You couldn't hope for a more beautiful autumn day than this afternoon. The sky was a vibrant blue, the sunshine was plentiful and the temperature briefly reached a high of nearly 61 degrees (16 C). I drove down to Croton Gorge Park at the base of the New Croton Dam in Westchester and set out for another hike on the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. I came across the first Ventilator Tower within a matter of minutes.
I've done a bit of research since my last time on the trail. Of the original 28 ventilators which were built along the Westchester part of the aqueduct at least 24 still remain and are visible along the trail. One was demolished, and the remaining three - well, well get to them later. Ventilators 8 (in Ossining) through 23 (in Yonkers) all had numbers incised into their stones. The remaining towers (seven northern most and the one just before the border into New York City) did not. The one above is ventilator number 4.
And this is number 5. This is the shortest of all the ones along the route. Most of them are close to 20 feet (6 m) tall - this one is not quite 13 (3.9 m). I walked to and then turned around just past tower 6 - that one is the normal height. I had a wonderful time. There were lots of people out on the trail and I smiled, waved and/or said hello to every one of them. It just makes the day so much more pleasant - for everyone! There were lots of dogs to say hello to as well. What can I say? Most dogs love me - and I love them. I got to pet (and in many cases be licked by) several Labs, a big beautiful Poodle, an amazing blue-eyed Husky and several other new friends of indeterminate lineage. A good day in every way. On the way back I hiked to and then along the top of the dam. The view was, as always, spectacular.
While on the drive home I decided to stop and visit a place Id been curious about for some time now. The Gatehouse for the New Croton Aqueduct, which currently supplies about 10%of New York Citys water, is located around 3.5 miles (5.63 km) upstream (northeast) from the dam.
That's the gatehouse on the right and the Arcady Road (aka Gatehouse) Bridge on the left. I should mention something at this point - I had a rather difficult time taking pictures of the things that I wanted to show you. When I got out of my car I was immediately accosted by two New York State Troopers who then stayed right with me the entire time I remained in the area. Apparently they were on duty watching out for vandals, saboteurs and terrorists. It was a slow day so I guess they had to settle for me. They were actually quite friendly and very interested in what I was doing, but they were adamant that I remain on and take all of my pictures from the road, which made getting any decent shots very difficult.
The bridge was built in 1903 and replaced an older one which was flooded when the new dam was built. Parts of the old bridge are still down there, right underneath this one. The new gatehouse was built in 1992; it replaced the original "new" aqueduct gatehouse, built in 1890, which is visible behind and to the left in this picture.
The "old" gatehouse, built in 1842 (at the same time as the Old Croton Dam) and the place at which the Old Aqueduct begins is underwater, just to the right of the bridge. And the Old Croton Dam? It's underwater as well, just on the other side of the bridge. These are the only parts that are still visible.
I'll stop back sometime when my police friends aren't around and try to get some better pictures.
No movies again this time. My DVD drive still hasn't arrived. The UPS tracking system shows it inexplicably stuck in Texas for over a week now. Maybe it somehow ended up in the Lone Star State's penal system...
My friends called last evening to invite me over for dinner and movies. They watched two of my favorites, Claude Berri's brilliant 1986 films Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring. I missed the call last night (I was outside sleeping in my hammock) but had an interesting conversation this morning. The films were adapted by Berri and Gerard Brach from Marcel Pagnol's 1962 masterpiece L'Eau descollines: Jean de Florette suivi de Manon des sources. The novels were translated into English in 1988 by W.E. van Heyningen (Jean de Florette & Manon of the Springs) - that book is one of my all time favorites. Now here's the part that I didn't know - Pagnol based his novel(s) on the screenplay for a 1953 film that he wrote and also directed which (like the 1986 film) was also called Manon des sources. I need to find either a DVD or VHS of that, or perhaps it's available online somewhere...
I've read some excellent books since my last blog...
Another superb novel by Jonathan Lethem and my first exposure to an absolutely astounding writer, Alisdair Gray! (Sincere thanks to davy for that recommendation...) A novel about a murder and its effect upon several individuals in and around a small South Dakota town and a wonderful book by an award winning fantasy author set in the wondrous mountains and desert around Tucson Arizona... Here's the list:
The Ends of Our Tethers: 13 Sorry Stories - Alisdair Gray
Motherless Brooklyn - Jonathan Lethem
Twisted Tree - Kent Meyers
The Wood Wife - Terri Windling
Oh, I almost forgot - the final three Ventilator Towers, which may (or may not) still exist.
They're in this picture. One of them is just north of the bridge visible along the top left horizon. One is somewhere at the far right. The final one should be somewhere in the center. Whatever is left of them has been submerged for over a hundred years beneath the waters of the New Croton Reservoir.
Well, that was long one... Sorry!
I hope that you are having a wonderful week. All the best...
