Riverside Drive (Manhattan)

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Riverside Drive is a north–south avenue in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The road runs on the west side of Upper Manhattan, generally paralleling the Hudson River and Riverside Park between 72nd Street and the vicinity of the George Washington Bridge at 181st Street. North of 96th Street, Riverside Drive is a wide divided roadway. At several locations, a serpentine service road diverges from the main road, providing access to the residential buildings. Several viaducts connect the various segments of Riverside Drive, including the Template:Convert Manhattan Valley Viaduct between Tiemann Place and 135th Street. A disconnected section of Riverside Drive exists in Inwood, Manhattan. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has designated the original section of Riverside Drive, between 72nd and 125th streets, as part of a scenic landmark that also includes Riverside Park.

Riverside Drive was proposed as part of Riverside Park, which was established by land condemnation in 1872. Originally known as Riverside Avenue, the road opened in 1880 and originally ran between 72nd Street and the current site of Grant's Tomb. The park and avenue were originally designed by architects and horticulturalists such as Calvert Vaux and Samuel Parsons. Riverside Drive was extended north to 155th Street in the 1900s, and a viaduct carrying Riverside Drive West between 155th and 161st streets was built in the 1920s. Traffic flow on Riverside Drive was modified several times throughout the years, and the viaducts have been renovated as well. A southern extension, known as Riverside Boulevard, was built starting in the 1990s when the Riverside South complex was developed.

Between 72nd and 125th streets, nearly every block of Riverside Drive is part of a New York City historic district, and the buildings on these blocks date from before World War II. The eastern side of Riverside Drive originally included luxuriously finished row-houses interspersed with free-standing mansions, though few of the mansions remain. Some remaining mansions are the Schinasi Mansion on 107th and the Isaac L. Rice Mansion on 89th. Many of Riverside Drive's apartment buildings date from between the 1900s and the 1930s, with curving facades along the avenue; some of these buildings are designated as city landmarks. Along Riverside Drive, there are also numerous monuments such as Grant's Tomb and the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, in addition to other structures such as Riverside Church. Riverside Drive has received commentary for its landscape features and architecture, and it has been depicted in works of popular media.

Route description

Starting at 72nd Street, Riverside Drive passes through the Manhattan neighborhoods of the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, Manhattanville, Hamilton Heights, and Washington Heights.<ref name="NYCityMap">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Hughes e643">Template:Cite web</ref> Commercial vehicles are banned from parts of Riverside Drive.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Unlike other avenues in Manhattan, Riverside Drive is curved because its original designer, Frederick Law Olmsted, did not like sharp corners.<ref name="Hughes e643" /> A narrow service road diverges from Riverside Drive at several points, creating traffic islands.<ref name="Hughes e643" /><ref name="p1113678567">Template:Cite news</ref> For a short stretch near 122nd Street, the avenue splits into two roadways, one each to the west and east of Grant's Tomb; the western roadway carries southbound traffic, while the eastern roadway carries northbound traffic.<ref name="NYCityMap" /><ref name=":0" /> There are several viaducts along the route of Riverside Drive, including at 96th Street on the Upper West Side; between Tiemann Place and 135th Street in Manhattanville; and between 155th and 161st streets in Hamilton Heights. The street atop the viaduct in Hamilton Heights is officially named Riverside Drive West, while the original Riverside Drive curves inland.<ref name="NYCityMap" />

North of 181st Street, Riverside Drive merges with the northbound lanes of the Henry Hudson Parkway;<ref name="NYCityMap" /><ref name="p1242949417" /> as such, there is a gap in the road between 181st Street and Dyckman Street.<ref name="Hughes e643" /> A disconnected section of Riverside Drive begins at the Henry Hudson Parkway's Dyckman Street exit in Inwood, ending at Broadway.<ref name="NYCityMap" /> South of 72nd Street, Riverside Drive continues as Riverside Boulevard,<ref name="NYCityMap" /> which extends south to 59th Street.<ref name="Jacobson l236">Template:Cite web</ref>

Viaducts

96th Street

The bridge carrying Riverside Drive above 96th Street
The bridge carrying Riverside Drive above 96th Street

A small bridge carries Riverside Drive over 96th Street.<ref name="p571188916">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1974-06-27">Template:Cite news</ref> The bridge, also known as the Riverside Bridge, was designed by Carrère and Hastings.<ref name="nyt-1974-06-27" /> When this overpass was built, it was described as a viaduct with buttresses and stone terraces leading down to Riverside Park and the Hudson River. Semicircular shelters were also built next to the viaduct on either side of 96th Street.<ref name="p571188916" /> Although the overpass is clad with stone, its superstructure is made of steel.<ref name="n130172634" /> As built, it had four elaborate electric lampposts, each measuring Template:Convert high.<ref name="nyt-1974-06-27" />

Manhattan Valley Viaduct

Template:For Between Tiemann Place and 135th Street is the Manhattan Valley Viaduct, which carries Riverside Drive above 12th Avenue.<ref name="n130140758" /> Built in 1901, it is variously called the 125th Street Viaduct or Riverside Drive Viaduct.<ref name="The New York Times 1985 z254">Template:Cite web</ref> Murray Roe designed the Manhattan Valley Viaduct,<ref name="p161988866">Template:Cite news</ref> while Francis Stuart Williamson was the chief engineer.<ref name="p126716626">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Despite the structure's utilitarian role as a highway, it was also a strong symbol of civic pride, inspired by America's late 19th-century City Beautiful movement. The viaduct's original roadway, wide pedestrian walks and overall design was highly ornamented.<ref name="p126716626" /> The surrounding area is part of the Manhattanville valley, which contains a fault.<ref name="p118437883">Template:Cite news</ref>

