Williamsbridge Reservoir

Williamsbridge Oval Park
Location Reservoir Oval E. & W., Bronx, New York
Coordinates 40°52′39″N 73°52′39″W / 40.87750°N 73.87750°W / 40.87750; -73.87750Coordinates: 40°52′39″N 73°52′39″W / 40.87750°N 73.87750°W / 40.87750; -73.87750
Area 18.87 acres (7.64 ha)
Built 1937 (1937)
Architect Aymar Embury II; Nelson M. Wells; Gilmore David Clarke
Architectural style Beaux Arts, Art Moderne
NRHP Reference # 15000229[1]
Added to NRHP April 15, 2015
1901 map

Williamsbridge Reservoir was a natural lake (despite its name) measuring 13.1 acres (5.3 ha) just south of Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, New York.[2] Specifically the body of water was located at 208th Street and Bainbridge Avenue.[3] It was shaped like a saucer[4] and was normally 41 feet (12 m) deep.[2] Its water level dropped approximately 14 feet (4.3 m) in mid-August 1901.[5] On April 3, 1934 Commissioner of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, Maurice P. Davidson, proposed that it be offered to Robert Moses to be used as a park site. The reservoir had ceased to be used after 1919.[2]

History of reservoir site

A site for the Montefiore Home, first organized in 1884, was acquired in the West Bronx, between Columbia Oval and the Williamsbridge Reservoir, in January 1910. On the plot a hospital for treating various diseases replaced the previous site of the Montefiore Home, a building at Broadway (Manhattan) between 137th Street and 138th Street.[6]

In June 1928 a four-year-old boy, Frederic Fleishaus, of 3315 Rochambeau Avenue, the Bronx, drowned in Williamsbridge Reservoir. He gained access to the water through a small opening in an eight-foot fence which had been erected for protection.[4]

The Williamsbridge Reservoir property came under the control of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation on June 27, 1934. A new sport and play area covering 20 acres (8.1 ha), known as the Williamsbridge Oval Park and Williamsbridge Playground and Recreation Center, opened there on September 11, 1937. A Works Progress Administration project, the facilities cost $1,500,000 to build. It features a Beaux Arts landscape and Art Moderne recreation center.[3][7]

The Keeper's House at Williamsbridge Reservoir was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.[8] Sixteen years later, the entire park was listed on the Register as well.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 5/11/15 through 5/15/15. National Park Service. 2015-05-22.
  2. 1 2 3 "2 Reservoir Sites To Serve As Parks". The New York Times. April 4, 1934. p. 23. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  3. 1 2 "New 20-Acre Playground Opened In Bronx; Moses and Lyons Dedicate It Before 2,000". The New York Times. September 12, 1937. p. N1. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  4. 1 2 "Boy Drowns In Reservoir". The New York Times. June 12, 1928. p. 28. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  5. ↑ "Mr. Birdsall On Bronx Water Supply". The New York Times. August 16, 1901. p. 12. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  6. ↑ "Montefiore Home's New Site". The New York Times. January 21, 1910. p. 8. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  7. ↑ "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)" (Searchable database). New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2016-03-01. Note: This includes Corinne Engelbert and Daniel McEneny (February 2015). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Williamsbridge Oval Park" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-03-01. and Accompanying photographs
  8. ↑ National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
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