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Randalls and Wards Islands

Coordinates: 40°47′15″N 73°55′31″W / 40.78750°N 73.92528°W / 40.78750; -73.92528
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"Ward's Island" redirects here. Not to be confused with Bumpkin Island or Toronto Islands.

Randalls and Wards Islands
Map
Geography
LocationEast River, New York, NY, U.S.
Coordinates40°47′48″N 73°55′19″W / 40.79667°N 73.92194°W / 40.79667; -73.92194
Area2.09 km2 (0.81 sq mi)
Administration
United States
Demographics
Population1,648
Pop. density788.5/km2 (2042.2/sq mi)

Randalls Island (also called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Islands, in the New York City borough of Manhattan,[1][2][3] separated from Manhattan by the Harlem River, from Queens by the East River and Hell Gate, and from the Bronx by the Bronx Kill. The two islands were formerly separate, with the channel between them, Little Hell Gate, being filled in by the early 1960s.[4]

The island had a population of 1,648 living on 2.09 square kilometers (520 acres) in 2010.[5] Most of the island is parkland, spanning a total of 432.69 acres (175.10 ha). The parks offer athletic fields, a driving range, greenways, playgrounds and picnic grounds. The island also has a history of being used for asylums, hospitals, and cemeteries, and is currently home to several public facilities, including two psychiatric hospitals, a state police station, a fire academy, a water treatment plant, and several homeless shelters.

The island is crossed by the Triborough and Hell Gate bridges. The island can be reached by the Triborough Bridge; the Wards Island Bridge, which serves pedestrians and bicyclists and links the island to East Harlem in Manhattan; or by the Randalls Island Connector, a pedestrian and cycling bridge crossing the Bronx Kill and connecting to the Port Morris neighborhood of the Bronx.

History

Colonial era

A 1781 British map of Manhattan. Montresor's (Randalls) and Buchanan's (Wards) Islands can be seen on the right, flanking Hell Gate, although their names have been reversed, Montresor's being the northern of the two
Detail of a 1896 map of Long Island City from the Greater Astoria Historical Society; Randalls and Wards Islands are at top

Native Americans called Wards Island Tenkenas which translated to "Wild Lands" or "uninhabited place",[6] whereas Randalls Island was called Minnehanonck.[7] The islands were acquired by Wouter Van Twiller, Director General of the Dutch colony of New Netherland, in July 1637. The island's first European names were Great Barent Island (Wards) and Little Barent Island (Randalls) after a Danish cowherd named Barent Jansen Blom.[8] Both islands' names changed several times. At times Randalls was known as "Buchanan's Island" and "Great Barn Island", both of which were likely corruptions of Great Barent Island.

John Montresor, an engineer with the British army, purchased Randalls Island in 1772. He renamed it Montresor's Island and lived on it with his wife until the Revolutionary War forced him to deploy. During the Revolutionary War, both islands hosted military posts for the British military. The British used his island to launch amphibious attacks on Manhattan, and Montresor's house there was burned in 1777. He resigned his commission and returned to England in 1778, but retained ownership of the island until the British evacuated the city in 1783 and it was confiscated.

Both islands gained their current names from new owners after the war. In November 1784, Jonathan Randell (or Randel) bought Randalls Island,[9] while Jaspar Ward and Bartholomew Ward, sons of judge Stephen Ward, bought Wards.[10]

Nineteenth century

The New York House of Refuge youth detention center in 1855.

Although a small population had lived on Wards since as early as the 17th century, the Ward brothers developed the island more heavily by building a cotton mill and in 1807 building the first bridge to cross the East River. The wooden drawbridge connected the island with Manhattan at 114th Street, and was paid for by Bartholomew Ward and Philip Milledolar. The bridge lasted until 1821, when it was destroyed in a storm. After the destruction of the bridge, Wards island was largely abandoned until 1840. Jonathan Randel's heirs sold Randalls to the city in 1835 for $60,000.

In the mid-19th century, both Randalls and Wards Islands, like nearby Blackwell's Island became home to a variety of social facilities. Randalls housed an orphanage, poor house, burial ground for the poor, "idiot" asylum, homeopathic hospital and rest home for Civil War veterans, and was also site of the New York House of Refuge, a reform school completed in 1854 for juvenile delinquents or juveniles adjudicated as vagrants. Between 1840 and 1930, Wards island was used for:

  • Burial of hundreds of thousands of bodies relocated from the Madison Square and Bryant Park graveyards
  • The State Emigrant Refuge, a hospital for sick and destitute immigrants, opened in 1847, the biggest hospital complex in the world during the 1850s[11]
  • The New York City Asylum for the Insane, opened around 1863[12]
  • Manhattan Psychiatric Center (incorporating the Asylum for the Insane), operated by New York State when it took over the immigration and asylum buildings in 1899. With 4,400 patients, it was the largest psychiatric institution in the world. The 1920 census notes that the hospital had a total of 6,045 patients. It later became the Manhattan Psychiatric Center.[13]

