Development The of land in what is now Riverside Park between
72nd and
125th streets were originally inhabited by the Lenape people, but by the 18th century were used for farms by the descendants of European colonists. A small number of buildings were constructed nearby in the mid-19th century, including the
New York Orphan Asylum between 73rd and 74th streets. In 1846, the
Hudson River Railroad (later the
West Side Line and
Hudson Line) was built along the waterfront, connecting New York City to Albany. As late as the 1860s, the adjacent section of the Upper West Side was still sparsely populated, even though there was residential development on the Upper East Side.
Riverside Drive In 1865,
Central Park commissioner William R. Martin put forth the first proposal for a riverside park along the
Hudson River. An act providing for such was presented to the Legislature by commissioner
Andrew Haswell Green in 1866 and approved the next year. The first segment of Riverside Park was acquired through condemnation in 1872. The park also included the construction of Riverside Drive, a tree-lined drive curving around the valleys and rock outcroppings, overlooking the future park and the waterfront. The plans for Riverside Park and Avenue brought the attention of
William M. Tweed, who bought several lots adjacent to the park in anticipation of its construction. A selection process for the designers of Riverside Park followed, and in 1873 the commissioners selected
Frederick Law Olmsted, a park commissioner who had also designed Central Park. Architects and horticulturalists such as
Calvert Vaux and
Samuel Parsons laid out the stretch of park and road between 72nd and 125th streets according to the English gardening ideal, creating the appearance that the park was an extension of the Hudson River Valley. Originally known simply as "The Boulevard", the road was renamed the Boulevard Lafayette in 1870; Riverside Drive originally terminated at 122nd Street, near where
Grant's Tomb was later built. City parks workers had to use of water every day to ensure that the avenue's bridle path was usable. The wealthy came to settle on Riverside Drive soon after its completion. The Phillips Elite Directory of 1882–1883 did not list any members of the social elite as living on the Avenue, but the 1887 version of the same directory listed 18 families as living on the avenue. The avenue largely attracted the
nouveau riche, The city's wealthiest residents continued to live on Fifth Avenue, while
old money families tended to live further downtown. One of the first mansions to be built on Riverside Drive was a house belonging to the engineer
Egbert Ludovicus Viele, who moved to the intersection with 88th Street. This was followed by additional structures along both the avenue and the side streets. and
The New York Times wrote that the avenue's mansions "glittered like a wedding cake" by the 1890s. The effort ultimately led to federal legislation limiting noise from tugboats. In addition, until 1916, fumes from factories in
North Jersey, across the
Hudson River to the west, often drifted across to Riverside Drive.
Extensions In January 1897, state lawmakers proposed extending Riverside Drive northward to the Boulevard Lafayette, with a viaduct above Manhattan Valley from 122nd to 134th Street. The original plans, which were to cost $10 million and included four viaducts, were quickly downsized to $2 million and one viaduct. Shortly afterward, a similar bill was proposed with a lower cost. The revised bill called for the avenue to be narrowed in the vicinity of
Trinity Cemetery at 153rd Street. The governor of New York signed both bills in May 1897, but work on the viaduct was delayed for several months. That November, the city's Board of Street Opening and Improvement agreed to lengthen the viaduct slightly so that it ran from 122nd to 135th Street. The extension was budgeted at $3.6 million, with the viaduct alone costing $840,000. At 153rd Street, Riverside Drive would be cantilevered over the
New York Central Railroad's (NYCRR)
West Side Line railroad tracks to avoid Trinity Church Cemetery.
96th Street overpass and Manhattan Valley Viaduct The
New York City Board of Estimate formally approved the Manhattan Valley Viaduct in December 1898, and plans for the viaduct were drawn up within three weeks. At the end of that month, the firm of O'Brien, Sheehan, and McBean was hired to build the viaduct for $570,000; under the terms of the contract, the viaduct had to be completed in 400 days. Work on the viaduct began in March 1898. the city's comptroller opposed the change. The next month, the city authorized $86,500 in
bonds to finance an overpass above 96th Street and $500,000 in bonds for the Manhattan Valley Viaduct. The city's park commissioners began soliciting bids for the 96th Street overpass in June 1900 and awarded a contract the next month to A. C. Gildersleeve for $200,000. Work on the 96th Street overpass began later the same year. Meanwhile, the abutments for the Manhattan Valley Viaduct were finished by mid-1900. The chief engineer of the city's highways departments reported in April 1901 that the Manhattan Valley Viaduct was completed except for filling and electrical work. Work on the 96th Street overpass was delayed for two months due to difficulties in installing sewage pipes; the overpass opened in January 1902 following complaints that the contractor was taking too long. The Manhattan Valley Viaduct was completed in mid-1902. Arc lamps were installed on the Manhattan Valley Viaduct in 1903, soon after it opened.
