Background on what is in your neighborhood and the story behind it.
Ferry Point Park is a park located in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx along the East River and Westchester Creek. The park spans 413.8 acres.
The neighborhood "Throggs Neck" takes its name from John Throgmorton who obtained a license on October 6, 1642 from Niew Amsterdam's Governor to settle in the area. The area served primarily as farm land for families for the next two centuries.
In 1850 the land that will become Ferry Point Park is purchased by Augustus diZerega and Jacob Lorillard, a shipping tycoon and a tobacco manufacturer, respectively.
In 1916, the land is sold to the Catholic House of the Good Shepherd.
The original parcel of Ferry Point Park totaled 171 acres and came under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation in 1937. It was purchased by New York City from the Roman Catholic House of the Good Shepherd during the acquisition of land for the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, which was completed in 1939. The Hutchinson River Parkway bisects the park and leads to the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge. The east side has a community park, a waterfront promenade and a golf course being developed while the west side has athletic fields, the Ferry Point 9/11 Memorial Grove and 9/11 Living Memorial Forest. The Memorial Grove planted in 2008 features daffodils, while the Memorial Forest of 3000 trees were planted in 2007 features trees donated by the Prince of Monaco. The west side of the park opened to the public in 1940.
construction of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge.
The park's parcel was formerly called Old Ferry and was located at the junction of Westchester Creek and Baxter Creek Inlet - which has since been filled in. The park was named Ferry Point Park for the many ferries which once passed this route, including the Bronx to Queens, Westchester Village to Whitestone and Clason Point to College Point. These ferries operated from 1910 to 1939 and operators included the City of New York and the Twin City Ferry Company.
In 1948, two additions to parkland were acquired through condemnation totaling 243 acres. This portion will ultimately form the east side of Ferry Point Park. From 1952 until 1970, portions of the area had served as a raw garbage landfill for the New York City Department of Sanitation, which included the filling-in of the Baxter Creek Inlet.
Sanitation's land-filling of Baxter Creek to the east.
The conversion of the former landfill into a park includes development of an 18-hole golf course. The area will cost approximately $97 million for the city to remove waste and various additional park upgrades. The golf course, designed by Jack Nicklaus, is currently under construction within the park and will be developed and operated by the Trump National and International Golf Clubs at its anticipated completion of Spring 2014.
The first automobile tunnel built under the Hudson River was the Holland Tunnel, opened to vehicular traffic on November 13, 1927. The Holland Tunnel was formerly named the Hudson River Vehicular Tunnel or the Canal Street Tunnel. Today it is named for it's chief engineer Clifford Milburn Holland (1883-1924).
Beginning in 1906, a joint commission of New York and New Jersey explored the possibility of construction of a roadway crossing to connect the states. After design proposals from various engineers including George Goethals, and the firm of Jacobs and Davies, the design of two separate tubes by Clifford Holland was chosen. In 1919, Holland was named Chief Engineer of the project.
Castle Clinton, today Castle Clinton National Monument, stands two blocks west of where Fort Amsterdam once stood. The sandstone fort was built in anticipation of the War of the 1812. It was built on a small artificial island off shore. Originally called West Battery or Southwest Battery, it was renamed Castle Clinton in 1817 for Dewitt Clinton - New York City's Mayor and later New York Governor.
In 1823, Castle Clinton was deeded to the City. It was used as a restaurant and entertainment center and renamed Castle Garden.
The roof was added in 1840 and Castle Garden served as an opera house and theater. Jenny Lind, often referred to as the "Swedish Nightingale", debuted her American tour at Castle Garden on September 11 and 13 in 1850. She returned again to bring her tour to a close in May of 1852. It served in this respect until 1854.
By 1855, landfills had enlarged the Park to encompass Castle Garden.
Stuyvesant Square Park is a park spanning from East 15th Street north to East 17th Street and from Rutherford Place east to Nathan D. Perlman Place. The square is commonly thought to be named for Peter Stuyvesant, the last of the Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherlands until it was ceded to English control in 1664. It is actually named for Peter Gerard Stuyvesant.
The park lies within what was the Stuyvesant family farm. The farm once stretched from the Bowery to the East River and from 3rd Street to 14th Street. The park itself is in the approximate location of the original Stuyvesant family mansion.