High Bridge Water Tower

The High Bridge is a steel arch bridge, with a height of almost 140 feet over the Harlem River, connecting the New York City boroughs of the Bronx and Manhattan. The eastern end is located in the Bronx near the western end of West 170th Street, and the western end is located in Highbridge Park in Manhattan, roughly parallel to the end of West 173rd Street.Completed in 1848, it remains the oldest surviving bridge in New York City—although much of the current bridge dates from a 1928 renovation. The bridge has been closed to all traffic since the 1970s, with plans for a 2014 reopening.The bridge is operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.Construction and historyOriginally designed as a stone arch bridge, the High Bridge had the appearance of a Roman aqueduct. Construction on the bridge was started in 1837, and completed in 1848 as part of the Croton Aqueduct, which carried water from the Croton River to supply the then burgeoning city of New York some to the south. It has a length of well over 2,000 feet (600 m). It was designed by the aqueduct's engineering team, led by John B. Jervis. James Renwick, Jr., who later went on to design New York's landmark Saint Patrick's Cathedral on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, participated in the design.