Bridges of Central Park |
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Eaglevale Bridge is one of the newer arches in Central Park. It brings the 77th Street access road over the bridle path and what was once Ladies' Pond. It was named as such because access was given to "women only" for ice skating in the 1870s. And this is because to put skates on, women had to expose their ankles and there were many male onlookers! In 1936 Robert Moses filled it in and it became a playground. Since there was once a branch of the Lake here, that is why the nearby lawn and the bridle path are under water after a storm. And that is also the reason there is a double arch. Eaglevale Bridge/Arch is 150 feet long and 36 feet wide. The west arch is 13 feet 6 inches high over the bridle path and 31 feet wide. The east arch is 18 feet high over the filled-in arm of the lake and 33 feet 6 inches wide.
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Balcony Bridge takes West Drive over an arm of The Lake near the American Museum of Natural History. It was built in 1860 by Vaux and made of sandstone, cast stone, schist and greywacke. The arch measures 27 feet across and 11 feet 6 inches high. The bridge was named for the two bays on the bridge which are corbeled out forming small balconies with stone benches. Olmsted and Vaux's made plans for the bridge to be special with a extraordinary view of the scenery looking over the lake towards Central Park South and the Fifth Avenue skylines. Eighteen drawings of the Balcony Bridge survive in the Municipal Archives.
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Bank Rock is a footbridge crossing which starts at the narrow part of the Lake. Bank Rock Bridge is west of the Ramble and stands about 50 yards north and slightly to the east of Balcony Bridge. Bank Rock is an important bridge as there is no other way to enter the wooded area other than at this location. Bank Rock was originally known as Oak Bridge. When first built in 1859/60 the bridge was constructed with white oak and cast iron. The floorboards were made of yellow pine. The bridge was elegant but not able to withstand the abusive weather. In 1982 it was rebuilt with steel pipe with a plain wooden floor which rests on the original supports of the bridge.
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Originally, Gapstow was a wooden bridge supported by the unique feature of a large segmental arch of wood on the north and south sides, the arches stuck out from ledges on the stone abutments. Although it was a unique wooden bridge with ornamented cast iron railings. Apparently, due to wear and tear the 1896 design only lasted a little more than twenty years. Gapstow Bridge spans 44feet and is 12 feet high. The walkway is 76 feet long. It is made of Manhattan schist and local bedrock. It is yet another example of traditional architecture in Central Park. The stone span curves elegantly over the narrow neck of the Pond. Facing south, it offers the quintessential view of the city,
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The Terrace is a seven-arch arcade made of New Brunswick sandstone. It is the end of the Olmsted-Vaux plans for the park. Located at the north end of the Mall, it faces the Lake and the wooded area beyond. From the upper terrace it has a beautiful view of New York. If you walk down one of the two grand stairways from either side you will find yourself descending to the water terrace below. In the center is the famous Bethesda Fountain. At the foot of the steps you will find an arcade which is 29-feet wide and 16-feet high. The bridge has a height of 16 feet, a span of 29 feet, and a width of roadway of 45 feet. The roadway is supported by wrought iron girders. The Girders rest upon a portion of the main sidewalls of the Terrace structure.
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Bow Bridge is one of the most idolized of all the Central Park bridges. It was one of the seven original cast iron bridges built in Central Park during the years 1859-1875. Bow Bridge became a picturesque backdrop for ice skaters and boaters. When Robert Moses became Parks Commissioner, two of the original seven cast iron bridges in the park were destroyed; Spur Rock Arch and Outset Arch. Both of these bridges/arches were removed due to auto traffic priorities. The abutments of Bow's interior consist of cannon balls used as movable bearings at the end of the span. This allows the cast iron to expand and contract approximately 2 to 3 inches during the summer and winter seasons. The bridge is 15 feet 8 inches wide and its arch rises 9 feet 6 inches above the level of the Lake. It boasts a 142-foot balustrade and wood walkway. Since it's construction in the 1800's, Bow Bridge has was renovated in 1974 and again in 1998. Vases atop the end posts that were part of the bridge's original ornamental design were not restored and there are no plans to replace them. Approximately 19 drawings survive in the Municipal Archives.
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Accessible from the Fifth Avenue and 85th Street entrance to the park, Southeast Reservoir Bridge is one of three cast-iron spans in the vicinity of the Reservoir. It was contracted in 1864 to J. B. and W. W. Cornell Ironworks, which did most of the iron work in the park, and was completed in 1865. It has a 33-foot long span and a height clearance of 10 feet 3 inches. It is a highly traveled bridge and it links the Reservoir footpath, a crossing at the drive, and paths coming from two other populated park entrances. Southeast Reservoir Bridge was restored in 1989 by the Parks Department. The concrete deck was replaced with a tongue-and-groove wood deck and using the original Calvert Vaux drawings, new cast-iron railings were created by Historical Arts & Castings of Salt Lake City, Utah,
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The Southwest Reservoir Bridge is located at the southwest corner of the Reservoir. It has a 38-foot, 2-inch-wide and 10-foot, 9-inch-high arch. It has floral scrolls in the cast iron railing with interlacing leaves with other curling forms. After years of use the bridge was restored in the early 1970's. Whatever could be salvaged was stripped of encrusted paint and redone. Missing elements were casted from new patterns. New structural steel was used to support the new wood decking. The restoration was completed in 1979.
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Designed by Calvert Vaux and built in 1864 with the assistance of the Cornell Ironworks Company. This third of the cast-iron and steel bridges around the Reservoir ads a distinctive appearence to the landscape. Gothic Bridge is located near the north gatehouse of the Reservoir by 84th Street. The height of the bridge allowed the former recreational eqestrian traffice to pass below. The triangular spandrels at each end of Gothic Bridge were designed with such curved ironwork similar to that of the Gothic church architecture of the Middle Ages, hence the bridge'’Äôs name
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Glen Span is located in a seculed area of the park. Located at about 102nd Street the bridge is made of gneiss and ashlar. It was riginally started in 1863 and build with rustic wooden timber supported by piers of rock. It also had a wooden walk and railing. This was all replaced about 1885 with stone. The current structure spans 16 feet with a height of 18 feet 6 inches. The underpass runs about 50 feet alongside of the brook. It features a path and a babbling brook running under the archway. Olmsted and Vaux created this area to exhibit a forest-like setting. A favorite area for birdwatcher's during the spring.
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