Fort Tryon Park
Encyclopedia
Fort Tryon Park is a public park located in the Washington Heights
section of the borough
of Manhattan
in New York City
, USA
. It is situated on a 67 acre (270,000 m²) ridge in Upper Manhattan
, with a commanding view of the Hudson River
, the George Washington Bridge
, the New Jersey Palisades
and the Harlem River
. Once known by the name "Chquaesgeck" by local Lenape
Indians, it was called Lange Bergh (Long Hill) by Dutch settlers until the 17th century.Native American place names were often, inadvertently, used by Europeans to refer to the people who lived there. In this case, the people who lived there were the Lenape, and this is a phonetic interpretation of the place name.
Fort Tryon Park is also site of The Cloisters
, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
devoted to medieval art
and culture, and home to the Unicorn Tapestries. The Cloisters incorporates several medieval buildings that were purchased in Europe, brought to the United States, and reassembled, often stone by stone.
Battle of Fort Washington
, fought on November 16, 1776, between 2,900 American soldiers and 8,000 invading Hessian troops hired by Great Britain
. Margaret Corbin
became the first woman to fight in the war and was wounded during the battle. The actual site of Fort Washington is less than a mile south at Bennett Park
. After the British victory, the outpost was named after Sir William Tryon
, the last British Governor of the Province of New York.
As New York City expanded and prospered, the area was part of a country estate whose wealthy owners, included Dr. Samuel Watkins, founder of Watkins Glen
, General Daniel Butterfield
, Boss Tweed
and C.K.G. Billings
. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
purchased the Billings estate in 1917. He hired Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
, son of the designer
of Central Park
, to plan a park that he would give to the city. The park was constructed during the Great Depression
, providing many jobs. The project included the 190th Street subway station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line
(which is the closest station to the park). The park was completed in 1935. Olmstead included extensive flower plantings, including a Heather Garden that was restored in the 1980s. Besides the gardens and the Cloisters, the park has extensive walking paths and meadows, with views of the Hudson
and Harlem River
s.
Remnants of C.K.G. Billings
estate are the red-brick pathways (partially paved-over) which are found near the entrance at Margaret Corbin
Circle (190th Street and Ft. Washington Avenue), and continues down to the massively arched structure (originally a driveway) which continues down to the highway.
The park is built on a formation of Manhattan schist
and contains interesting examples of igneous intrusion
s and of glacial striation
s from the last Ice Age
. The lower lying regions to the east and north of the park are built on Inwood marble
.
During the years before World War I, the park lent its name to the neighborhood to its south. The area between Broadway and the Hudson River, as far south as West 179th Street, was known as Fort Tryon. References to the old name survive in the Fort Tryon Jewish Center (on Fort Washington Avenue between W. 183rd and W. 185th Streets (there is no W. 184th Street on Fort Washington Avenue)), the Fort Tryon Deli and Grocery (also on Fort Washington Avenue, at W. 187th Street), and in the pages of the Not for Tourists Guide to New York City. By the 1940s the neighborhood was known as Frankfurt-on-the-Hudson, which gave way, in the 1990s, to Hudson Heights.
Parts of the Clint Eastwood
film
Coogan's Bluff
(including the final chase scene) were filmed in Fort Tryon Park.
On June 15, 2010 the park celebrated its 75th anniversary with a fundraiser
and fireworks
display.
In 1983, the Greenacre Foundation, in conjunction with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, engaged the landscape architecture firm of Quennell Rothschild & Partners to create a master plan for the restoration of Fort Tryon Park, including plans for the restoration of the Heather Garden that would closely follow the Olmsted design. [1] Parks Department Horticulturist Jane Schachat and Greenacre Foundation Horticulturist Timothy Steinhoff ordered thousands of plants to reflect the varieties used in the Olmsted design.
