High Bridge Water Tower
West 174th Street at Amsterdam Avenue
Architect: John B. Jervis
Year built: 1872
NEW YORK—If ever you are stopped in traffic on the Major Deegan Expressway as it passes by northern Manhattan near the I-95 on-ramp, or maybe we should say, when you are stuck in traffic; have a look to the west and note the statuesque 185-foot-tall granite tower perched on the edge of Washington Heights and overlooking the Harlem River valley.
John B. Jervis (1795-1885) designed the tower. Jervis, a civil engineer, author, inventor, and economist, also designed the Croton Aqueduct; which carried water 41 miles from the Croton Reservoir in Westchester to reservoirs in Central Park, and another one that was on what is now Byrant Park. Jervis, whom the Orange County city Port Jervis is named for, assisted in the design of the Erie Canal and the Delaware and Hudson Canal, and was the chief engineer of many U.S. railroads. Jervis invented the first locomotive truck; the locomotive train was based on his early design.
The tower was built after the Highbridge, Manhattan’s oldest bridge that looks like an old Roman aqueduct as it spans the Harlem River and connects Manhattan and the Bronx. The Highbridge was the last leg of the 41-mile trip from the Croton Reservoir. After the water crossed the Highbridge it was stored in a 10 million gallon reservoir next to the tower. A pump sent water up to a 47,000-gallon tank at the top of the tower, and then sent it out to the residents of northern Manhattan, who lived at a higher elevation than the upstate reservoir, thus requiring the extra push from the tower.
The Highbridge swimming pool was built inside the old reservoir near the tower in 1936.
The Romanesque tower has a heavily rusticated grey granite base with a heavy steel door on the tower’s north side. The tall midsection is of buff-colored granite and features windows that follow the interior circular stairway, allowing views in different directions as one ascends the stairs. The top section features double windows with arches topped by a tall copper roof that is capped with a weather vane. The roof was damaged in a 1984 fire and later repaired when the tower was restored in 1989–1990.
Tours of the tower, formerly led by NYC Parks Rangers, were halted in August 2010, due to concerns about the stability of the tower’s windows, which had suffered water damage over time. Currently there is an effort to raise funds for restoration; until that time the tower remains closed. The exterior of the tower can be viewed from Water Tower Terrace on the east side of Highbridge Park, at west 173rd St. and Amsterdam Avenue. The terrace offers excellent views of the Highbridge and the Harlem River below.
The Highbridge Water Tower is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also a New York City Landmark.
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