Coogan's Bluff
Encyclopedia
- For the Clint Eastwood movie see Coogan's Bluff (film)Coogan's Bluff (film)Coogan's Bluff is a 1968 American Universal film directed by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Don Stroud, and Susan Clark...
Coogan's Bluff is the name of a promontory
Promontory
Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...
located in upper Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, starting at 155th Street. Rising abruptly from the Harlem River
Harlem River
The Harlem River is a navigable tidal strait in New York City, USA that flows 8 miles between the Hudson River and the East River, separating the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx...
, it is colloquially regarded as the boundary between the neighborhoods of Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
and Washington Heights
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
.
The bluff overlooks the former site of the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
, where Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
's New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
played their home games prior to their move to San Francisco after the end of the 1957 season; as a result, the name "Coogan's Bluff" was often used, particularly by journalists, to denote the Polo Grounds itself, much the same way "China Basin" is frequently used today to refer to AT%26T Park in San Francisco, the latter being located therein. However, the ballpark sat in Coogan's Hollow, the bottomland beneath the bluff. The John T. Brush
John T. Brush
John Tomlinson Brush was an American sports executive who was the owner of the New York Giants franchise in Major League Baseball from 1890 until his death. He also owned the Indianapolis Hoosiers in the late 1880s, and the Cincinnati Reds from 1891 to 1902. Under his leadership, the Giants were...
Stairway down Coogan's Bluff is one of the few remaining parts of the Polo Grounds, which is now occupied by the Polo Grounds Towers
Polo Grounds Towers
The Polo Grounds Towers is a housing complex consisting of four thirty-story buildings, located in Harlem, New York City, on the former site of the Polo Grounds. A total of 1,616 apartments are located on the site, which is bordered by Frederick Douglass Boulevard, West 155th Street and Harlem...
housing complex.
The Morris-Jumel Mansion
Morris-Jumel Mansion
The Morris-Jumel Mansion , located in Washington Heights, is the oldest house in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It served as a headquarters for both sides in the American Revolution....
, the oldest house in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
still standing (built in 1765 and now a museum) is located nearby, and immediately to the west is Sugar Hill
Sugar Hill, Manhattan
Sugar Hill is a neighborhood in the northern part of Hamilton Heights, which itself is a sub-neighborhood of Harlem, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is defined by 155th Street to the north, 145th Street to the south, Edgecombe Avenue to the east, and...
, the locality immortalized by Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
and Billy Strayhorn in their 1941 classic song Take the "A" Train.
Coogan's Bluff is named for real estate owner James J. Coogan
James J. Coogan
James Jay Coogan was the Borough president of Manhattan, New York from 1899 to 1901. He was a graduate of New York University School of Law and a successful merchant and real estate owner....
(1845-1915), who was elected as Manhattan Borough President in 1898 and served one two-year term in the office. His wife inherited the property and the land was referred to as "Coogan's Bluff" as early as 1893.