Although the Heather Garden was designed to flower in spring and summer, plants were added to extend bloom time. Where possible, beds were laid out according to the original plan, taking into account vistas and the large remaining shrubs. During this restoration, Parks Department gardeners planted more than 2,500 heathers, heaths and brooms, along with 15,000 bulbs, 5,000 perennials, 500 shrubs and 5 trees. This initial restoration took three years.
The Parks' Department continued to advance the restoration of the Heather Garden and other areas of Fort Tryon Park. The Parks Department has made more than $15 million in private and city funded capital improvements to the park since the 1983 restoration.
Founded in 1983, the Friends of Fort Tryon Park, inc. was established to involve the entire community surrounding the park in maintaining and improving the park's appearance and condition and promoting its use by the public. Such involvement and cooperation helped solidify and enliven this community and make it and the park more attractive, safe and desirable. In 2007 discussions established the to merge the Friends with the Trust, for unified advocacy and fundraising. In May 2009 the Friends became The Friends Committee of the Fort Tryon Park Trust.
In early 2000, the Fort Tryon Park Trust was formed to promote the restoration, preservation and enhancement of this historic and scenic landmark for the benefit and use of the surrounding community and all New Yorkers. The Trust plans to achieve this through advocacy and fundraising, working in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and other organizations.
The Fort Tryon Park Trust has a goal of raising a $15 million endowment for sustaining the park, and has already raised over $2 million for the Heather Garden. Additional gifts from the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation and the Arthur Ross Foundation will be put towards the restoration of the Alpine Garden and the creation of a Winter Walk, respectively.
In 1995, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
initiated a partnership with New York Restoration Project
, a non-profit organization founded by Bette Midler
, to assist with cleaning and maintaining Fort Tryon Park.
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...
section of the borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of 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...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is situated on a 67 acre (270,000 m²) ridge in Upper Manhattan
Upper Manhattan
Upper Manhattan denotes the more northerly region of the New York City Borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary may be defined anywhere between 59th Street and 155th Street. Between these two extremes lies the most common definitions of Upper Manhattan as Manhattan above 96th Street...
, with a commanding view of the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, the George Washington Bridge
George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...
, the New Jersey Palisades
New Jersey Palisades
The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson Palisades are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in northeastern New Jersey and southern New York in the United States. The cliffs stretch north from Jersey City approximately 20 mi to near...
and 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...
. Once known by the name "Chquaesgeck" by local Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
Indians, it was called Lange Bergh (Long Hill) by Dutch settlers until the 17th century.
Fort Tryon Park is also site of The Cloisters
The Cloisters
The Cloisters is a museum located in Fort Tryon Park, New York City. The building, which is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was reconstructed in the 1930s from the architectural elements of several European medieval abbeys...
, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
devoted to medieval art
Medieval art
The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, over 1000 years of art history in Europe, and at times the Middle East and North Africa...
and culture, and home to the Unicorn Tapestries. The Cloisters incorporates several medieval buildings that were purchased in Europe, brought to the United States, and reassembled, often stone by stone.
History
The park was an ancillary site of the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
Battle of Fort Washington
Battle of Fort Washington
The Battle of Fort Washington was fought in the American Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain on November 16, 1776. It was a decisive British victory, forcing the entire garrison of Fort Washington to surrender....
, fought on November 16, 1776, between 2,900 American soldiers and 8,000 invading Hessian troops hired by Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. Margaret Corbin
Margaret Corbin
Margaret Corbin was a woman who fought in the American Revolutionary War On November 16, 1776, she and her husband, John Corbin, both from Philadelphia, along with some 600 American soldiers, were defending Fort Washington in northern Manhattan from 4,000 attacking Hessian troops under British...
became the first woman to fight in the war and was wounded during the battle. The actual site of Fort Washington is less than a mile south at Bennett Park
Bennett Park (New York)
Bennett Park is a public park in New York City, named for James Gordon Bennett, Sr., the newspaper publisher who launched the New York Herald in 1835...
. After the British victory, the outpost was named after Sir William Tryon
William Tryon
William Tryon was a British soldier and colonial administrator who served as governor of the Province of North Carolina and the Province of New York .-Early life and career:...
