The 79th Street Rotunda is a circular park that overlooks the Hudson River in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The 79th Street Boat Basin is adjacent.
Contents
Construction of the Rotunda was begun in 1934 and completed in 1937. It was planned by New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, as part of a larger project called the West Side Improvement Project. The project constructed the West Side Highway system, while beautifying Riverside Park, which many at the time viewed as dirty and inaccessible. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Early history of the site
During the early years of New York City, the current site to Riverside Park was largely undeveloped, consisting of rocky outcroppings and steep bluffs along the Hudson River shoreline. Prior to European arrival, American Indians sparsely populated this rough terrain. In 1846 the Hudson River Railroad laid tracks across the Hudson River shoreline to speed the transport of goods from Albany to Manhattan. In 1865, William R. Martin, a commissioner on the Board of Central Park proposed a scenic drive and park along the Hudson River. During the next two years New York City acquired land between the Hudson River Railroad and the bluffs along the shoreline, and in 1873 the New York City Park Board commissioned Riverside Park. The chief designer of Central Park, Fredrick Law Olmsted, was named lead designer. His design, which was accepted in 1875, included a winding drive for horses and sight-seeing, as well as pedestrian walkways, both accessible from the neighborhoods to the east.
The park was completed by Olmsted's successor Calvert Vaux, but was soon surrounded by coal bins, shacks and garbage dumps.
Robert Moses era
By 1921, Riverside Park had deteriorated to an expanse of mud. Barbed-wire fences cut the citizens off from the waterfront. In the early 1920’s, the architecture firm of McKim, Mead and White had submitted a proposal with an elevated traffic circle, covering the railroad tracks beneath. The traffic circle was partially built, and portions of a highway were also under construction on Manhattan’s West Side; this drew the attention of citizens and politicians to this neglected area leading the City of New York to announce the West Side Improvement Project in 1934. Robert Moses was at this time New York’s Park Commissioner; he took over and expanded the traffic circle project. To facilitate federal funding, the project was formally known as the Seventy-Ninth Street Grade Elimination Structure, though the project itself had little do with grade-elimination. Moses was able to raise $109,000,000 to begin the project.
Moses hired the architect and engineer, Clinton Lyod to work on the structural elements with the landscape architect, Gilmore Clarke, to work on the landscape. The structure was built mostly from concrete, which can be seen at the entrance to the interior parking garage. Above ground, the concrete is clad in cut stone. The initial McKim, Mead and White plan had called for rough-cut, dark stone to be applied to the exterior of the building, however, Clinton Lyod modified their plan and used lighter, finer cut stone.
The Rotunda was designed to hold the weight of the heavily used traffic circle that sits atop the building. The large support columns are visible inside the café.
The 79th Street Rotunda and Boat Basin and the rest of the West Side Improvement project were finished in 1937.
Form and use
The park was built to serve the double purpose of a transportation corridor and a recreational area; the two uses are visually separated into two vertical levels. The 79th Street Rotunda allows easy access and exit to and from the Henry Hudson Highway. It provides for transit of electrically powered trains into Manhattan by covering the electrified tracks. It provides an internal, sheltered parking garage for boat basin users. The internal courtyard and seasonal café were added after the fact of initial design and conception.
The 79th Street Rotunda and Boat Basin remain intact and have changed little since their construction, and the marina and restaurant are still in operation. As well as ongoing uses, the rotunda hosts occasional theatrical performances and art exhibits, and has in the past provided shelter at night for the homeless.