Collection Description
The Westchester County Archives received this collection in the
fall of 2002. This online version replicates the entire series
as held at the Westchester County Archives in Elmsford, New York.
Eventually the collection will be available at the Library of
Congress, as well as on its American Memory website.
Series Title
Historic American Engineering Record, Bronx River Parkway Reservation
Series Number
254
Quantity
3 cubic ft.
Arrangement
All photographs in the collection, both historic and modern, are
stored with the printed report. The oversized engineering drawings
required map-drawer storage. The first 79 photographs (PH1-PH79)
are arranged geographically, following the Bronx River Parkway from
the Bronx to Kensico Dam.
Scope and Content
The Historic American Engineering Record, Bronx River Parkway Reservation
collection consists of 124 photographs, 22 engineering drawings
and a 126-page report. These items were the product of research
and documentation by the HAER Bronx River Parkway Reservation project
during the summer of 2001. The project’s mission was to enhance
a scholarly understanding of the historical origins, engineering
accomplishments, cultural significance and current conditions of
the Bronx River Parkway Reservation.
The HAER project’s report
provides an overview and description of the Bronx River Parkway
Reservation; an in-depth historical analysis of the process of its
development with particular focus on significant engineering aspects;
a description and analysis of problems and changes that have occurred
at the Parkway Reservation; and a consideration of the overall significance
of the Parkway Reservation, not only to the residents of Westchester
County and New York City, but also its legacy in American engineering
heritage.
The Historic American Engineering Record, Bronx River Parkway collection
includes 124 photographs,
88 of which were taken by David Haas during September and October
2001, (nine of these images are xerographic copies of color transparencies).
These images focus on the historically significant engineering aspects
of the Parkway. The photographs provide a companion to the descriptive
overview of the Parkway at the beginning of the 126-page HAER report,
and they illustrate the features of the modern Bronx River Parkway
from the Bronx to the Kensico Dam in Valhalla.
Thirty-six of the photographs are historical
photos from the Bronx Parkway Commission Photograph Collection
and the Park Commission Photograph Collection at the Westchester
County Archives. These historic images document the construction
of the Parkway and many follow the "before" and "after"
format that the Bronx Parkway Commission utilized in their annual
reports.
The 22 engineering
drawings provide original drawings, maps, and descriptions,
as well as historical images, to illustrate the significant engineering
accomplishments of the Bronx River Parkway Reservation. Some of
the significant aspects explored include the landscape development
and innovative parkway design features, such as limited access and
the rigid frame, concrete-arch bridge design.
Related Series
Series 94: Bronx Valley Sewer Commission Final Report. 1896
Series 95: Bronx Parkway Commission Annual Reports. 1907-1925
Series 103: Bronx Parkway Commission, Appraisal Commissioners, Minutes.
1916-1922
Series 104: Bronx Parkway Commission, Appraisal Commissioners, Appeals.
1916-1924
Series 105: Park Commission, Appraisal Commissioners, Appeals and Minutes. 1927-1935
Series 109: Bronx Parkway Commission Land Acquisitions. c.1906-1933
Series 118: Bronx Parkway Commission Minutes. 1907-1925
Series 166: Bronx Valley Sewer Records. 1907-1911
Bronx Parkway Commission Photograph Collection. 1912-1924
Park Commission Photograph Collection. 1912-1961
Creator of the Records: Historic American Engineering Record (HAER)
The Historic
American Engineering Record (HAER) Program was created in 1969
by the National Park Service, the Library of Congress, and the American
Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to document nationally and regionally
significant engineering and industrial sites. HAER was consolidated
with Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in 1973. As the oldest
Federal historic preservation program, HABS was chartered in 1934
to document historic architecture--primarily houses and public buildings--of
national or regional significance.
Documentation of the Bronx River Parkway Reservation was conducted
in 2001 by the Historic American Engineering Record (Eric DeLony,
Chief), part of the Historic American Buildings Survey/ Historic
American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER), E. Blaine Cliver, Chief,
a division of the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Department of
the Interior. The project was funded by Westchester County, Andrew
J. Spano, County Executive, and administered by the Westchester
County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation: Joseph
Stout, Commissioner; Dr. Jack Robbins, Deputy Commissioner of Conservation;
David DeLucia, Director of Park Facilities. The Department of Information
Technology, Norman Jacknis, Chief Information Officer; The Westchester
County Records and Archives Center, Patricia N. Dohrenwend, Director;
the Westchester County Department of Planning, Joyce Lannert, Commissioner;
and the Bronx River Parkway Reservation Conservancy, Betsy Dolan,
Executive Director; Lowell Tooley, President, provided additional
support.
The summer 2001 documentation team worked under the direction of
Christopher Marston, HAER Project Leader, and Tim Davis, HAER Historian.
The field team consisted of field supervisor and landscape architect
Tanya Folger, architects Brandon Andow (Rhode Island School of Design)
and Kamalahasan Ramaswamy (US/ICOMOS, India), landscape architect
Karolina Buczek (US/ICOMOS, Poland), and historian Dawn Duensing.
Large-format photography was produced by David Haas. |