, the last British Governor of the Province of New York.
As New York City expanded and prospered, the area was part of a country estate whose wealthy owners, included Dr. Samuel Watkins, founder of Watkins Glen
Watkins Glen, New York
Watkins Glen is a village in Schuyler County, New York, United States. The population was 2,149 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Schuyler County.The Village of Watkins Glen lies on the border of the towns of Dix and Montour....
, General Daniel Butterfield
Daniel Butterfield
Daniel Adams Butterfield was a New York businessman, a Union General in the American Civil War, and Assistant U.S. Treasurer in New York. He is credited with composing the bugle call Taps and was involved in the Black Friday gold scandal in the Grant administration...
, Boss Tweed
Boss Tweed
William Magear Tweed – often erroneously referred to as William Marcy Tweed , and widely known as "Boss" Tweed – was an American politician most notable for being the "boss" of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th century...
and C.K.G. Billings
C.K.G. Billings
Cornelius Kingsley Garrison Billings was a wealthy industrialist, a noted horseman and tycoon...
. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
purchased the Billings estate in 1917. He hired Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. was an American landscape architect best known for his wildlife conservation efforts. He had a lifetime commitment to national parks, and worked on projects in Acadia, the Everglades and Yosemite National Park. Olmsted Point in Yosemite and Olmsted Island at Great Falls...
, son of the designer
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
of Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, to plan a park that he would give to the city. The park was constructed during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, providing many jobs. The project included the 190th Street subway station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line
IND Eighth Avenue Line
The Eighth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line in New York City, United States, and is part of the B Division of the New York City Subway...
(which is the closest station to the park). The park was completed in 1935. Olmstead included extensive flower plantings, including a Heather Garden that was restored in the 1980s. Besides the gardens and the Cloisters, the park has extensive walking paths and meadows, with views of the Hudson
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
and 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...
s.
Remnants of C.K.G. Billings
C.K.G. Billings
Cornelius Kingsley Garrison Billings was a wealthy industrialist, a noted horseman and tycoon...
estate are the red-brick pathways (partially paved-over) which are found near the entrance at Margaret Corbin
Margaret Corbin
Margaret Corbin was a woman who fought in the American Revolutionary War On November 16, 1776, she and her husband, John Corbin, both from Philadelphia, along with some 600 American soldiers, were defending Fort Washington in northern Manhattan from 4,000 attacking Hessian troops under British...
Circle (190th Street and Ft. Washington Avenue), and continues down to the massively arched structure (originally a driveway) which continues down to the highway.
The park is built on a formation of Manhattan schist
Manhattan schist
The Manhattan schist is a formation of mica schist rock that underlies much of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is well suited for the foundations of tall buildings, and the two large concentrations of skyscrapers on the island occur in locations where the formation is close to the...
and contains interesting examples of igneous intrusion
Intrusion
An intrusion is liquid rock that forms under Earth's surface. Magma from under the surface is slowly pushed up from deep within the earth into any cracks or spaces it can find, sometimes pushing existing country rock out of the way, a process that can take millions of years. As the rock slowly...
s and of glacial striation
Striation
Striations means a series of ridges, furrows or linear marks, and are used in several ways* Glacial striation* Striation , a striation as a result of a geological fault* In medicine, striated muscle...
s from the last Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. The lower lying regions to the east and north of the park are built on Inwood marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
.
During the years before World War I, the park lent its name to the neighborhood to its south. The area between Broadway and the Hudson River, as far south as West 179th Street, was known as Fort Tryon. References to the old name survive in the Fort Tryon Jewish Center (on Fort Washington Avenue between W. 183rd and W. 185th Streets (there is no W. 184th Street on Fort Washington Avenue)), the Fort Tryon Deli and Grocery (also on Fort Washington Avenue, at W. 187th Street), and in the pages of the Not for Tourists Guide to New York City. By the 1940s the neighborhood was known as Frankfurt-on-the-Hudson, which gave way, in the 1990s, to Hudson Heights.