As planned, the viaduct measured Template:Convert long, excluding the approaches. The viaduct carries a roadway measuring Template:Convert wide, as well as a Template:Convert wide sidewalk on either side of the viaduct.<ref name="p574674810">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p126716626" /> The viaduct measures Template:Convert above mean high water at 125th Street and Template:Convert above mean high water at 135th Street.<ref name="p574674810" /> It is divided into 26 bays, each comprising a single span. Twenty-two of the spans are Template:Convert long; one of the spans, crossing 125th Street, is Template:Convert long; and the three northernmost spans are of irregular length.<ref name="p574674810" /> Each arch is composed of latticed plate girders measuring Template:Convert long.<ref name="p126716626" /> Under the roadway are Template:Convert transverse steel girders, which were built in several pieces and riveted together;<ref name="The New York Times 1985 z254" /> each girder is Template:Convert deep.<ref name="p126716626" /> The main span above 125th Street is supported by two plate girders measuring Template:Convert across,<ref name="p126716626" /> which were described as the world's largest steel girders at the time of the viaduct's completion.<ref name="p126716626" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In total, about 400 girders are used to support the roadway.<ref name="p195942531">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Including the approaches to the south and north, the viaduct has a total length of Template:Convert<ref name="n130140758" /><ref name="p574674810" /> or Template:Convert.<ref name="p126716626" /> The northern approach is Template:Convert long, while the southern approach is Template:Convert long.<ref name="p574674810" /> The approaches are of rock-faced Mohawk Valley limestone with Maine granite trimmings, the face work being made up of courses of ashlar. The southern approach consists of a semicircular wall with stone staircases on either side.<ref name="p126716626" /> This was intended to give a broad plaza effect, which was intended to impart deliberate grandeur to the natural terminus of much of Riverside Drive's traffic as well as to give full advantage to the vista overlooking the Hudson River and New Jersey Palisades to the west.<ref>John W. Ripley, C.E., Principal Assistant Engineer Riverside Viaduct, Transactions of the Association of Civil Engineers of Cornell University, 1901, "Riverside Viaduct," p. 95–105.</ref><ref>Eric K. Washington, Manhattanville: Old Heart of West Harlem Template:Webarchive, Arcadia – Images of America, 2002, Template:ISBN</ref> There is also a single masonry arch with a glazed-brick vault next to the southern approach.<ref name="p570835018" />

155th to 161st streets

Another viaduct carries Riverside Drive between 155th and 161st streets. This viaduct is Template:Convert long and carries a Template:Convert roadway with six lanes of traffic.<ref name="The New York Times 1928 w697">Template:Cite web</ref> The viaduct's construction required Template:Convert of steel, Template:Convert of asphalt pavement, Template:Convert of masonry, and Template:Convert of concrete.<ref name="The New York Times 1928 w697" /> The structure is carried upon a steel-beam framework,<ref name="The New York Times 1928 w697" /><ref name="p128367699">Template:Cite magazine</ref> which is encased in granite cladding.<ref name="NYT 1927 i760">Template:Cite web</ref> The roadway itself is made of concrete slabs, paved over with asphalt.<ref name="p128367699" /> The arches under the roadway are infilled with granite or paneled concrete and are topped by metal-framed windows. The roadway itself has granite balustrades with ornamental lampposts. There is about Template:Convert of storage space under the viaduct.<ref name="The New York Times 1928 w697" /> In the mid-20th century, the space was used to store thousands of plaster casts owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Transportation

Riverside Drive is served by several bus routes. New York City Bus's Template:NYC bus link route covers Riverside Drive south of 135th Street, while the Template:NYC bus link serves the avenue from 135th to 145th Street. The Template:NYC bus link and Template:NYC bus link serve Riverside Drive East and Riverside Drive West, terminating at 158th Street. The westbound Template:NYC bus link runs on Riverside Boulevard from 70th to 66th streets; eastbound buses use Freedom Place.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite NYC bus map</ref> Because Riverside Drive and the neighboring Riverside Park are designated as a New York City scenic landmark from 72nd to 125th streets, the western sidewalk between these streets does not have any bus stop shelters.<ref name="Malbin i085">Template:Cite web</ref> There is no New York City Subway service along Riverside Drive, though the Template:NYCS trains run on the parallel Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line for much of the avenue's length.<ref name="Hughes e643" /> The Dyckman Street station on the Template:NYCS trains serves the disconnected northern section of Riverside Drive in Inwood.<ref name=":4" />

History

Development

The Template:Convert of land in what is now Riverside Park between 72nd and 125th streets were originally inhabited by the Lenape people, but by the 18th century were used for farms by the descendants of European colonists.Template:Sfn A small number of buildings were constructed nearby in the mid-19th century, including the New York Orphan Asylum between 73rd and 74th streets.Template:Sfn In 1846, the Hudson River Railroad (later the West Side Line and Hudson Line) was built along the waterfront, connecting New York City to Albany.Template:Sfn<ref name="New York City Department of Parks & Recreation 1939">Template:Cite web</ref> As late as the 1860s, the adjacent section of the Upper West Side was still sparsely populated, even though there was residential development on the Upper East Side.Template:Sfn

Riverside Drive

Riverside Drive's southern end at 72nd Street, looking north from the Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Plaza
Riverside Drive's southern end at 72nd Street, looking north from the Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Plaza

In 1865, Central Park commissioner William R. Martin put forth the first proposal for a riverside park along the Hudson River.Template:Sfn<ref name="New York City Department of Parks & Recreation 1939" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> An act providing for such was presented to the Legislature by commissioner Andrew Haswell Green in 1866Template:Sfn and approved the next year.<ref name="Peck j134">Template:Cite web</ref> The first segment of Riverside Park was acquired through condemnation in 1872.<ref name="park-history">Park history Template:Webarchive, riversideparknyc.org. Retrieved August 26, 2014.</ref> The park also included the construction of Riverside Drive, a tree-lined drive curving around the valleys and rock outcroppings, overlooking the future park and the waterfront.Template:Sfn<ref name="Peck j134" /> The road was originally known as Riverside Avenue,Template:Sfn<ref name=":1" /> although the entire avenue was renamed Riverside Drive by the 1900s.Template:Sfn<ref name="Malbin i085" /> The avenue was laid out in 1868 and was Template:Convert wide for its entire length.Template:Sfn<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> The plans for Riverside Park and Avenue brought the attention of William M. Tweed, who bought several lots adjacent to the park in anticipation of its construction.Template:Sfn

A selection process for the designers of Riverside Park followed, and in 1873 the commissioners selected Frederick Law Olmsted, a park commissioner who had also designed Central Park.Template:Sfn<ref name="New York City Department of Parks & Recreation 1939" /> Initially, Riverside Drive had been planned to run in a straight line, which would have required a retaining wall and extensive fill.Template:Sfn By then, the difficult topography of the area had come to the attention of the Manhattan park commissioners, and in 1873 Olmsted was given the authorization to redesign the grade of Riverside Drive. To accommodate this, Olmsted devised a new plan that would create a main road extending from 72nd to 123rd streets, with overpasses at 79th and 96th streets, as well as "carriage roads" to serve the nearby neighborhood. The grade of the road was not to exceed 1:27.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name=":1" /> Riverside Drive's main road would contain two roadways, one for each direction, separated by a median. A pedestrian path and a horse path would run alongside the avenue, and trees would provide shade along the route.Template:Sfn A section of the avenue from 104th to 123rd Street would serve as a shaded promenade, and there would be a carriage turnaround at 123rd Street.Template:Sfn

Over the following years, work proceeded on Riverside Drive, with various ramps and stairs to the park, as well as a bridle path (which was added in 1875). Olmsted was asked to create plans for the design of the avenue as an unpaved country drive, but it was eventually paved. In late 1876, bids were accepted for the paving of Riverside Drive.Template:Sfn Olmsted was ousted as parks superintendent in December 1877.<ref>Template:Cite Central Park History</ref> Architects and horticulturalists such as Calvert Vaux and Samuel Parsons laid out the stretch of park and road between 72nd and 125th streets according to the English gardening ideal, creating the appearance that the park was an extension of the Hudson River Valley.<ref name="park-history" /> A parapet was built on the western side of the road, separating it from Riverside Park and the West Side Line.<ref name="p1113678567" />

