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HISTORY
No other community in New York City offers the splendid natural beauty and historical significance of the northern tip of Manhattan Island, known as WASHINGTON HEIHHTS -
AUDUBON TERRACE
The turn of the century saw the creation of great cultural institutions at Audubon Terrace, 155th St. and Broadway. Once the site of Minnie’s Land. The estate of the famous painter of birds, John James Audubon, the land was bought by philanthropist Archer Milton Huntington.
It was he who founded the HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA in 1904, and built the MUSEUM, which opened in 1908. This was followed in the next two decades with the construction of three other museums: the AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY, the AMERICAN ACADEMY AND INSTITUTE OF ARTS AND LETTERS, and the MUSEUM OF AMERICAN INDIAN.
Each of these buildings faces a beautiful plaza that opens on to Broadway. Its unique design and cultural significance account for Audubon Terrace’s designation as a Historic District and its listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
URBANIZATION
With the completion of the IRT subway in 1904, and its extension into Inwood in 1906, many of the Irish, German and Eastern European immigrants who lived downtown began to move to the north. Construction of residential housing occurred extensively during the first two decades of the century , transforming the character of the area from the expansiveness of large country estates to the confinement of urban dwellings.
The building of churches reached its peak at this time. The Episcopal CHURCH OF HTE INTERCESSION, across from Audubon Terrace, was completed in 1915. TRINITY CHURCH CEMETERY, a part of he parish, is the burial place of John James Audubon; Philip Livingston, signer of the Declaration of Independence; Alfred Tennyson Dickens, son of Charles Dickens; Madame Jumel; and the beloved writer, Clement C. Moore, author of “Twas the Night before Christmas”
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
Although World War I and the Depression created hardships for the immigrants, the period still had notable achievements. The Presbyterian Hospital moved to 168th St. and Broadway in 1929 and joined with the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
As part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration, the construction of the Eighth Avenue Subway- the “A” train- took place. This new transportation accounted for the building of apartments in the area above Isham Park. And another ethnic group, the Greeks, moved here during this era.
FORT TRYON PARK and the CLOISTERS were built, adding to the area’s natural beauty and charm. Encompassing several estates, including C.K.G. Billings, Tryon Hall, and that of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the land was a gift to the city by Rockefeller. The park was designed in the tradition of 18th century English romantic gardens.
The GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE, once the world’s longest suspension structure, was completed in 1931. Connecting the cliffs of Ft. Lee to 178th St., it is still Manhattan’s premier bridge-its steel magnificence gleaming in the sunlight above the Hudson, and its lights creating a pearl-like necklace at night.
HAVEN FOR IMMIGRANTS
The late 1930s and early 1940s saw the arrival of German and Austrian Jews escaping Nazi persecution. Over 20.000 Jewish refugees moved into the Art Deco apartments west of Broadway. After World War II, Black migration from the overcrowded sections of Harlem and the southern states began in the 1930s increased dramatically by the 1950s. Most recently, Cubans, Dominicans, Haitians , Koreans and Soviet Jews have sought solace here.
NATIONAL TREASURES
Two institutions of national significance highlight the district’s religious and cultural diversity. Founded in1886, Yeshiva University, the first Jewish parochial school in North America, now houses the world-renowned YESHIVA UNIVERSITY MUSEUM. Opened in 1973, the Museum is a repository of Jewish culture, containing folk and ceremonial art, textiles and manuscripts.
On the Hudson River side is the national shrine of the ST. FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI CHAPEL. An Italian immigrant, Mother Cabrini founded many schools and hospitals in the United States for her order, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart.
PARKS
To really know Washington Heights-Inwood, one must see the parks. No other district in the city possesses such an amount of undisturbed beauty- a total of 600 acres. Here is where the diversity of ethnic backgrounds converges on common terrain to enjoy the natural splendor of the Heights.
