Category: Statues and Monuments

The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument Riverside Drive and West 86th Street New York, NY 10024

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument

Riverside Drive and West 86th Street

New York, NY 10024

https://www.nycgovparks.org/park-features/riverside-park/virtual-tour/soldiers-sailors-monument

https://riversideparknyc.org/places/soldiers-and-sailors-monument/

Open: When the Riverside Park is open. The Monument is fenced off right now because of restoration.

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d7269561-Reviews-Soldiers_and_Sailors_Monument_New_York-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The Soldiers & Sailors Monument in the Fall of 2024

I had passed the Soldier’s and Sailors’ Monument when I was walking the Upper West Side of Manhattan for my blog ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’. It sits in an almost graceful state of disrepair behind fencing protecting it from people. It seems that it had been in a state of decay since the start of construction in 1900.

The monument is still under renovation and you can only walk around it

I walked all around the monument while walking Riverside Park thinking it was a small copy of a Greek Temple or another smaller burial site like Grant’s Tomb. You could see where the gaps in the structure were and the need for repair from the stairs to the platform. Still there is a beauty in its details.

The monument in the late afternoon

Reading in a recent issue of The Spirit, it seems that the New York Landmarks Conservatory and the local government officials want to put money into its repair. This beautiful landmark is going to need a lot of time and care in the future. Let’s hope they agreed to it.

The monument still under renovation

History of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument:

(from the parks website)

The monument was first suggested in 1869 after the Civil War and was put on the back burner until 1893 when a nostalgia for the Civil War sweep across the country. The State of New York established a Board of Commission to create a monument to the soldiers’ and sailor’s who had served in the Union Army during the American Civil War (Wiki).

The ground was broke for the monument in 1900 and was completed in 1902 and it was dedicated on Memorial Day in 1902 with President Theodore Roosevelt officiating and a parade of Civil War veterans parading up Riverside Drive (Wiki).

The Monument when it opened

The monument was designed by architects Charles and Arthur Stoughton and the ornamental features were carved by architect Paul E. M. Duboy. The monument takes the form of a peripteral Corinthian temple raised on a high base with a tall cylindrical rusticated cella, that carries a low conical roof like a lid ringed by twelve Corinthian columns. The entrance has the names of the New York volunteer regiments and the battles in which they served as well as the Union Generals . The monument was designed a New York City landmark in 1976 and a State landmark in 2001 (Wiki).

The monument has been plagued with repairs since it was built and according to reports it is in need of desperate repairs. I could tell by the cracks and missing marble that their were flaws in its construction since it had been built.

Still it graces the entrance of Riverside Park with it’s beauty. Look at its details in the carvings and it look of a Greek temple. It is really impressive especially in the summer months with the park behind it in full display. You can’t get too close to the monument in its current state.

The Highbridge Water Tower Highbridge Park Washington Heights, NYC 10022

The Highbridge Water Tower in Highbridge Park

Washington Heights around 174 Street

New York, NY 10022

https://www.nycgovparks.org/planning-and-building/capital-project-tracker/project/5937

https://www.nycgovparks.org/park-features/highbridge-park/planyc

The tower from the FDR Drive walkway from below

When I was walking through High Bridge Park while exploring Washington Heights for my blog, ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’, I came across the Water Tower inside the park right next to the pool that was closed for the season and the Highbridge Walkway, which used to be the old aqueduct that used to bring fresh water into New York City.

The Highbridge Water Tower when I walked “The Great Saunter” through the neighborhood in 2023.

The Highbridge Water Tower is nearly 200 feet tall and stands around 174th Street in Washington Heights. The tower used to hold a 47,000-gallon water tank that was fed by the Croton Aqueduct. The Highbridge next to it was the last leg of the aqueduct’s forty-mile journey from upstate New York to Manhattan and is the oldest surviving bridge in New York City (T.M.Rives 2012).

The Highbridge in Highbridge Park

The tower itself was built between 1866-1872 by architect John B. Jervis in the Romanesque Revival and neo-Greco styles and had a seven acre reservoir next to it. It opened in 1872 and was fully working in 1875. In 1949, the Water tower was disconnected from the system. The tower like the rest of the park had sat in disrepair for years and was restored between 1989-1990 (Wiki). The tower is now going through another restoration that should be finished by April of 2021 (NYCParks.com).