Boulevard Lafayette

The northernmost section of Riverside Drive, north of 158th Street, was originally known as the Boulevard Lafayette.<ref name=":2" /> The southern terminus of the Boulevard Lafayette was near 155th Street; the road ran along the coast of the Hudson River, running north to the intersection of Broadway (then known as Kingsbridge Road) and Dyckman Street.<ref name="p574687012">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p126821007">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Originally known simply as "The Boulevard", the road was renamed the Boulevard Lafayette in 1870;<ref name="p126821007" /> work on that road began in 1873.<ref name="p574687012" /> Although a right-of-way measuring Template:Convert wide was provided for the Boulevard Lafayette, the roadway itself was originally only Template:Convert wide. At several points, due to the steep topography, a retaining wall was built adjacent to the road.<ref name="p126821007" />

Completion and early years

The Schwab Mansion, one of several built on Riverside Drive
The Schwab Mansion, one of several built on Riverside Drive

Riverside Drive was opened in 1880 and was well used by pedestrians, bikers, and drivers;Template:Sfn it had cost nearly $10 million.<ref name="The New York Times 1904 z648">Template:Cite web</ref> Riverside Drive originally terminated at 122nd Street, near where Grant's Tomb was later built.<ref name="The New York Times 1904 z648" /><ref name="n130141788">Template:Cite news</ref> City parks workers had to use Template:Convert of water every day to ensure that the avenue's bridle path was usable.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The wealthy came to settle on Riverside Drive soon after its completion. The Phillips Elite Directory of 1882–1883 did not list any members of the social elite as living on the Avenue, but the 1887 version of the same directory listed 18 families as living on the avenue.Template:Sfn The avenue largely attracted the nouveau riche,<ref name="Peck j134" /> and relatively few mansions were ever built in Riverside Drive.<ref name="p249299515">Template:Cite news</ref> The city's wealthiest residents continued to live on Fifth Avenue, while old money families tended to live further downtown.<ref name="Peck j134" /><ref name="p249299515" /> Charles M. Schwab, who built his mansion between 73rd and 74th streets, was one of the few extremely wealthy residents to relocate to the avenue.<ref name="Goldberger z137">Template:Cite web</ref>

One of the first mansions to be built on Riverside Drive was a house belonging to the engineer Egbert Ludovicus Viele, who moved to the intersection with 88th Street. This was followed by additional structures along both the avenue and the side streets.<ref name="Peck j134" /> Mansions, middle-class row houses, and upscale apartments were built on Riverside Drive in the late 19th and early 20th century.Template:Sfn By the end of the 19th century, nearly every lot on the eastern side of Riverside Drive had been developed with private mansions and apartment buildings. By comparison, there had been fewer than 10 houses between 72nd and 125th streets on the shoreline before construction of the avenue began.<ref name="The New York Times 1904 z648" /> One publication described Riverside Drive as "one of the most beautiful and picturesque in the world",Template:Sfn<ref name="Zeisloft q787">Template:Cite book</ref> and The New York Times wrote that the avenue's mansions "glittered like a wedding cake" by the 1890s.<ref name="Peck j134" />

Tugboats along the Hudson River frequently made loud noises, prompting several Riverside Drive residents to create the Society for the Suppression of Unnecessary Noise in 1907.<ref name="p571950902">Template:Cite news</ref> The effort ultimately led to federal legislation limiting noise from tugboats.<ref name="Cutler 2022 d171">Template:Cite web</ref> In addition, until 1916, fumes from factories in North Jersey, across the Hudson River to the west, often drifted across to Riverside Drive.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Extensions

In January 1897, state lawmakers proposed extending Riverside Drive northward to the Boulevard Lafayette, with a viaduct above Manhattan Valley from 122nd to 134th Street.<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite news</ref> The original plans, which were to cost $10 million and included four viaducts, were quickly downsized to $2 million and one viaduct.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Shortly afterward, a similar bill was proposed with a lower cost.<ref name="p574271354">Template:Cite news</ref> The revised bill called for the avenue to be narrowed in the vicinity of Trinity Cemetery at 153rd Street.<ref name="p574271354" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The governor of New York signed both bills in May 1897,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> but work on the viaduct was delayed for several months.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That November, the city's Board of Street Opening and Improvement agreed to lengthen the viaduct slightly so that it ran from 122nd to 135th Street. The extension was budgeted at $3.6 million, with the viaduct alone costing $840,000.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> At 153rd Street, Riverside Drive would be cantilevered over the New York Central Railroad's (NYCRR) West Side Line railroad tracks to avoid Trinity Church Cemetery.<ref name="n130141788" /> The extension plans also involved demolishing several old mansions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

96th Street overpass and Manhattan Valley Viaduct

The Manhattan Valley Viaduct under construction
The Manhattan Valley Viaduct under construction

The New York City Board of Estimate formally approved the Manhattan Valley Viaduct in December 1898,<ref name="n130140758">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and plans for the viaduct were drawn up within three weeks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the end of that month, the firm of O'Brien, Sheehan, and McBean was hired to build the viaduct for $570,000;<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> under the terms of the contract, the viaduct had to be completed in 400 days.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Work on the viaduct began in March 1898.<ref name="p574674810" /> The viaduct's engineers requested in June 1898 that the approaches be made of granite rather than sandstone, which would add $80,000 to the cost;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the city's comptroller opposed the change.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The next month, the city authorized $86,500 in bonds to finance an overpass above 96th Street<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and $500,000 in bonds for the Manhattan Valley Viaduct.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref>

The city's park commissioners began soliciting bids for the 96th Street overpass in June 1900<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and awarded a contract the next month to A. C. Gildersleeve for $200,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Work on the 96th Street overpass began later the same year.<ref name="n130172634">Template:Cite news</ref> Meanwhile, the abutments for the Manhattan Valley Viaduct were finished by mid-1900.<ref name="p570835018">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The chief engineer of the city's highways departments reported in April 1901 that the Manhattan Valley Viaduct was completed except for filling and electrical work.<ref name="n130172286">Template:Cite news</ref> Work on the 96th Street overpass was delayed for two months due to difficulties in installing sewage pipes;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the overpass opened in January 1902<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> following complaints that the contractor was taking too long.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Manhattan Valley Viaduct was completed in mid-1902.<ref name="The New York Times 1904 z648" /> The construction of the 96th Street overpass and Manhattan Valley Viaduct caused real-estate prices along Riverside Drive to increase in the 1900s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Arc lamps were installed on the Manhattan Valley Viaduct in 1903, soon after it opened.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Extension to 158th Street