I've done a bit of research since my last time on the trail. Of the original 28 ventilators which were built along the Westchester part of the aqueduct at least 24 still remain and are visible along the trail. One was demolished, and the remaining three - well, well get to them later. Ventilators 8 (in Ossining) through 23 (in Yonkers) all had numbers incised into their stones. The remaining towers (seven northern most and the one just before the border into New York City) did not. The one above is ventilator number 4.
And this is number 5. This is the shortest of all the ones along the route. Most of them are close to 20 feet (6 m) tall - this one is not quite 13 (3.9 m). I walked to and then turned around just past tower 6 - that one is the normal height. I had a wonderful time. There were lots of people out on the trail and I smiled, waved and/or said hello to every one of them. It just makes the day so much more pleasant - for everyone! There were lots of dogs to say hello to as well. What can I say? Most dogs love me - and I love them. I got to pet (and in many cases be licked by) several Labs, a big beautiful Poodle, an amazing blue-eyed Husky and several other new friends of indeterminate lineage. A good day in every way. On the way back I hiked to and then along the top of the dam. The view was, as always, spectacular.
While on the drive home I decided to stop and visit a place Id been curious about for some time now. The Gatehouse for the New Croton Aqueduct, which currently supplies about 10%of New York Citys water, is located around 3.5 miles (5.63 km) upstream (northeast) from the dam.
That's the gatehouse on the right and the Arcady Road (aka Gatehouse) Bridge on the left. I should mention something at this point - I had a rather difficult time taking pictures of the things that I wanted to show you. When I got out of my car I was immediately accosted by two New York State Troopers who then stayed right with me the entire time I remained in the area. Apparently they were on duty watching out for vandals, saboteurs and terrorists. It was a slow day so I guess they had to settle for me. They were actually quite friendly and very interested in what I was doing, but they were adamant that I remain on and take all of my pictures from the road, which made getting any decent shots very difficult.
The bridge was built in 1903 and replaced an older one which was flooded when the new dam was built. Parts of the old bridge are still down there, right underneath this one. The new gatehouse was built in 1992; it replaced the original "new" aqueduct gatehouse, built in 1890, which is visible behind and to the left in this picture.
The "old" gatehouse, built in 1842 (at the same time as the Old Croton Dam) and the place at which the Old Aqueduct begins is underwater, just to the right of the bridge. And the Old Croton Dam? It's underwater as well, just on the other side of the bridge. These are the only parts that are still visible.
I'll stop back sometime when my police friends aren't around and try to get some better pictures.
No movies again this time. My DVD drive still hasn't arrived. The UPS tracking system shows it inexplicably stuck in Texas for over a week now. Maybe it somehow ended up in the Lone Star State's penal system...
My friends called last evening to invite me over for dinner and movies. They watched two of my favorites, Claude Berri's brilliant 1986 films Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring. I missed the call last night (I was outside sleeping in my hammock) but had an interesting conversation this morning. The films were adapted by Berri and Gerard Brach from Marcel Pagnol's 1962 masterpiece L'Eau descollines: Jean de Florette suivi de Manon des sources. The novels were translated into English in 1988 by W.E. van Heyningen (Jean de Florette & Manon of the Springs) - that book is one of my all time favorites. Now here's the part that I didn't know - Pagnol based his novel(s) on the screenplay for a 1953 film that he wrote and also directed which (like the 1986 film) was also called Manon des sources. I need to find either a DVD or VHS of that, or perhaps it's available online somewhere...
I've read some excellent books since my last blog...
Another superb novel by Jonathan Lethem and my first exposure to an absolutely astounding writer, Alisdair Gray! (Sincere thanks to davy for that recommendation...) A novel about a murder and its effect upon several individuals in and around a small South Dakota town and a wonderful book by an award winning fantasy author set in the wondrous mountains and desert around Tucson Arizona... Here's the list:
The Ends of Our Tethers: 13 Sorry Stories - Alisdair Gray
Motherless Brooklyn - Jonathan Lethem
Twisted Tree - Kent Meyers
The Wood Wife - Terri Windling
Oh, I almost forgot - the final three Ventilator Towers, which may (or may not) still exist.
They're in this picture. One of them is just north of the bridge visible along the top left horizon. One is somewhere at the far right. The final one should be somewhere in the center. Whatever is left of them has been submerged for over a hundred years beneath the waters of the New Croton Reservoir.
Well, that was long one... Sorry!
I hope that you are having a wonderful week. All the best...
VIEW 7 of 7 COMMENTS
Finding a new place to live is quite a relief. I was getting pretty panicky, as I was going to be evicted from here within two weeks without any more hopes for a reprieve. I'll still be here through December 7th.
I'm still looking forward to moving out of New York eventually. This time though it's the hope that I'll be moving in with Kathy permanently by the end of next summer.