When I visited in the park that summer and then again in the Fall, it was behind fencing because it was still unsafe.

Highbridge Park is beautiful in the Spring and Fall but not the safest park in NYC.

Walking the paths of Highbridge Park

Highbridge Park is a wonderful park to walk around in in the middle of the day during the warmer months. I would not venture around it later at night or in the winter months. It can be a bit desolate and when you walk around the paths by the river with all the abandoned cars and graffiti can be a bit dangerous. I got some looks when walking around.

This was at the bottom of the bridge just off the path.

World War II Lookout Tower Museum & Memorial Sunset Boulevard Lower Township near Cape May Point, NJ 08204

World War II Lookout Tower Museum & Memorial

Sunset Boulevard

(609) 884-5404/(800) 275-4278

http://www.capemaymac.org

Open: Sunday-Saturday 10:00am-4:00pm

Fee: Adults $6.00, the first child free with paying adult and the next child $3.00 (3-12)/Veterans $3.00/Active Military Free

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46341-d2256593-Reviews-World_War_II_Lookout_Tower-Cape_May_Cape_May_County_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

The Lookout Tower from Sunset Beach

The World War II Lookout Tower Museum & Memorial is an interesting look of how our armed forces used these towers to watch the coastlines for U-boats and enemy ships during the war. Several German submarines were spotted along the coasts of New York and New Jersey during the war and the threat of attack was uncertain. As the war progressed on though, we found that this was a war being fought in the air and these towers were actually obsolete by the end of the war.

The World War II Tower

The tower is very interesting and very easy to climb. Don’t let the height fool you, there are only about a 100 stairs with landings on all three levels with displays on them.

The bottom level has a gift shop and display pictures of the history of the tower. The second level has shots of veterans of the wars before when the were enlisted and today (when they were much older). There were a lot of local veterans to the Cape May area.

World War II Tower pictures

The top level was manned by a docent who talked about the history of the tower, provided pictures of the area before and after World War II and the role it played during the war. She discussed the only ship attack since Pearl Harbor was right off the coast of New Jersey as well as the ‘Blackouts’ that were conducted in town to stymie any attacks.

World War II Tower

Take time to look over all the displays and pictures and the role Cape May had in the war to help protect the East Coast.

History of the World War II Lookout Tower Museum & Memorial:

Why is Fire Control Tower No. 23 administered by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC):

Like the Cape May Lighthouse, Fire Control Tower No. 23 is owned by the State of New Jersey (specifically the Department of Environmental Protection Division of Parks). As was the case with the Lighthouse, the State lacks the funds to restore and operate these historic structures. Instead it has leased them to the area’s leading cultural and historic preservation organization, the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC). Founded in 1970, MAC saved and restored the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate and operates it as Cape May’s only Victorian house museum. Starting in 1986, MAC spent 15 years (and some $2 million) on the restoration of the Cape May Lighthouse.

In 2004, MAC signed a 20 year lease for Fire Control Tower No. 23. After raising one million dollars (from the New Jersey Historic Trust, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, a Small Cities Block Grant administered by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and Lower Township and a Save America’s Treasures Grant administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior), MAC restored the Tower in 2008-09 and opened it to the public in April 2009. MAC is also mounting permanent Memorial Plaques in the Tower that will allow family members to honor veterans of any war or engagement.

(This information was taken from the World War II Lookout Tower pamphlet proved by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities)

Was Fire Control Tower No. 23 used for spotting fires?

No, it was used for spotting enemy ships during World War II and aiming guns to fire on them.

This Fire Tower was part of Fort Miles. So, where was Fort Miles anyway?

Fort Miles was never a building. It was a number of fire control towers, gun batteries plus barracks and support buildings on both sides of Delaware Bay. By World War II, the military used a spread-out series of towers and batteries, whose firing ranges overlapped to protect a large territory. Its largest guns and headquarters were located on the Delaware side (in what is now Cape Henlopen State Park), since the shipping channel hugs the Southern shore of Delaware Bay.

Were there any other Fire Control Towers?

Yes, there were originally 15 concrete fire control towers, 11 on the Delaware side and four here in New Jersey. Of the four in New Jersey, the ones in North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest have been destroyed, while the one on Beach Avenue in Cape May has been engulfed by the Grand Hotel (with only its top visible, sticking above the roof). One of the towers in Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware has been restored and opened to the public.