Building at 158th street.
At 158th Street

The city's corporation council began condemning land for the extension of Riverside Drive north of the Manhattan Valley Viaduct in mid-1899,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and three commissioners were appointed to condemn the land the next year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The city acquired the land in September 1900.<ref name="The New York Times 1903 m463">Template:Cite web</ref> Most of the condemned sites had been small plots, except for a tract between 142nd and 144th streets that had belonged to the Hoguet family.<ref name="The New York Times 1904 z648" /> The project was split into two phases, section 1 between 135th and 153rd streets, and section 2 between 153rd Street and the Boulevard Lafayette. By August 1901, plans for section 1 had been completed, with that section estimated to cost $1.7 million.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The extension would consist of a Template:Convert roadway, a Template:Convert bridle path, two sidewalks, and grass planting strips. There were also to be four bridges carrying the avenue between 135th and 156th streets.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Along with the Boulevard Lafayette (which already extended northwest from Broadway and 156th Street to the Inwood neighborhood<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref>), the Riverside Drive extension would form part of a Template:Convert parkway that would connect with Harlem River Drive.<ref name="n130172286" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Construction did not start for over two years after the city acquired land for the Riverside Drive extension.<ref name="The New York Times 1903 m463" /> In the meantime, dirt from the excavation of the city's first subway line was dumped on the path of the extension.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A state judge ruled in April 1903 that construction of the Riverside Drive extension had to start as soon as possible,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a groundbreaking ceremony for the extension occurred on December 12, 1903.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> The section from 135th to 145th Street was awarded to Ryan & Parker, while the section from 145th to 155th Street was awarded to John C. Rodgers; work on both sections began in May 1904.<ref name="The New York Times 1904 z648" /> The section of Riverside Drive north of 150th Street was much higher than the streets that it intersected, prompting residents of these cross-streets to complain that their vehicles could not access Riverside Drive.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The plans also included widening the Boulevard Lafayette within the Washington Heights neighborhood and constructing a service road to the east of the existing boulevard. Because people frequently referred to the Boulevard Lafayette by several incorrect names, residents of Washington Heights also wanted the Boulevard Lafayette to be renamed Riverside Drive.<ref name="The New York Times 1904 z648" />

The city planned to acquire land to widen the section of the Boulevard Lafayette (then renamed Riverside Drive) between 158th and 165th streets in 1907, but the city's controller objected to the $1 million valuation placed on the land.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> By mid-1908, Riverside Drive was complete to 155th Street, except for a single city block between 151st and 152nd streets, where a property owner had successfully requested that a state judge place an injunction on the project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A few blocks north, families with plots in Trinity Church Cemetery complained that the new road was obstructing views of the Hudson River from their plots.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The extension of Riverside Drive resulted in the development of upper-class apartment houses there.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> To pay for the construction of the extension, the Riverside Drive and Parkway Commission proposed charging local residents $1.5 million, though the high cost was controversial.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The section between 145th and 158th streets formally opened in February 1911.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> John C. Rodgers, who helped build the section from 145th to 158th streets, later sued the city for delaying the road's completion by four years; the suit was not resolved until 1930.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early 20th century

Mid-1900s to 1910s

View down 145th Street at Riverside Drive
View down 145th Street at Riverside Drive

By the mid-1900s, engineers were considering extending Riverside Drive further north from 158th Street to the proposed Henry Hudson Bridge,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> as well as southeast from 72nd Street to West End Avenue.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The New York Times estimated that the northward extension would cost $4.8 million,<ref name="NYT 1909 z747">Template:Cite web</ref> and the New-York Tribune estimated the total cost of Riverside Drive at $25.2 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Board of Estimate declined to fund a further extension of Riverside Drive in 1908, saying the city lacked money.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> John F. Ahearn, Manhattan's borough president, began requesting bids for the construction of Riverside Drive from 158th Street to Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx in March 1909.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Amid disagreements over the extension's cost, a state judge placed an injunction to prevent Ahearn from awarding contracts for the extension.<ref name="NYT 1909 z747" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the city agreed to spend only $250,000 on the extension in 1909, the Board of Estimate began requesting bids that May for the construction of Riverside Drive between 158th and 181st streets.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Municipal Art Commission approved designs for the extension that July.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Josiah A. Briggs, the chief engineer for the Bronx, proposed extending Riverside Drive all the way to Van Cortlandt Park in Riverdale, Bronx.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Due to high amounts of traffic over the years, the original road between 72nd and 125th streets had degraded extensively by the early 1910s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As such, in 1912, New York City park commissioner Charles B. Stover proposed replacing the pavement,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and he sought $475,000 from the city government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Stover also wanted to build a highway around the northern tip of Manhattan, connecting the northern end of Riverside Drive with the Harlem River Speedway to the east.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Olmsted and Arnold W. Brunner recommended in 1913 that Riverside Drive be extended north to the Bronx, with a new viaduct connecting 155th Street and the Boulevard Lafayette. Work north of 155th Street had not started.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Workers began adding a permanent pavement to the avenue between 72nd and 110th streets in 1913,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and upgrades to the section from 110th to 128th street began in 1915.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After a pedestrian was killed near Grant's Tomb that year, the two-way roadways on either side of the monument were both converted to one-way traffic.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>

Meanwhile, after the opening of the city's first subway line, the northern section of Riverside Drive was quickly developed with six-to-twelve-story apartment blocks,<ref name="Gray s404">Template:Cite web</ref> in many cases replacing mansions and other lower-density development.<ref name="p249299515" />Template:Sfn Numerous multi-story apartment buildings had been developed along Riverside Drive on the Upper West Side by the early 1910s,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and even more apartment buildings were built on the avenue after World War I.Template:Sfn By 1917, the city government had tentatively agreed to rebuild Riverside Park west of Riverside Drive.<ref name="p575770889">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Local residents had opposed earlier proposals for the park, saying that noise and disruptions from the construction project would compel many Riverside Drive residents to relocate.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1919, the city controller proposed extending Riverside Drive south to 57th Street by building a roadway above the West Side Line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1920s

Riverside Drive's northern section at Dyckman Street
Riverside Drive's northern section at Dyckman Street