Extension to 158th Street The city's corporation council began condemning land for the extension of Riverside Drive north of the Manhattan Valley Viaduct in mid-1899, and three commissioners were appointed to condemn the land the next year. The city acquired the land in September 1900. Most of the condemned sites had been small plots, except for a tract between 142nd and 144th streets that had belonged to the Hoguet family. The extension would consist of a roadway, a bridle path, two sidewalks, and grass planting strips. There were also to be four bridges carrying the avenue between 135th and 156th streets. Along with the Boulevard Lafayette (which already extended northwest from Broadway and 156th Street to the Inwood neighborhood), the Riverside Drive extension would form part of a parkway that would connect with
Harlem River Drive. Construction did not start for over two years after the city acquired land for the Riverside Drive extension. A state judge ruled in April 1903 that construction of the Riverside Drive extension had to start as soon as possible, and a
groundbreaking ceremony for the extension occurred on December 12, 1903. The section from 135th to 145th Street was awarded to Ryan & Parker, while the section from 145th to 155th Street was awarded to John C. Rodgers; work on both sections began in May 1904. The plans also included widening the Boulevard Lafayette within the
Washington Heights neighborhood and constructing a service road to the east of the existing boulevard. Because people frequently referred to the Boulevard Lafayette by several incorrect names, residents of Washington Heights also wanted the Boulevard Lafayette to be renamed Riverside Drive. By mid-1908, Riverside Drive was complete to 155th Street, except for a single city block between 151st and 152nd streets, where a property owner had successfully requested that a state judge place an
injunction on the project. A few blocks north, families with plots in Trinity Church Cemetery complained that the new road was obstructing views of the Hudson River from their plots. The extension of Riverside Drive resulted in the development of upper-class apartment houses there. To pay for the construction of the extension, the Riverside Drive and Parkway Commission proposed charging local residents $1.5 million, though the high cost was controversial. The section between 145th and 158th streets formally opened in February 1911. John C. Rodgers, who helped build the section from 145th to 158th streets, later sued the city for delaying the road's completion by four years; the suit was not resolved until 1930.
Early 20th century Mid-1900s to 1910s By the mid-1900s, engineers were considering extending Riverside Drive further north from 158th Street to the proposed
Henry Hudson Bridge, as well as southeast from 72nd Street to
West End Avenue.
The New York Times estimated that the northward extension would cost $4.8 million, and the
New-York Tribune estimated the total cost of Riverside Drive at $25.2 million. The Board of Estimate declined to fund a further extension of Riverside Drive in 1908, saying the city lacked money.
John F. Ahearn, Manhattan's borough president, began requesting bids for the construction of Riverside Drive from 158th Street to
Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx in March 1909. Amid disagreements over the extension's cost, a state judge placed an
injunction to prevent Ahearn from awarding contracts for the extension. After the city agreed to spend only $250,000 on the extension in 1909, the Board of Estimate began requesting bids that May for the construction of Riverside Drive between 158th and 181st streets. The Municipal Art Commission approved designs for the extension that July. Josiah A. Briggs, the chief engineer for
the Bronx, proposed extending Riverside Drive all the way to
Van Cortlandt Park in
Riverdale, Bronx. Due to high amounts of traffic over the years, the original road between 72nd and 125th streets had degraded extensively by the early 1910s. As such, in 1912, New York City park commissioner Charles B. Stover proposed replacing the pavement, and he sought $475,000 from the city government. Stover also wanted to build a highway around the northern tip of Manhattan, connecting the northern end of Riverside Drive with the
Harlem River Speedway to the east. Olmsted and Arnold W. Brunner recommended in 1913 that Riverside Drive be extended north to
the Bronx, with a new viaduct connecting 155th Street and the Boulevard Lafayette. Work north of 155th Street had not started. Workers began adding a permanent pavement to the avenue between 72nd and 110th streets in 1913, and upgrades to the section from 110th to 128th street began in 1915. After a pedestrian was killed near Grant's Tomb that year, the two-way roadways on either side of the monument were both converted to one-way traffic. Meanwhile, after the opening of the
city's first subway line, the northern section of Riverside Drive was quickly developed with six-to-twelve-story apartment blocks, in many cases replacing mansions and other lower-density development. and even more apartment buildings were built on the avenue after World War I. By 1917, the city government had tentatively agreed to rebuild Riverside Park west of Riverside Drive. Local residents had opposed earlier proposals for the park, saying that noise and disruptions from the construction project would compel many Riverside Drive residents to relocate. In 1919, the city controller proposed extending Riverside Drive south to
57th Street by building a roadway above the West Side Line.