Were there any naval battles in the Delaware Bay?

No. German submarines sank many merchant vessels off the coast of Cape May but no German ships ever got up the Delaware River to attack the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia or Camden.

Was Fire Control Tower No 23 built here or prefabricated?

The Fire Control was built here in June, 1942 by using a sliding tube shaped form. A ring of reinforced concrete was poured. When that solidified, the form was slid up and more concrete was poured. The whole Tower was formed this way except for the top, which required a form of its own. The whole process took only two and a half days.

Was the Cape May area important during World War II?

Yes, the Cape May area was a beehive of military activity during World War II. Cape May harbor had a Naval Air Station, a Coast Guard base and an airport. Naval Air Station Wildwood (where the County Airport is now) trained aircraft carrier pilots. Cape May Shipbuilders on Wilson Drive, where the Cape May Whale Watcher is now, built Navy tugboats and dredges. The Northwest Magnesite plant, which made an ingredient used in firebricks for steel mills, was located across Sunset Boulevard from Fire Control Tower No. 23.

(This information was taken from the World War II Tower pamphlet and I give them full credit for it.)

Fearless Girl Statue Bowling Green Park (now on Wall Street) New York City, NY 10004

Fearless Girl Statue

Bowling Green Park (Now on Wall Street)

New York City, NY 10004

TripAdvisor Review:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d13109380-Reviews-Fearless_Girl-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

*The statue has been moved since this blog has been written and it on Broad Street near the New York Stock Exchange.

The ‘Fearless Girl’ statue is the latest addition to the street art in lower Manhattan. Placed next to the statue of the ‘Charging Bull’, she portrays a defiance and a look that almost says, “I am standing up to the power and I am standing up to fear’. She has a look of determination on her face that clearly shows that she is standing her ground. She was designed by artist Kristen Visbal.

The statue is located at the northern tip of Bowling Green Park in Lower Manhattan both statues are an easy find on the Broadway side of the park. Be aware that this is a big tourist area for pictures so there will be a crowd.

Artist Kristen Visbal

http://www.visbalsculpture.com/

There has been some controversy from Arturo Di Modica the creator of ‘Charging Bull’ who says that it takes away from the meaning of his own work. Di Modica has challenged that the piece exploits his work and distorts the meaning of his own work by turning the ‘Charging Bull’ into a villain instead of the his true meaning for the work which is a ‘symbol of prosperity and for strength’. Both statues are being planned to be moved by the NYC Parks Department in the future (Wiki and the New York Times 2018).

History of ‘Fearless Girl’:

The statue was installed on March 7, 2017, the day before International Women’s Day, by State Street Global Advisors, in a campaign developed by advertising agency McCann New York. SSgA was celebrating the first anniversary of its “Gender Diversity Index” fund that “invests in U.S. large-capitalization companies that rank among the highest in their sector in achieving gender diversity across senior leadership. The concept for the statue was developed by Senior Art Director Lizzie Wilson and Senior Copywriter Tali Gumbiner. Wilson and Gumbiner established both the idea for the statue as well as the overall look of the girl using countless mood boards and imagery, which Visbal referenced (Wiki).

This is where the statue was originally placed and now it is located near the New York Stock Exchange

Fearless Girl was originally given a one week City Hall permit that was later extended to 30 days. Later, it was announced that the statue would remain in place through February 2018. Among those advocating for the statue to stay longer was U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York’s 12th congressional district who stated, “This statue has touched hearts across the world with its symbolism of the resiliency of women. New York City Public Advocate Letitia James wrote a letter that supported keeping the statue, “Fearless Girl stands as a powerful beacon, showing women, young and old, that no dream is too big and no ceiling is too high” (Wiki).

A petition on Change.org asking for the statue to be made permanent gathered 2,500 signatures in the first 48 hours. Efforts to make the statue permanent continued after the statue was granted a one-year permit. In April 2018, after ‘Fearless Girl’ had been in place for thirteen months, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that both ‘Charging Bull’ and ‘Fearless Girl’ would be moved to a location facing the New York Stock Exchange. The move would occur before the end of 2018 (Wiki).

The plaque below the statue states: “Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference.” (Wiki)

The statue is available to be seen 24 hours a day.

Disclaimer: The history of the statue was taken from Wikipedia and I give them full credit on the information. The rest is my personal opinions on the statue.

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