Manhattan: 190th-200th Streets

N o r t h e r n M a n h a t t a n

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190th - 200th Streets

Cabrini Terrace Cooperative Apartments
900 W. 190th St. at Ft. Washington Ave.
© Cabrini Terrace Owners Corp. / Roger Tashjian

This photograph, looking up from the Hudson River, shows the sixteen-story complex's elevated location. The cooperative building has 217 apartments and 24-hour concierge service.
(The row of buildings in front is on Chittenden Avenue and not part of the Cabrini Terrace complex.)

Mother Cabrini High School and Shrine
701 Ft. Washington Ave.
© Photo: Scott Michaels
In 1899 Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini opened the Sacred Heart boarding school for girls, which was attended at first primarily by daughters of Italian immigrants. The school was renamed in Mother Cabrini's honor and it has evolved into a highly regarded secondary school for girls. It boasts an award-winning choir and a percussion band. Mother Cabrini was born in Italy in 1850; she died in 1917 in Chicago. Her remains now lay enshrined in a crystal casket in the school chapel. In 1938 she was beatified by Pope Pius XI and in 1946 canonized in the Vatican by Pope Pius XII, becoming the first U.S. citizen to be so honored. Her feastday is on December 22, the day of her death. For more information on Saint Cabrini, visit her shrine in Golden, CO.

Fort Tryon Park and Margaret Corbin Plaza
192nd-Dyckman Streets, Riverside Dr.-Broadway
Photo: Nell Dillon-Ermers
This was the high and wooded site of Revolutionary Fort Tryon, a northern outpost of Fort Washington (see Bennett Park). With Fort Washington's fall on 16 November 1776, the British occupied all of Manhattan. It was during this battle here that Margaret Corbin replaced her slain husband, making her the first American woman soldier in the Revolutionary War. She fought until severely wounded. In her honor the South Plaza, at the park's southern entrance, was renamed Margaret Corbin Plaza, and a memorial stela and plaque can be found along Margaret Corbin Drive (see photo and text). The British fort is named after New York's last colonial governor, William Tryon.
During the 19th Century, the camps of the Algonquin-speaking Wiechquaesgecks (Wakashans) in the surrounding area were displaced by farms and pastures.

From the old fort's lookout, 250 feet above the Hudson, one has a great view over the river, towards the New Jersey Palisades, south to the George Washington Bridge, and north to the Tappan Zee. These grounds were once part of the Cornelius K.G. Billings estate and later given to the City by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Remnants of the Billings period can still be found in the triple-arched entrance and the now-defunct brick driveway from Riverside Drive. The 67-acre park was designed in 1935 by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., son of the man who designed Central Park, and has a beautiful terraced flower garden. The 1930's stone building that was the Billings stable now houses a café (see New Leaf, below.) Please check the neighborhood events calendar for events such as Shakespeare plays, concerts, etc.

Calliope Hummingbirds
Fort Tryon Park
Photo: © Portal Productions
In November 2001 two young male calliope hummingbirds (Stellula calliope) paid a surprise visit to Fort Tryon Park. Their normal range stretches along the West Coast from British Columbia to Mexico. Their appearance here was so unusual that the New York Times and National Public Radio ran features. For more photos, visit the sites by Phil Jeffrey, the Linnaean Society and the Hudson River Audubon Society. Michael Bochnik, President of the HRAS, was the first to make the correct identification.
(The thumbnail picture here is of an adult calliope, by the way.)

New Leaf Café
One Margaret Corbin Drive
Photo: NYRP

This café occupies a 1930's stone building that once housed the horses for the Billings estate. Located within Fort Tryon Park, it now serves diners in a recently renovated dining room and on a sheltered, shaded terrace. The concession has been operated by Bette Midler's New York Restoration Project since fall 2001.

The Heather Garden in Fort Tryon Park
Ft. Tryon Park at 192nd St.
© Photo: Marco Bleeker
This lovely heather garden consists of 600-ft long terraces high on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River and the Jersey Palisades. This city park, which feels miles away from Manhattan's hustle and bustle, was designed on the former Billings Estate by Frederick Law Olmsted and his son; the original planting plan was by James Dawson. It is mostly maintained by the City Parks Foundation, a private organization, and volunteers such as the Friends of Fort Tryon Park.
More about the heath family.

The Cloisters Museum
Margaret Corbin Dr. in Ft. Tryon Park

© Photos 1 & 2: Nell Dillon-Ermers

© The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Cloisters, situated on the former Billings Estate, house most of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection of medieval art, including the Unicorn Tapestries and Robert Campin's Annunciation Triptych. Its core of collections consists of medieval sculpture and architectural remains assembled by the sculptor George Grey Barnard during his frequent trips to Europe. Known as the Barnard Cloisters, the museum was purchased in 1925 by the Metropolitan Museum with the help of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who also bought a parcel of undeveloped land immediately across the Hudson on the New Jersey Palisades, guaranteeing the Museum a pristine view.
After extensive remodeling, assisted by the Guastavino Company, the Cloisters were opened as a branch of the Metropolitan in 1938. They now incorporate vaulted passageways, chapels, halls, and courtyards, and a large collection of artifacts from French and Spanish monasteries. There are three courtyard gardens planted with herbs and plants mentioned in medieval writings. Concerts of Early Medieval and Renaissance music are given throughout the year.
Aerial photo courtesy of The NYC Insider.

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