The roadway between 135th and 158th streets was replaced with a permanent pavement in 1920.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The New York City Board of Estimate voted down a resolution in 1921 to build a parallel roadway to Riverside Drive between 155th and 175th streets, within Hamilton Heights, at a cost of $7 million.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The next year, borough president Julius Miller submitted plans to build a road, known as Riverside Drive West, between 155th and 177th streets for $2.791 million; this would serve as a bypass of the existing roadway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The project would require the construction of several high retaining walls west of Riverside Drive West.<ref name="NYT 1922 f867">Template:Cite web</ref> In addition, the land east of Riverside Drive West between 155th and 161st streets, a hollow known as Garage Village,<ref name="p1111945842">Template:Cite news</ref> was to be raised.<ref name="NYT 1922 f867" /> The city's proposal to widen Riverside Drive required the acquisition of land, including a portion of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center's site along the Hudson River.<ref name="p1237299941">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> The city also acquired land in Inwood Hill Park for a further northward extension into the Bronx,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and there were suggestions to extend the road to Westchester County, New York,<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite news</ref> or the city of Troy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The section of Riverside Drive between 165th and Dyckman streets was renovated for $1.25 million starting in 1924,<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="p1112818839">Template:Cite news</ref> and the road reopened in May 1925.<ref name="p1112818839" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Workers installed new plantings and repaved the road.<ref name=":3" /> The roadway was also widened by Template:Convert, requiring the construction of retaining walls as much as Template:Convert tall,<ref name="p1113595934">Template:Cite news</ref> and a wide sidewalk was built on the western side of the avenue, facing the river.<ref name="Gray r582">Template:Cite web</ref> Near 190th Street, a scenic overlook was built at Inspiration Point, where Riverside Drive curved outward toward the river.<ref name="Schneider2001">Template:Cite web</ref> The Municipal Art Commission approved the construction of Riverside Drive West in 1926,<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite news</ref> and workers began constructing foundations for the viaduct the same year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The city began requesting bids from steel contractors in April 1927,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the P. T. Cox Construction Co. was hired to provide Template:Convert of structural steel for the viaduct.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Later that year, a state judge determined that it would cost $3.3 million to acquire land for a northward extension of Riverside Drive.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The viaduct was opened on November 28, 1928, having cost $2.36 million.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref>

Other improvements along Riverside Drive were also undertaken in the 1920s. For instance, city controller Charles L. Craig wanted the Board of Estimate to build a parallel roadway above the West Side Line,<ref name="p1237322000">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> and one local organization requested that the avenue's sparsely used bridle path be converted into a children's play area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Manhattan Valley Viaduct was closed for repairs in 1923.<ref name="p1237314558">Template:Cite news</ref> In addition, to increase traffic flow on Riverside Drive, the city government retimed some traffic lights in 1928, allowing motorists to pass through several green lights at once.<ref name="p512356803">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web; Template:Cite news</ref> Near the northern end of the avenue, there were proposals for ramps to and from the then-new George Washington Bridge;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> these ramps opened along with the bridge in 1931.<ref name="p1114148443">Template:Cite news</ref> Many luxury apartments continued to be developed on Riverside Drive in the 1920s and 1930s;Template:Sfn however, upper-class residents were also starting to move away, and lower- and middle-class renters began to move in.<ref name="p162160033">Template:Cite news</ref>

Mid-20th century

During the mid-20th century, many of the apartment buildings on Riverside Drive started to deteriorate and were changed to single-room occupancy structures.<ref name="Hughes e643" /> White residents moved out of these buildings, and black and Hispanic residents moved in.<ref name="Gray s404" /> The road was also frequently used as an alternate route to the Henry Hudson Parkway after that highway was completed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1930s and West Side Improvement

View down Riverside Drive at 79th Street
View down Riverside Drive at 79th Street

As part of a pilot program in 1930, the city government retimed the traffic signal at the intersection of 120th Street and Riverside Drive, adding a pedestrian clearance interval; at the time, most of the city's traffic lights had no pedestrian clearance intervals.<ref name="p1113132811">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Also in 1930, a northward extension of Riverside Drive was again proposed in conjunction with the proposed Henry Hudson Bridge.<ref name="p1113175971">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> The next year, workers began replacing the Manhattan Valley Viaduct's wood-block pavement,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which was starting to deteriorate.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The northern section of the West Side Elevated Highway, connecting to Riverside Drive's southern terminus, opened in 1932;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> this provided a link from Riverside Drive to the Holland Tunnel, which led to New Jersey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As part of the concurrent West Side Improvement project, the West Side railroad line was relocated into the Freedom Tunnel north of 72nd Street.Template:Sfn<ref name="p1221672724">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> The Henry Hudson Parkway was also constructed as part of the West Side Improvement, and Riverside Park was greatly expanded as well.Template:Sfn<ref name="p1221672724" />

In March 1934, the New York State Legislature approved a northward extension of Riverside Drive from Dyckman Street to the Bronx; this extension was to be developed as part of the Henry Hudson Parkway.<ref name="p1114809693">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Work on the extension began in February 1935;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the project was funded by a $3.1 million bond issue.<ref name="p1221580105">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> The city government also submitted plans in mid-1936 for a $7 million upgrade to the existing section of Riverside Drive between St. Clair Place (at the southern end of the Manhattan Valley Viaduct) and Dyckman Street.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The portion of the parkway north of Dyckman Street opened in December 1936,<ref name="p1222356419">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> and the portion south of the George Washington Bridge opened the next year, relieving traffic on much of Riverside Drive.<ref name="p1223331841">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> The section of Riverside Drive between the George Washington Bridge and Dyckman Street was incorporated into the northbound roadway of Henry Hudson Parkway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A parallel southbound roadway for the Henry Hudson Parkway was built between these two points.<ref name="Mathieu u746">Template:Cite web</ref> When it opened in January 1938, the section of Riverside Drive between these two points was converted to a northbound-only road.<ref name="p1242949417">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref>

Other changes along Riverside Drive took place during the 1930s. The city's police commissioner began allowing motorists to turn left on red at several intersections along Riverside Drive in 1937.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition, concrete curbs were installed along the Manhattan Valley Viaduct in the late 1930s to reduce the probability of motorists falling off the viaduct.<ref name="p1252782310">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> By this decade, the architect Henry Wright had claimed that the buildings around Riverside Drive were "slums or potential slums", a claim that many local residents and architects denied.<ref name="NYT 1932 i232">Template:Cite web</ref> Conversely, the developer Charles V. Paterno predicted that the avenue would again become an upscale residential corridor because of its location and the construction of the Henry Hudson Parkway and George Washington Bridge.<ref name="p1243042581">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Many row houses on Riverside Drive had been replaced with apartments by the 1930s.Template:Sfn

1940s and 1950s

Manhattan borough president Hugo Rogers claimed in the 1940s that some of the Manhattan Valley Viaduct's steel plates needed to be replaced.<ref name="p1284484186">Template:Cite news</ref> The section of Riverside Drive from 72nd to 79th streets was temporarily converted into a northbound-only road in 1951, and parking between 72nd and 96th streets was restricted, due to repairs on the Henry Hudson Parkway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition, to eliminate a longstanding bottleneck along Riverside Drive near the George Washington Bridge, a ramp from the bridge to the Henry Hudson Parkway opened in 1953.<ref name="p1325576782">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> An alternate-side parking rule was implemented on the avenue in 1956; in conjunction with this change, 119 bus stops on Riverside Drive were relocated as well.<ref name="NYT 1956 z225">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="p1326962206">Template:Cite news</ref> Although alternate-side parking had already been implemented on other nearby streets, Riverside Drive was maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, rather than the New York City Department of Sanitation, and had been exempt from the rule.<ref name="NYT 1956 z225" />