1920s The roadway between 135th and 158th streets was replaced with a permanent pavement in 1920. The
New York City Board of Estimate voted down a resolution in 1921 to build a parallel roadway to Riverside Drive between 155th and 175th streets, within
Hamilton Heights, at a cost of $7 million. The next year, borough president
Julius Miller submitted plans to build a road, known as Riverside Drive West, between 155th and 177th streets for $2.791 million; this would serve as a bypass of the existing roadway. The project would require the construction of several high retaining walls west of Riverside Drive West. In addition, the land east of Riverside Drive West between 155th and 161st streets, a
hollow known as Garage Village, was to be raised. The city also acquired land in
Inwood Hill Park for a further northward extension into the Bronx, and there were suggestions to extend the road to
Westchester County, New York, or the city of
Troy. The section of Riverside Drive between 165th and Dyckman streets was renovated for $1.25 million starting in 1924, and the road reopened in May 1925. Workers installed new plantings and repaved the road. and a wide sidewalk was built on the western side of the avenue, facing the river. Near 190th Street, a scenic overlook was built at
Inspiration Point, where Riverside Drive curved outward toward the river. The Municipal Art Commission approved the construction of Riverside Drive West in 1926, and workers began constructing foundations for the viaduct the same year. The city began requesting bids from steel contractors in April 1927, and the P. T. Cox Construction Co. was hired to provide of structural steel for the viaduct. Later that year, a state judge determined that it would cost $3.3 million to acquire land for a northward extension of Riverside Drive. The viaduct was opened on November 28, 1928, having cost $2.36 million. Other improvements along Riverside Drive were also undertaken in the 1920s. For instance, city controller
Charles L. Craig wanted the Board of Estimate to build a parallel roadway above the West Side Line, and one local organization requested that the avenue's sparsely used bridle path be converted into a children's play area. The Manhattan Valley Viaduct was closed for repairs in 1923. In addition, to increase traffic flow on Riverside Drive, the city government retimed some traffic lights in 1928, allowing motorists to
pass through several green lights at once. Near the northern end of the avenue, there were proposals for ramps to and from the then-new
George Washington Bridge; these ramps opened along with the bridge in 1931. Many luxury apartments continued to be developed on Riverside Drive in the 1920s and 1930s; however, upper-class residents were also starting to move away, and lower- and middle-class renters began to move in.
Mid-20th century During the mid-20th century, many of the apartment buildings on Riverside Drive started to deteriorate and were changed to
single-room occupancy structures.