Scylla Point

In 1984, the point at the southeastern tip of the island was officially designated "Negro Point", based on the unofficial usage of riverboat workers.[14] The United States Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used that name. It still appears on charts of the area today. In 2001 the Parks Commissioner Henry Stern, upon learning of the name, thought it was offensive.[15] He changed the name to "Scylla Point" and paired it with Charybdis Playground in Astoria Park; the two features are on opposite sides of Hell Gate, just as the mythological monsters of Scylla and Charybdis were on opposite sides of the Strait of Messina.[16] Despite the name change Negro Point is still used by tug captains and mates as they sail past the area.

Parks

New fields on Randalls Island

Proposals to add parks to the islands were made as early as 1916, but park development was truly kicked off by the 1930 Metropolitan Conference of Parks, which recommended transforming them into recreational parks. Randalls Island Park is operated by the Randalls Island Park Alliance (RIPA), a public-private partnership founded in 1992 as the Island Sports Foundation.

The Alliance works with the City and local communities to provide sports venues, cultural events and environmental exploration. RIPA runs free youth programs at the Park, which brings thousands of children to the Park for a range sports and environmental education activities. In addition, RIPA hosts RIK CAMP, a free six-week-long summer camp for children from East Harlem and the South Bronx.

The Downing Stadium was the first stadium built on the island, as a WPA project, and upon its opening on July 11, 1936, 15,000 attendees witnessed Jesse Owens compete at Randalls Island Stadium in the Men's Olympic Trials.[17][18] Downing Stadium also hosted the Women's Olympic Trials in 1964.[19] It was the site of an international soccer friendly in which England defeated the USA, 10–0, on May 27, 1964.[20] In 1960, the owners of Ebbets Field donated 500 stadium lights to Downing Stadium. The lights came from the old stadium, which was being torn down.[21]

Downing Stadium was torn down in 2002 and replaced by a newer complex, Icahn Stadium, which opened in April, 2005.[22] It was designed by architect Ricardo Zurita, who was also involved with the master planning of the park development.[23] On May 31, 2008, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt broke the world record for the men's 100-meter dash at the Fourth Annual Reebok Grand Prix with a "lightning" speed time of 9.72 seconds.[24]

A renovated golf center opened in 2008. The new 25-acre (100,000 m2) $500,000 renovation has a two-tier indoor/outdoor, 82-stall driving range, 320 yards (290 m) of landing area, a 36-hole mini-golf course, grass tees, a short game area with sand bunker, PGA instructors, and 9 batting cages. Then, a tennis center opened in Randalls Island Park in July 2009. It features 20 courts, 10 har-tru and 10 rubberized hard (5 indoor), along with a cafe, pro shop, fitness facilities and locker rooms. From May–October, 10 courts are reserved for NYC Parks Tennis Permit holders during the daylight hours. In the winter, all 15 outdoor courts are bubbled for use by club members.

Looking west from Little Hell Gate along the waterway toward the footbridge

The center is also the home to the John McEnroe Tennis Academy and was home to the New York Sportimes of World TeamTennis until the team relocated to San Diego in 2014. Finally, in May 2010, RIPA and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation completed the construction of over 60 athletic fields to support a greater variety of sports, including football, lacrosse, field hockey, and rugby amongst the sports already played at the Park, soccer, baseball and softball. Randalls Island Park has the most athletic fields of any New York City park.

Two natural environments, a salt marsh and a freshwater wetland, have been established on the island. Through the process of excavating over 20,000 cubic yards (15,000 m3) of debris, installing clean sand, and planting native marsh grasses, 4 acres (16,000 m2) of salt marsh has been created surrounding the Little Hell Gate Inlet on the western edge of the Island. Just across from the salt marsh, 4 acres (16,000 m2) of freshwater wetlands were also restored.[25]

After the removal of almost 15,000 cubic yards (11,000 m3) of debris and fill, the freshwater wetland site was planted with native herbaceous, shrub, and tree species, such as switchgrass, aster, dogwood, and oak. In addition, the restoration projects play a crucial role in an park-wide filtration system that collects storm water from the adjacent sports fields, pathways and paved areas and channels it through the Wetlands, where the new plants naturally filter pollutants before reaching the East River.[25]

The island has almost 5 miles of waterfront pathways, and a greenway under the Hell Gate Viaduct is almost completed. By 2015 a connection to the South Bronx Greenway will be completed, and will have additional waterfront pathway sections, a naturalized "living shoreline," and further environmental restoration.[26]

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation approved a $1 million contract with Natural Currents Energy Services to generate renewable energy in the park. The project expected to produce 200 kW of solar, wind, and tidal energy to power the island's facilities. The project will include a solar-powered marine research and information kiosk open to visitors of the island, expected to be completed in September 2012.[27]