Parts of the Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Coogan's Bluff
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...
(including the final chase scene) were filmed in Fort Tryon Park.
On June 15, 2010 the park celebrated its 75th anniversary with a fundraiser
Fundraiser
A fundraiser is an event or campaign whose primary purpose is to raise money for a cause. See also: fundraising. A fundraiser can also be an individual or company whose primary job is to raise money for a specific charity or non-profit organization...
and fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
display.
Restoration
As the City of New York suffered severe budget constraints in the 1970s and funds for parks were decimated, Fort Tryon Park fell into disuse and disrepair and its gardens, woodlands, and playgrounds became havens for a range of illegal activities. The Park’s decline continued until the 1980s when funds became available and restoration efforts began.In 1983, the Greenacre Foundation, in conjunction with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, engaged the landscape architecture firm of Quennell Rothschild & Partners to create a master plan for the restoration of Fort Tryon Park, including plans for the restoration of the Heather Garden that would closely follow the Olmsted design. [1] Parks Department Horticulturist Jane Schachat and Greenacre Foundation Horticulturist Timothy Steinhoff ordered thousands of plants to reflect the varieties used in the Olmsted design.
Although the Heather Garden was designed to flower in spring and summer, plants were added to extend bloom time. Where possible, beds were laid out according to the original plan, taking into account vistas and the large remaining shrubs. During this restoration, Parks Department gardeners planted more than 2,500 heathers, heaths and brooms, along with 15,000 bulbs, 5,000 perennials, 500 shrubs and 5 trees. This initial restoration took three years.
The Parks' Department continued to advance the restoration of the Heather Garden and other areas of Fort Tryon Park. The Parks Department has made more than $15 million in private and city funded capital improvements to the park since the 1983 restoration.
Founded in 1983, the Friends of Fort Tryon Park, inc. was established to involve the entire community surrounding the park in maintaining and improving the park's appearance and condition and promoting its use by the public. Such involvement and cooperation helped solidify and enliven this community and make it and the park more attractive, safe and desirable. In 2007 discussions established the to merge the Friends with the Trust, for unified advocacy and fundraising. In May 2009 the Friends became The Friends Committee of the Fort Tryon Park Trust.
In early 2000, the Fort Tryon Park Trust was formed to promote the restoration, preservation and enhancement of this historic and scenic landmark for the benefit and use of the surrounding community and all New Yorkers. The Trust plans to achieve this through advocacy and fundraising, working in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and other organizations.
The Fort Tryon Park Trust has a goal of raising a $15 million endowment for sustaining the park, and has already raised over $2 million for the Heather Garden. Additional gifts from the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation and the Arthur Ross Foundation will be put towards the restoration of the Alpine Garden and the creation of a Winter Walk, respectively.
In 1995, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
The City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation is the department of government of the City of New York responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecological diversity of the city's natural areas, and furnishing recreational opportunities for city's...
initiated a partnership with New York Restoration Project
New York Restoration Project
New York Restoration Project, a non-profit organization, is the private partner in Mayor Bloomberg's MillionTreesNYC campaign to plant one million new trees in New York City by 2017.- History :...
, a non-profit organization founded by Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
, to assist with cleaning and maintaining Fort Tryon Park.
Source
- A Guide to Fort Tryon Park and the Heather Garden, City of New York, Parks & Recreation Department.
External links
- New York City Department of Parks and Recreation: Fort Tryon Park
- http://nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/vt_north_manhattan_parks/vt_fort_tryon/fort_tryon_park_trust.html
- The Fort Tryon Park Trust
- Friends Committee of the Ft. Tryon Park Trust
- Annual Medieval Festival in Fort Tryon Park
- Sir William's Dog Run in Fort Tryon Park
- Comprehensive flower photo collection of 600 varieties that bloom in Fort Tryon Park