70^th Street at the Hudson River

Pier I and most of Riverside Park South were originally part of the abandoned Penn Central railyard between 59th and 72nd Streets. Reconstructed to its original length of 795 feet, the pier has been narrowed considerably and is now only about 55 feet at its widest part where it once was wide enough to fit four parallel railroad tracks.

72^nd Street & Riverside Drive

Created by noted artist Penelope Jencks, the eight-foot statue of Eleanor Roosevelt is constructed of bronze and stone and is located inside Riverside Park at West 72nd Street and Riverside Drive. This monument is the first public statue of a president’s wife in the nation and only the second public statue of an American woman in New York City.

76^th Street & Riverside Drive

The ornately carved pink limestone fountain was designed by Warren & Wetmore, the architects of Grand Central Station, and erected in 1906. Located at West 76th Street and Riverside Drive, the fountain contains an inscription that reads, “Bequeathed to the people of New York by Robert Ray Hamilton.”

83^rd Street on the Promenade

The anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising is April 19, the day the Germans stormed the ghetto. Every year in April, a small ceremony is held in Riverside Park honoring the victims of the uprising.

89^th Street & Riverside Drive

The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument stands 96 feet high, is made of marble and granite, and is patterned after the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens. The monument was dedicated on May 30, 1902 in remembrance of individuals from New York State who fought in the Civil War. A New York City landmark, the monument has become a shrine for all those who have served in later wars as well, and is the site of an annual Memorial Day observance.

90^th–91^st Street on the Promenade

This well-loved community garden is located between 90th and 91st Streets on the Promenade level of Riverside Park. In 2006, the Garden People celebrated 25 years of flourishing in Riverside Park.

93^rd Street & Riverside Drive

Located at 93rd Street and Riverside Drive, the over life-size bronze statue of Joan of Arc features her in armor, holding aloft her sword and standing in the saddle of her warhorse. The sculptor, Anna Vaughn Hyatt, wanted to depict Joan as spiritual rather than warlike.

at the Hudson River

In the mid 1980s, the dirt tennis courts at 96th Street were in deplorable condition: sandy, gritty and weed-infested. The City was ready to resurface the courts with asphalt and turn them into hard courts. Upper West Side tennis players strongly objected to these plans and they formed a new organization, the Riverside Clay Tennis Association (RCTA). In the early 90s, hundreds of RCTA volunteers spent thousands of hours replacing the old dirt with tons of new, red clay, transforming the courts into the magnificent public, red-clay facility that exists today.

100^th Street & Riverside Drive

The Firemen’s Memorial is a 19 foot long by 8 foot wide sarcophagus erected on a granite plaza, with a fountain and a bronze bas-relief tablet portraying three galloping horses pulling a fire engine on the side facing the park. Symbolic marble sculptures representing the firefighter’s motto, Duty and Sacrifice, flank the sarcophagus; Sacrifice on the north end, Duty on the south.

Between 1937 and 1941, under the leadership of Robert Moses, 22 modern recreational facilities were added, including the 103rd and 107th Street Playing Fields.

The most recent reconstruction, completed in April of 2006 has created multi-use facilities which will allow for year-round, full-time use on an attractive, functional playing surface for approximately 60,000 annual ballplayers.

107^th Street inside the Park

The Peter Jay Sharp Volunteer House, inside Riverside Park at 107th Street, adapts an existing one hundred year old limestone building in a landmarked park to fresh use. The building is the only public facility in New York City dedicated solely to encouraging and sustaining volunteer park work.

108^th–116^th Street

The woodland area inside the Park from 108th Street to 116th Street was developed according to Frederick Law Olmsted’s original Riverside Park design of 1875, however today’s woodlands look much different than during Olmsted’s time. NYC Parks & Recreation, The Tiffany & Co. Foundation and Riverside Park Fund currently are collaborating on a multi-year project to restore this historic woodland landscape.

109^th Street, lower level of the Park

The Riverside Park Skate Park, opened in 1995, was New York City’s first skate park and was built specifically to appeal to adolescents. The skate park features various skating surfaces, including two half-pipes, and other ramps and rails. The park is open Thursday – Monday from May through October.

116^th – 129^th Street

The Bird Sanctuary is designated as an official NYC Parks & Recreation Forever Wild site. This designation provides a layer of protection to areas that are already being managed as natural sites instead of maintained landscapes. Birdwalks led by Riverside Park Fund Grassroots Volunteers take place during spring and fall migrations; there is also our volunteer-led annual Christmas Count in December.

122^nd Street & Riverside Drive

The largest mausoleum in the world, Grant’s Tomb took 8 years to complete. The exterior of the 150 foot structure is constructed of over 8,000 tons of white granite while the interior is constructed of marble. In 1972, a public art organization called CityArts sponsored a program to build a series of benches to encircle the monument. This community effort involved thousands of volunteers from all over New York City and resulted in a colorful mosaic of tiles depicting a wide range of images.

123^rd Street & Riverside Drive

One hundred yards north of Grant’s Tomb, the “Amiable Child Monument” consists of a small, simple urn on a pedestal surrounded by iron fence. The east side of the pedestal, which faces the site of his family’s former home reads, “Erected to the Memory of an Amiable Child, St. Claire Pollock, Died 15 July 1797 in the Fifth Year of His Age.”

150th Street & Riverside Drive

The Invisible Man sculpture is a 15 foot high, 7 ½ foot wide, six inch thick slab of bronze featuring a cutout silhouette of a man. His struggle, Catlett suggests, is universal, genderless, and timeless. The artwork is the centerpiece of a restored area of Riverside Park, surrounded by a dramatic setting of dogwoods and azaleas from 149th to 153rd Street.