The city government began reconstructing the viaduct from 153rd to 155th streets in March 1959; the project involved increasing the roadway's width from Template:Convert, replacing the steel frame, and constructing new sidewalks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Reconstruction was supposed to have been completed in September 1959,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but the viaduct did not reopen until that December.<ref name="p1324219203">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> The same year, the city government began studying plans to improve lighting along the avenue.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Also starting in 1959, the Manhattan Valley Viaduct was renovated at a cost of $1.4 million; workers added new roadways, replaced one-third of the viaduct, and added aluminum netting to discourage birds from nesting there.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The viaduct was rededicated in April 1961 after the renovation was completed.<ref name="p1326254319">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref>

1960s and 1970s

Photo of 194 and 200 Riverside Drive
194 and 200 Riverside Drive

When the George Washington Bridge's lower level opened in 1962, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) considered retiming the avenue's traffic lights to allow for smoother traffic flow.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A progressive-traffic-signal system was implemented in October 1962. During the morning, the traffic lights were timed for southbound traffic, while during the evening, the traffic lights were timed for northbound traffic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The DOT also added radar antennas to traffic lights along the avenue, which collected data for a computerized traffic-signal control system.<ref name="Stengren l141">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1964, the DOT implemented no-standing rules on Riverside Drive north of 154th Street during the mornings, and it began using a radio system to control the traffic lights between 72nd and 154th streets.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The changes were meant to increase traffic capacity,<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite news</ref> but local residents opposed these changes, claiming that it would make Riverside Drive more congested.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition, Riverside Drive was designated as part of a citywide bike route in 1968.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The city announced plans in 1967 to construct a sewage tunnel under Riverside Drive, which would divert sewage away from the Hudson River.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> City workers began excavating shafts for the tunnel in 1970, which required the construction of temporary footpaths, but local residents protested the project because it was too noisy.<ref name="Clark i976">Template:Cite web</ref> In response, the city government froze several tons of wet soil to reduce construction noise near the tunnel shafts.<ref name="p117834412">Template:Cite news</ref> There were also proposals in the early 1970s to convert Riverside Drive to a one-way street during weekday rush hours, carrying southbound traffic in the morning and northbound traffic in the afternoon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

When a section of the Henry Hudson Parkway was entirely closed for repairs in January 1974,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> drivers were detoured onto Riverside Drive, and a no-parking restriction was enacted between 72nd and 79th streets.<ref name="Burks y273" /> These restrictions, and the increases in traffic on the avenue, prompted several residents to form an organization to protest congestion on Riverside Drive.<ref name="Burks y273">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="n156613418">Template:Cite news</ref> In response, the adjacent section of Henry Hudson Parkway was partly reopened as a reversible lane in September 1974,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but this failed to decrease congestion on Riverside Drive.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition, double-decker buses began running on the M5 route along Riverside Drive in 1976, requiring the relocation of several traffic lights and wires, as well as the removal of tree limbs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="p544741043">Template:Cite news</ref> By the 1970s, Riverside Drive was still occupied by middle-class residents, but there was frequent crime on the side streets due to the avenue's relatively isolated location.<ref name="p249299515" />

Late 20th century

1980s and 1990s changes

In February 1980, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the portion of Riverside Park and Drive south of 125th Street as a New York City scenic landmark.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Another renovation project for the Manhattan Valley Viaduct was scheduled in 1981, at which point the project was to cost $27 million.<ref name="The New York Times 1985 z254" /> By then, a DOT official had rated the viaduct as severely deteriorated,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and trucks and buses were banned from the viaduct due to the poor conditions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=n156620110>Template:Cite news</ref> Funding for repairs to the Manhattan Valley Viaduct and the 155th–161st streets viaduct were included in a $1.25 billion bond issue that was proposed in 1983,<ref name="NYT 1983 m201">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=n156620110/> and New York state voters approved the bond issue that November.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The same year, workers began replacing some of the viaduct's floor beams for $250,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Manhattan Valley Viaduct closed for renovations in 1984,<ref name="n156655455">Template:Cite news</ref> and it reopened that November following emergency repairs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The New York State Department of Transportation closed the Manhattan Valley Viaduct again in May 1985 for emergency repairs.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> The deck had corroded significantly, prompting officials to spend another $9.5 million replacing girders.<ref name="The New York Times 1985 z254" /> That December, city officials announced that they would spend $26 million rebuilding the Manhattan Valley Viaduct and partially reopening it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The project involved replacing most of the viaduct's superstructure,<ref name="p195942531" /><ref name="Hevesi g217">Template:Cite web</ref> in addition to replacing the existing deck with a lightweight concrete deck.<ref name="p195942531" /> The Manhattan Valley Viaduct fully reopened in July 1987,<ref name="p277775410">Template:Cite news</ref> having cost $36 million in total to renovate.<ref name="Hevesi g217" /> Further north, portions of Riverside Drive in Hamilton Heights collapsed in 1986 following a water main break,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the section of Riverside Drive in Hamilton Heights was partially closed for repairs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition, when a condominium building was completed at 222 Riverside Drive in 1988, it was the first apartment building to be erected on the avenue in 35 years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1991, the city government proposed rebuilding the section of the avenue north of 135th Street. Local residents initially opposed the project because it would require the removal of trees in the median, so the DOT decided instead to retain all but eight of the trees.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Work began in 1992. The sidewalks from 135th to 153rd streets were also rebuilt to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA); at the time, some of the sidewalks had a slope of 6%, three times the maximum slope allowed under the ADA. As a result, 20 buildings along the street had to build stairways to their entrances, and Manhattan Community Board 9 requested that the LPC protect the northern portion of the street.<ref name="Gray s404" /> In the late 1990s, local groups restored two traffic islands on Riverside Drive,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the DOT hired a contractor to restore the viaduct in Hamilton Heights.<ref name="p235662039">Template:Cite magazine</ref> By then, the values of apartments on the southern portion of Riverside Drive had increased significantly compared with earlier in the decade.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Riverside South extension

Template:Main

Riverside Boulevard looking south from 69th Street
Riverside Boulevard looking south from 69th Street

