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, as well as a new “art plaza.” The newly opened plaza and pier walkway is part of a broader plan from the developer for park space on the waterfront, including a dog run and an overlook with a deck and tree pits, as Jersey Digs reported.
“This is transformative,” Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said of the sculpture. “It adds to the arts community here in Jersey City and further enhances Jersey City as an arts destination.”
Jersey City’s art scene is flourishing, thanks to the city’s longstanding public mural program, the Mana Contemporary art center, and in 2024, the first North American outpost of the Parisian museum, The Centre Pompidou.
Water’s Soul is located at 1 Park Lane South next to Newport Green and in front of LeFrk’s Ellipse rental tower. During the winter season, the sculpture will be open for public viewing from dawn to dusk.
SUNY Albany built under Governor Nelson Rockefeller.
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 unless otherwise indicated:
6sqft
RIHS (C) FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD
