Little Hell Gate

Little Hell Gate was a waterway in New York City, New York, USA. It passed between Randalls and Wards Islands, near the confluence of the Harlem River and East River.The east end of Little Hell Gate opened into the Hell Gate passage, of the East River, opposite Lawrence Point, Queens. The west end met the Harlem River across from East 116th Street, Manhattan.The Triborough Bridge opened in 1936, allowing easy access to Wards and Randall's islands. This spurred the conversion of both islands to parkland. Soon thereafter, the city began filling in the passage between the two, to expand and connect the two parks.Few traces of Little Hell Gate still exist. Only indentations in the shoreline of the joined island in the East River indicate the former entrances to the waterway. Today, parkland and part of the New York City Fire Department Academy occupy its former location.Little Hell Gate BridgeTwo bridges appear to have been known as Little Hell Gate Bridge: an early 20th-century rail bridge on the approach to Hell Gate Bridge, and a later, lower, steel arch road bridge across Little Hell Gate.