1930s and West Side Improvement As part of a pilot program in 1930, the city government retimed the traffic signal at the intersection of 120th Street and Riverside Drive, adding a
pedestrian clearance interval; at the time, most of the city's traffic lights had no pedestrian clearance intervals. Also in 1930, a northward extension of Riverside Drive was again proposed in conjunction with the proposed
Henry Hudson Bridge. The next year, workers began replacing the Manhattan Valley Viaduct's wood-block pavement, which was starting to deteriorate. The northern section of the
West Side Elevated Highway, connecting to Riverside Drive's southern terminus, opened in 1932; this provided a link from Riverside Drive to the
Holland Tunnel, which led to New Jersey. As part of the concurrent West Side Improvement project, the West Side railroad line was relocated into the
Freedom Tunnel north of 72nd Street. The Henry Hudson Parkway was also constructed as part of the West Side Improvement, and Riverside Park was greatly expanded as well. Work on the extension began in February 1935; the project was funded by a $3.1 million bond issue. The city government also submitted plans in mid-1936 for a $7 million upgrade to the existing section of Riverside Drive between St. Clair Place (at the southern end of the Manhattan Valley Viaduct) and Dyckman Street. The portion of the parkway north of Dyckman Street opened in December 1936, and the portion south of the George Washington Bridge opened the next year, relieving traffic on much of Riverside Drive. The section of Riverside Drive between the George Washington Bridge and Dyckman Street was incorporated into the northbound roadway of Henry Hudson Parkway. A parallel southbound roadway for the Henry Hudson Parkway was built between these two points. When it opened in January 1938, the section of Riverside Drive between these two points was converted to a northbound-only road. Other changes along Riverside Drive took place during the 1930s. The city's police commissioner began allowing motorists to
turn left on red at several intersections along Riverside Drive in 1937. In addition, concrete curbs were installed along the Manhattan Valley Viaduct in the late 1930s to reduce the probability of motorists falling off the viaduct. By this decade, the architect
Henry Wright had claimed that the buildings around Riverside Drive were "slums or potential slums", a claim that many local residents and architects denied. Conversely, the developer
Charles V. Paterno predicted that the avenue would again become an upscale residential corridor because of its location and the construction of the
Henry Hudson Parkway and George Washington Bridge. Many row houses on Riverside Drive had been replaced with apartments by the 1930s.
1940s and 1950s Manhattan borough president
Hugo Rogers claimed in the 1940s that some of the Manhattan Valley Viaduct's steel plates needed to be replaced. The section of Riverside Drive from 72nd to 79th streets was temporarily converted into a northbound-only road in 1951, and parking between 72nd and 96th streets was restricted, due to repairs on the Henry Hudson Parkway. In addition, to eliminate a longstanding bottleneck along Riverside Drive near the George Washington Bridge, a ramp from the bridge to the Henry Hudson Parkway opened in 1953. An
alternate-side parking rule was implemented on the avenue in 1956; in conjunction with this change, 119 bus stops on Riverside Drive were relocated as well. Although alternate-side parking had already been implemented on other nearby streets, Riverside Drive was maintained by the
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, rather than the
New York City Department of Sanitation, and had been exempt from the rule. Reconstruction was supposed to have been completed in September 1959, but the viaduct did not reopen until that December. The same year, the city government began studying plans to improve lighting along the avenue. Also starting in 1959, the Manhattan Valley Viaduct was renovated at a cost of $1.4 million; workers added new roadways, replaced one-third of the viaduct, and added aluminum netting to discourage birds from nesting there. The viaduct was rededicated in April 1961 after the renovation was completed.
1960s and 1970s When the George Washington Bridge's lower level opened in 1962, the
New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) considered retiming the avenue's traffic lights to allow for smoother traffic flow. A progressive-traffic-signal system was implemented in October 1962. During the morning, the traffic lights were timed for southbound traffic, while during the evening, the traffic lights were timed for northbound traffic. The DOT also added
radar antennas to traffic lights along the avenue, which collected data for a computerized traffic-signal control system. In 1964, the DOT implemented
no-standing rules on Riverside Drive north of 154th Street during the mornings, and it began using a radio system to control the traffic lights between 72nd and 154th streets. The changes were meant to increase traffic capacity, but local residents opposed these changes, claiming that it would make Riverside Drive more congested. In addition, Riverside Drive was designated as part of a citywide bike route in 1968. The city announced plans in 1967 to construct a sewage tunnel under Riverside Drive, which would divert sewage away from the Hudson River. City workers began excavating shafts for the tunnel in 1970, which required the construction of temporary footpaths, but local residents protested the project because it was too noisy. In response, the city government froze several tons of wet soil to reduce construction noise near the tunnel shafts. There were also proposals in the early 1970s to convert Riverside Drive to a one-way street during weekday rush hours, carrying southbound traffic in the morning and northbound traffic in the afternoon. When a section of the Henry Hudson Parkway was entirely closed for repairs in January 1974, drivers were detoured onto Riverside Drive, and a no-parking restriction was enacted between 72nd and 79th streets. In response, the adjacent section of Henry Hudson Parkway was partly reopened as a reversible lane in September 1974, but this failed to decrease congestion on Riverside Drive. In addition,