The most famous of these is FT. TRYON PARK , 66 acres, stretching along the Hudson from 193rd St. to Dyckman St. Entering via Margaret Corbin Plaza, you traverse the Promenade, if front of which lies the heather Garden, covered with shrubs and flowers orchestrated to capture the brilliance of each season. Walking to the Upper Terrace, you can view the Hudson and Palisades in all their glory- from the George Washington Bridge to the Tappan Zee. But, stay for the most awesome sight- sunsets over the Hudson, when the sky takes o many different hues as the sun descends behind the cliffs of the Palisades. From the Flagpole Terrace, experience magnificent vistas of the Bronx and Manhattan.
The CLOISTERS, a medieval museum, sits atop hill in the park. The building is composed of parts of imported French and Spanish monasteries that were reassembled here. It houses works of art from that era, the most famous of which is the set of six handwoven, fifteenth-century tapestries depicting the Hunt of the Unicorn. You can also browse through a garden containing herbs of the middle Ages.
Directly to the north of Ft. Tryon is INWOOD HILL PARK, the largest, covering 196 acres, ending at Spuyten Duyvil, where the Hudson and Harlem Rivers merge. Explorers can thrill at the sight of nature in the wild - with caves once the homes of the Algonquin Indians, trees and wildflowers in abundance, and glacial configurations etched deeply into the rocks. The Friends of Inwood Hill Park conduct walking tours on the last Sunday of the month, excepting November and December. Participants meet at the flagpole near the Isham St. entrance at 1:00 P.M.
INWOOD.
This is where Indian settlements......colonial farmhouses........Revolutionary War battles.....romantic river -view estates.....great cultural institutions....and a proud heritage of ethnic diversity merge to create a microcosm of America.
Once, only Indians inhabited this magnificent wilderness of hills and valleys situated on cliffs sloping down to greet two rivers-the Hudson on the west, and the Harlem on the east. The sale of Manhattan island in 1626 by the Indians took place at an Indian settlement in Inwood Hill Park. Nearly half a century later, the colonist forced the Indians to Leave, turning the rich soil into farms.
the most famous is DYCMAN HOUSE, built in 1784 by William Dycman, a member of the Dutch Family who owned much of upper Manhattan . located on the lowlands of Inwood on a 300-acre farm, the house was burned by the British during the revolution and rebuilt in 1783.
With the influx of the British , the farmlands acquired an air of elegance. Colonel Roger Morris, a Tory, purchased a 100-acre farm in Harlem Heights, transforming it into a summer residence. Mount Morris, built between 1765 and 1768, contained a Georgian Colonial Mansion, a formal garden, barn and coach house.
AMERICAN INDENPENDE
The Revolutionary War brought an end to the bucolic atmosphere and genteel life. Northern Manhattan witnessed one of the greatest tragedies of the War of Independence - the BATLLE OF FORT WASHIGTON.
Built during the summer of 1776, the Fort was named in honor of General George Washington , and was located at what is now 183rd St. And Ft. Washington Ave. The vastly outnumbered, but valiant American soldiers fought bravely on that day-powering British troops.
It is during this battle that the Revolutionary War heroine MARGARET COCHRAN CORBIN fought beside her husband, John, at Patriot cannon. When he was killed , Margaret took his place at battlefront until she was wounded. The entrance to, and drive in Ft. Tryon Park are named in her honor.
The American flag did not fly over Fort Washington until November, 1783 when the British evacuated New York.
ESTATE BUILDING
The ravages of war ended, New York City entered into an era of prosperity. Seeking land on which to build their estates, men with new fortunes came to northern Manhattan attracted by its panoramic views and lush greenery.
In 1810, Stephen Jumel, a wealthy wine merchant, bought the mansion and farm that were once Mt. Morris. His wife, Eliza Bowen Jumel, refurbished the house in the Empire Style. The MORRIS-JUMEL MANSION is Manhattan’s oldest residence, containing exquisite furnishings of the colonial and American Empire periods.
Comparing the Hudson River to the Rhine, writers such as James Fenimore Cooper and Washington Irving cast a romantic aura on the Ft. Tryon area .between 1850 and World War I, 30 magnificent estates were built along the Hudson from upper Manhattan to Tarrytown