In the 1980s, the developer Donald Trump, who owned Template:Convert of a Penn Central freight rail yard south of Riverside Park, proposed a large real estate development project on that site.<ref>Leuck, Thomas J. "NBC Will Not Move to Television City" Template:Webarchive, The New York Times, October 31, 1987. "The developer plans the world's tallest building – 150 floors of offices and apartments – and other structures that would include 7,600 apartments, a large shopping mall, a parking garage and a hotel."</ref> Following financial difficulties and opposition from local civic groups, Trump announced a modified plan in 1991.<ref name="n156669495">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="p229638177">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Under the agreed-upon plan, Trump would expand Riverside Park by Template:Convert and construct a southern extension of Riverside Drive as far south as 59th Street.<ref name="p229638177" /> Paul Willen, who had led one of the civic groups that opposed the original plan, had suggested extending Riverside Drive "to make such an abandoned lump of a place feel like New York again".<ref name="p108618638">Template:Cite news</ref> The extension would also relieve traffic congestion on West End Avenue one block east.<ref name="Ryan c146">Template:Cite web</ref>

Trump's plans for the southern extension of Riverside Drive called for the avenue to run down the middle of the development.<ref name="p206705771">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="p1298115483">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The 1991 plan also called for office and apartment buildings on the newly extended avenue, similar in height to the existing buildings on Riverside Drive,<ref name="p1298115483" /><ref name="Dunlap q540">Template:Cite web</ref> although these buildings were later increased in size.<ref name="Dunlap q540" /> The boulevard would run above a relocated West Side Highway, functioning as a service road to that expressway;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the proposal to relocate the West Side Highway was deferred due to political opposition.<ref name="p305641981">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> The approved plans called for Riverside Drive's extension to be built atop a viaduct,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but in October 1997, several civic groups sued Trump after he reneged on the viaduct plans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1999, the Riverside Drive extension was known as Riverside Boulevard.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Due to a lack of available space, Riverside Boulevard and Riverside Drive are not directly linked; they are instead connected by a short section of 72nd Street.<ref name="Lee n094">Template:Cite web</ref>

By 2003, Riverside Boulevard ran from 66th to 72nd streets.<ref name="Ryan c146" /> The northbound lanes of the West Side Highway from 59th to 72nd streets were still planned to be relocated into a tunnel under Riverside Boulevard.<ref name="Barron g337">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="p235732552">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In June 2006, Riverside South's developer began construction of the northbound tunnel.<ref name="Barron g337" /> The first phase of the tunnel measured Template:Convert wide and Template:Convert long and was Template:Convert above sea level.<ref name="Barron g337" /> The rest of the tunnel remains incomplete.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The connection between Riverside Drive's southern terminus and Riverside Boulevard remained closed until November 2011.<ref name="Haughney s995">Template:Cite web</ref>

Early 21st century

Upper-class residents were beginning to move back to Riverside Drive by the first decade of the 21st century.<ref name="p249299515" /> In 2005, the retaining wall of Castle Village collapsed onto the northern section of Riverside Drive and the northbound lanes of the Henry Hudson Parkway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Part of Riverside Drive had to be closed while the wall was repaired.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The wall was repaired and the roadway reopened in March 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

By the 2010s, the intersection of Riverside Drive and 79th Street was among the most dangerous on the Upper West Side, prompting Manhattan Community Board 7 to request that the intersection be redesigned.<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite web</ref> The DOT proposed narrowing Riverside Drive to one lane in each direction from 116th to 135th streets in early 2015,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but this was changed to two northbound and one southbound lanes following opposition from local residents.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As part of a related project the same year, speed limits from 103rd to 165th streets were reduced from Template:Convert; the section of Riverside Drive south of 103rd Street was already restricted to 25 miles per hour.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The city government awarded a $102 million construction contract in 2018 to Judlau Contracting for the restoration of the viaduct near 155th Street,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> though the project was delayed when Judlau resigned in 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> To increase safety, in 2020 the DOT reduced the speed limit on Riverside Drive between 165th and 181st streets from Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Structures

Between 72nd and 125th streets, nearly every block of Riverside Drive is part of a New York City historic district, and the buildings on these blocks date from before World War II.<ref name="Hughes e643" /> These include the West End-Collegiate Historic District between 72nd and 79th streets; the Riverside Drive-West 80th–81st Street Historic District between 80th and 81st streets;Template:Efn the Riverside-West End Historic District between 81st and 108th streets;Template:Efn the Riverside-West 105th Street Historic District between 105th and 106th streets; and the Morningside Heights Historic District between 108th and 119th streets.<ref name="NYCL Interactive map">Template:Cite web</ref>

The buildings on Riverside Drive are mainly residential structures south of 165th Street,<ref name="Malbin i085" /> and there are very few stores on Riverside Drive.<ref name="Hughes e643" /> In 1927, one of the avenue's only businesses at the time was shuttered after residents of Riverside Drive spoke in favor of keeping the avenue a "strictly residential zone".<ref name="p1654213335">Template:Cite magazine; Template:Cite web</ref> In addition, zoning regulations prohibited garage entrances from being built onto Riverside Drive in the mid-20th century,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and all buildings on the avenue had to include progressively deeper setbacks above a height of Template:Convert.<ref name="Oser i130">Template:Cite web</ref>

Residential buildings

Mansions and row houses

Curved facades of The Colosseum and The Paterno at 116th Street
Curved facades of The Colosseum and The Paterno at 116th Street

At the end of the 19th century, the eastern side of Riverside Drive was lined with luxuriously finished rowhouses interspersed with free-standing mansions set in large lawns.<ref name="p574615690">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Several freestanding mansions were built along Riverside Drive in the late 19th and early 20th centuries,Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> at a time when developers envisioned Riverside Drive as a rival to the millionaires' row on Fifth Avenue.<ref name="p249299515" /><ref name="n144833626">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Gray 1997 s584">Template:Cite web</ref> The Isaac L. Rice Mansion at 89th Street, and the Schinasi Mansion at 107th Street, are the only remaining freestanding mansions on Riverside Drive.<ref name="Malbin i085" /><ref name="p249299515" /> The Charles M. Schwab House, built in 1905 for steel magnate Charles M. Schwab on a full city block between 73rd and 74th streets, was replaced in 1950 by the 18-story Schwab House apartment building.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Riverside Drive includes several notable row houses as well, which were generally occupied by the middle class,Template:Sfn though comparatively few townhouses remain standing.<ref name="Malbin i085" /> Near 72nd Street, the Prentiss residence at 1 Riverside Drive and the Kleeberg residence at 3 Riverside Drive (both New York City designated landmarks) were developed in the late 1890s as part of a group of four ornate row houses.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are several rowhouses with stepped gables at 74–78 Riverside Drive, a relative rarity on the avenue, where most row houses were designed in the Beaux-Arts style.<ref name="Peck j134" /> At 83rd Street is a set of houses designed by Clarence True in 1899, which are all designated as city landmarks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The same architect designed other houses along the avenue between 72nd and 84th streets,<ref name="Malbin i085" /> including a set of houses on 80th and 81st streets that he designed along with Charles H. Israel.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The Baumgarten House at 294 Riverside Drive, designed in 1901 by Schickel & Ditmars, is also a city landmark.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The block between 105th and 106th streets contains the Beaux-Arts–styled Davis Mansion at 330 Riverside Drive<ref name="Peck j134" />Template:Sfn and the "Seven Beauties" at 331–337 Riverside Drive.Template:Sfn