East River Fields, 2008

Little Hell Gate

Looking east from the footbridge at the mouth of the waterway toward the Triborough Bridge viaduct

Little Hell Gate passed between Randalls and Wards Islands. The east end of Little Hell Gate used to open into the Hell Gate passage, of the East River, opposite Astoria, Queens. The west end met the Harlem River across from East 116th Street, Manhattan.[28] After the Triborough Bridge opened in 1936, it spurred the conversion of both islands to parkland. Soon thereafter the city began filling in the passage between the two, to expand and connect the parks on each island.[4]

Few traces of Little Hell Gate still exist. Only indentations in the shoreline of the joined island in the East River indicate the former entrances to the waterway. Today, parkland and part of the New York City Fire Department Academy (see below) occupy its former location.[4]

Infrastructure and facilities

Facilities

The Manhattan Psychiatric Center (behind the Triborough Bridge) and Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center (foreground)

Bridges

An aerial view of the Triborough Bridge (also the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, at left) and the Hell Gate Bridge (right) to Wards Island (top)
Wards Island Bridge

In 1916, the Hell Gate Bridge was built across both islands, running from Queens to the Bronx. The bridge had been conceived in the early 1900s to link New York and the Pennsylvania Railroad with New England and the New Haven Railroad. The bridge is supposedly extremely sturdy; it would be the last New York City bridge to collapse if humans disappeared, taking at least a millennium to do so, according to the February 2005 issue of Discover magazine, while most other bridges would fall in about 300 years.[33]

In 1936, the islands were connected to the rest of the city by the Triborough Bridge, the hub of which crossed the islands. The American Society of Civil Engineers designated the Triborough Bridge Project as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1986.[34] On November 19, 2008, the Triborough Bridge was officially renamed after Robert F. Kennedy at the request of the Kennedy family.[35] To manage the bridge (and eventually all tolled New York City water crossings), the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority erected an art deco head building, the former base of Robert Moses; the building still stands on the island.

In 1937, the islands were connected by a bridge over Little Hell Gate, obviating the need for a ferry to Wards Island.[36] In fact, there were two bridges that appear to have been known as Little Hell Gate Bridge – an early 20th-century rail bridge on the approach to Hell Gate Bridge, and a later, lower steel arch road bridge across Little Hell Gate. The northern approach viaduct to the Hell Gate Bridge included an inverted bowstring truss bridge, with four 300-foot (91 m) long spans, across Little Hell Gate.[37]

Although Little Hell Gate has been filled, this bridge still exists.[note 1] Some time after the rail bridge was built, a 1,000-foot (300 m) long, 3 span, steel arch road bridge, designed by George Washington Bridge-engineer Othmar Ammann, was also built across Little Hell Gate, just a short distance to the north west of the rail bridge.[note 2]

Around this time, Little Hell Gate began to be narrowed with infill, and the islands were connected by the early 1960s.[4][38] This bridge was rendered obsolete when the Little Hell Gate was filled, and a service road was built alongside the deteriorating bridge. Efforts were made in the mid-1990s to preserve the bridge in the face of plans by the New York City Department of Transportation to demolish it.[39] They were unsuccessful.

Plans to construct a separate pedestrian bridge to provide Manhattan residents better access to the new Wards Island's Park were developed by Robert Moses in 1937, but construction of the Wards Island Bridge did not begin until 1949.[40][41] Designed by Othmar Hermann Ammann and built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,[42] the footbridge was originally known as the Harlem River Pedestrian Bridge.[43] The Wards Island Bridge opened to pedestrians on May 18, 1951 and was completed at a cost of $2.1 million.[44] It gives access to Wards Island Park from East Harlem, which has few public green spaces. A second footbridge, connecting the island to the Bronx, opened on November 9, 2015.[45]

The approach to Hell Gate bridge under construction circa 1915.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ See also location map and 2007 photo
  2. ^ Approximate location of the road bridge