Apartment buildings

Many of Riverside Drive's apartment buildings date from between the 1900s and the 1930s, with curving facades along the avenue.<ref name="Malbin i085" /> The southern portion of Riverside Drive is lined with many Art Deco, Beaux-Arts, and Renaissance Revival apartment buildings, mostly housing cooperatives;<ref name="Hughes e643" /> in particular, the section south of 96th Street is primarily occupied by luxury co-ops.<ref name="Goldberger z137" /> The structures on the northern portion of Riverside Drive are designed in more modest styles, and there are more rental apartments. On both sections of Riverside Drive, some buildings are condominiums.<ref name="Hughes e643" />

Multiple apartment houses along Riverside Drive are designated as individual city landmarks.<ref name="NYCL Interactive map" /> These include the Normandy, an Art Moderne and Renaissance Revival apartment house between 86th and 87th streets,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Master Apartments, a 27-story Art Deco tower at 310 Riverside Drive.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At 150th Street is the Beaumont Apartments, an 11-story structure at 730 Riverside Drive built in 1913.<ref name="Schiffbauer p081">Template:Cite web</ref>

Riverside Drive has other notable apartment structures.<ref name="Peck j134" /> The Clarendon at 137 Riverside Drive, just south of 86th Street, has a mansard roof with a five-story penthouse apartment.<ref name="Gray h823">Template:Cite web</ref> At 243 Riverside Drive near 96th Street is the Cliff Dwelling, a former apartment hotel,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while the 370 Riverside Drive building was completed in 1923 by Simon Schwartz and Arthur Gross, at 109th Street.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are several major apartment houses on Riverside Drive in Morningside Heights.<ref name="Goldberger z137" /> These include The Colosseum and The Paterno, a pair of structures at 116th Street with facades curving in opposite directions,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and International House, a 13-story apartment structure erected in 1924 at 500 Riverside Drive near 123rd Street.Template:Sfn The Castle Village apartment complex is on the former section of Riverside Drive (now Henry Hudson Parkway) between 182nd and 186th streets.<ref name="p1243116502">Template:Cite news</ref> South of 72nd Street, there are tall apartment buildings along Riverside Boulevard's eastern sidewalk.<ref name="Jacobson l236" />

Monuments

Template:See also

There are several monuments along Riverside Drive, many of which are in Riverside Park.<ref name="Hughes e643" /> At 89th Street is the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, which was erected in 1902 and commemorates Union Army soldiers;<ref name="Peck j134" /><ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite book</ref> it is designated as a city landmark.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the center of Riverside Drive at 122nd Street is Grant's Tomb, the final resting place of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Grant's Tomb, a Template:Convert domed structure made of white granite,<ref name="nyt-1997-04-28">Template:Cite news</ref> is designated both as a national memorial<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a city landmark.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Firemen's Memorial at 100th Street
Firemen's Memorial at 100th Street

Numerous small monuments and memorials are clustered around Riverside Drive south of 122nd Street.<ref name="Goldberger z137" /> Among the smaller monuments along its route are the Eleanor Roosevelt Monument at 72nd Street,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Anna Hyatt Huntington's Joan of Arc at 93rd Street,<ref name="Peck j134" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn a monument to John Merven Carrère by Thomas Hastings at 99th Street,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Attilio Piccirilli's Fireman's Memorial at 100th Street,Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> William Ordway Partridge's monument to Samuel J. Tilden at 112th Street,Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Amiable Child Monument at 122nd Street.<ref name="p574615690" /> A memorial to the novelist Ralph Ellison, by sculptor Elizabeth Catlett, was dedicated in 2003 in front of his longtime home at 730 Riverside Drive (near 150th Street).<ref name="Ellison">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Other structures

The Nicholas Roerich Museum is on 107th Street and Riverside Drive,<ref name="Peck j134" />Template:Sfn while a 19-story office building, the Interchurch Center, is at 475 Riverside Drive on the southeast corner with 120th Street.Template:Sfn Across from the Interchurch Center, between 120th and 122nd streets, is Riverside Church, a Gothic Revival church building with elements inspired by the Chartres Cathedral.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Just north of Riverside Church is Sakura Park,Template:Sfn while Riverbank State Park is at 679 Riverside Drive near 145th Street.Template:Sfn The Trinity Church Cemetery is located on the eastern side of Riverside Drive between 153rd and 155th streets,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> while the block to the north, between 155th and 156th streets, contains the Audubon Terrace cultural complex.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Near the northern end of Riverside Drive is Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.<ref name="p222138445">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The original campus was built in 1925 on a cliff overlooking the avenue,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> while an annex was built across Riverside Drive to the west in 1999, connected to the original campus by pedestrian bridges.<ref name="p222138445" /> In addition, Fort Washington Park is located just west of the avenue's northernmost portion.<ref name="NYCityMap" /> Template:Clear

Notable residents

Notable people who have lived on Riverside Drive over the years have included:

Impact

The western side of Riverside Drive during a February 2006 blizzard
The western side of Riverside Drive under record snowfall in the blizzard of February 2006

In 1900, the New-York Tribune described the Manhattan Valley Viaduct as "another attractive feature [on] the already impressively beautiful east bank of the Hudson River at Riverside Park and Washington Heights".<ref name="p570835018" /> A writer for the New York Herald Tribune described Riverside Drive as being, in its early years, "really an elongated park" lined with mansions and apartments.<ref name="p1113678567" /> Paul Goldberger, writing for The New York Times in 1980, said that "by any reasonable standard, Riverside Drive would be considered the best street in New York" because it bordered a river and park for most of its length.<ref name="Goldberger z137" /> A reporter for the same newspaper said in 2018 that Riverside Drive "links a half-dozen historic neighborhoods and a parade of attractive architecture while offering open space across nearly its entire western flank".<ref name="Hughes e643" /> The fifth edition of the AIA Guide to New York City described Riverside Park and Drive as a "green ribbon of hills and hollows".Template:Sfn

Riverside Drive, and the buildings along it, have been depicted in works of popular media. The 125th Street Viaduct has been seen in the movie The Amazing Spider-Man (2012),<ref>Template:Cite news Print edition: July 3, 2012, pp. 40–41</ref> and scenes from Woody Allen's Manhattan (1979) were filmed at 265 Riverside Drive.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She'll Drive the Big Car on David Bowie's album Reality (2003) features a woman driving along Riverside Drive.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

See also

References

Notes

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Citations

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Sources

Template:Upper West Side Template:Harlem Template:Manhattan streets

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