References

  1. ^ Feature Detail Report for Randalls Island "Purchased in 1772 by British Captain James Montresor; sold in 1784 to Johnathan Randel; acquired by City of New York in 1835."
  2. ^ Feature Detail Report for Wards Island
  3. ^ "Randall's Island Park". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d "Parks and Transportation Departments Debate Future of Former Link Between Randalls and Wards Islands; At City Agencies, Troubled Water Over Bridge". the New York Times. April 16, 1995. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  5. ^ United States Census Bureau
  6. ^ Tooker, Wm. Wallace. "Indian Names of Places in Brooklyn", page 58. Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac, ed. William Herries. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1893
  7. ^ Jackson, Kenneth T., ed. (1995). The Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300055366., p. 1084
  8. ^ PHASE 1B ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION FOR THE PROPOSED RANDALL’S ISLAND FIELD DEVELOPMENT PROJECT http://nytelecom.vo.llnwd.net/o15/agencies/lpc/arch_reports/1472.pdf
  9. ^ "New York Land Records, 1630-1975, New York County Conveyances, Volume 52, Pages 265-266". Family Search. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  10. ^ Seitz, Sharon & Miller, Stuart (2003). The Other Islands of New York: A History and Guide (second edition). Woodstock, Vt.: Countryman Press. ISBN 0-88150-502-1. OCLC 45757764.
  11. ^ Barkan, Elliott Robert (2013). Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation, and Integration. ABC-CLIO. p. 1468. ISBN 9781598842197.
  12. ^ New York and Its Institutions, 1609–1871 – John Francais Richmond – E.B. Treat −1871
  13. ^ "Wards Island Park – Historical Sign". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  14. ^ Nordheimer, Jon (November 3, 1994). "One Man's Campaign To Rename a Creek". The New York Times.
  15. ^ Baard, Erik (July 8, 2001). "Uneasily Evoking an Outdated Past". The New York Times.
  16. ^ Pollack, Michael (June 29, 2008). "Turning Away Wrath". The New York Times.
  17. ^ Daley, Arthur J. (May 8, 1936). "$1,000,000 Randalls Island Sports Project Impresses Olympic Officials". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  18. ^ Daley, Arthur J. (July 12, 1936). "Metcalfe 2d in Sprint". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  19. ^ Collins, Glenn (August 20, 2004). "Built for Speed, And Local Pride; Track Stadium Emerges On Randalls Island". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  20. ^ "England's Matches 1960–1965". England Football Online. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  21. ^ "500 Lights From Ebbets Field Will Shine on Randalls Island". The New York Times. June 4, 1960. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  22. ^ Brick, Michael (April 24, 2005). "Children Celebrate Opening of Stadium". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  23. ^ Gordan, Rebecka (June 14, 2010). "Randall's Island Reborn". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  24. ^ Longman, Jeré (June 1, 2008). "Jamaican Sets World Record in 100 Meters at 9.72". The New York Times. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  25. ^ a b "Randall's Island Salt Marsh Restoration". Great Ecology. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  26. ^ NYCEDC Announces Launch of Construction of Randall's Island Connector Project, New York City Economic Development Corporation, December 18, 2013.
  27. ^ Colvin, Jill (March 26, 2012). "Solar, Wind and Tidal Energy to Power Randall's Island". DNAinfo. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  28. ^ New York-New Jersey Harlem Quadrangle (Map). 1:62,500. 15 Minute Series (Topographic). United States Geological Survey. 1900. § SW. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  29. ^ "Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center". New York State Office of Mental Health.
  30. ^ Mindlin, Alex (July 6, 2008). "On a Bus for the Homeless, a Push to Forgive the Fare". The New York Times.
  31. ^ "FDNY Fire Academy". FDNY website. New York City. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  32. ^ "New York City's Wastewater Treatment System". New York City DEP. New York City. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  33. ^ Weisman, Alan (February 2005). "Earth Without People: What would happen to our planet if the mighty hand of humanity simply disappeared?". Discover. Retrieved November 6, 2006.
  34. ^ "Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge". ASCE Metropolitan Section. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  35. ^ Gershman, Jacob (January 8, 2008). "Enduring Wish May Come True in RFK Bridge". The New York Sun. Retrieved January 9, 2008.
  36. ^ "Wards Island Span Open". the New York Times. May 16, 1937. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  37. ^ Reier, Sharon (2000). The Bridges of New York. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. p. 62. ISBN 0-486-41230-X.
  38. ^ "Fill Project to Add To Randalls Island For New Play Fields". the New York Times. August 18, 1962. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  39. ^ "Parks and Transportation Departments Debate Future of Former Link Between Randalls and Wards Islands". New York Times. April 16, 1995. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  40. ^ "Foot Bridge Urged for Wards Island; Moses Wants 790-Foot Span to Link Manhattan to Park Site at 103rd Street". The New York Times. November 8, 1937. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  41. ^ "Bridge to Be Built to Wards Island; Pedestrian Span Across the Harlem Will Open New Park Facilities to East Siders". The New York Times. June 9, 1949. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  42. ^ "NYC Bridges & Tunnels 2009 Annual Report, page 81" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation.
  43. ^ Rastorfer, Darl (2000). Six Bridges: The Legacy of Othmar H. Ammann. Yale University Press. p. 31. ISBN 0-300-08047-6.
  44. ^ "Wards Island Footbridge and Park Open; Moses Calls 'Planning Experts' No Help". The New York Times. May 19, 1951. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  45. ^ "Connector Between Randalls Island and the Bronx to Open This Summer". New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
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40°47′15″N 73°55′31″W / 40.78750°N 73.92528°W / 40.78750; -73.92528

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