double-decker buses began running on the
M5 route along Riverside Drive in 1976, requiring the relocation of several traffic lights and wires, as well as the removal of tree limbs. By the 1970s, Riverside Drive was still occupied by middle-class residents, but there was frequent crime on the side streets due to the avenue's relatively isolated location. Another renovation project for the Manhattan Valley Viaduct was scheduled in 1981, at which point the project was to cost $27 million. and trucks and buses were banned from the viaduct due to the poor conditions. Funding for repairs to the Manhattan Valley Viaduct and the 155th–161st streets viaduct were included in a $1.25 billion bond issue that was proposed in 1983, The same year, workers began replacing some of the viaduct's floor beams for $250,000. The Manhattan Valley Viaduct closed for renovations in 1984, and it reopened that November following emergency repairs. The
New York State Department of Transportation closed the Manhattan Valley Viaduct again in May 1985 for emergency repairs. The deck had corroded significantly, prompting officials to spend another $9.5 million replacing girders. The project involved replacing most of the viaduct's
superstructure, in addition to replacing the existing deck with a lightweight concrete deck. having cost $36 million in total to renovate. and the section of Riverside Drive in Hamilton Heights was partially closed for repairs. In addition, when a condominium building was completed at 222 Riverside Drive in 1988, it was the first apartment building to be erected on the avenue in 35 years. In 1991, the city government proposed rebuilding the section of the avenue north of 135th Street. Local residents initially opposed the project because it would require the removal of trees in the median, so the DOT decided instead to retain all but eight of the trees. Work began in 1992. The sidewalks from 135th to 153rd streets were also rebuilt to comply with the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA); at the time, some of the sidewalks had a slope of 6%, three times the maximum slope allowed under the ADA. As a result, 20 buildings along the street had to build stairways to their entrances, and
Manhattan Community Board 9 requested that the LPC protect the northern portion of the street. and the DOT hired a contractor to restore the viaduct in Hamilton Heights. By then, the values of apartments on the southern portion of Riverside Drive had increased significantly compared with earlier in the decade.
Riverside Boulevard In the 1980s, the developer
Donald Trump, who owned of a
Penn Central freight rail yard south of Riverside Park, proposed a large real estate development project on that site. Following financial difficulties and opposition from local civic groups, Trump announced a modified plan in 1991. Under the agreed-upon plan, Trump would expand
Riverside Park by and construct a southern extension of Riverside Drive as far south as
59th Street. The extension would also relieve traffic congestion on
West End Avenue one block east. Trump's plans for the southern extension of Riverside Drive called for the avenue to run down the middle of the development. The 1991 plan also called for office and apartment buildings on the newly extended avenue, similar in height to the existing buildings on Riverside Drive, although these buildings were later increased in size. the proposal to relocate the West Side Highway was deferred due to political opposition. The approved plans called for Riverside Drive's extension to be built atop a viaduct, but in October 1997, several civic groups sued Trump after he reneged on the viaduct plans. By 1999, the Riverside Drive extension was known as
Riverside Boulevard. Due to a lack of available space, Riverside Boulevard and Riverside Drive are not directly linked; they are instead connected by a short section of 72nd Street. By 2003, Riverside Boulevard ran from 66th to 72nd streets. In June 2006, Riverside South's developer began construction of the northbound tunnel. The connection between Riverside Drive's southern terminus and Riverside Boulevard remained closed until November 2011.
Early 21st century Upper-class residents were beginning to move back to Riverside Drive by the first decade of the 21st century. Part of Riverside Drive had to be closed while the wall was repaired. The wall was repaired and the roadway reopened in March 2008. By the 2010s, the intersection of Riverside Drive and 79th Street was among the most dangerous on the Upper West Side, prompting
Manhattan Community Board 7 to request that the intersection be redesigned. The DOT proposed narrowing Riverside Drive to one lane in each direction from 116th to 135th streets in early 2015, but this was changed to two northbound and one southbound lanes following opposition from local residents. As part of a related project the same year, speed limits from 103rd to 165th streets were reduced from ; the section of Riverside Drive south of 103rd Street was already restricted to 25 miles per hour. The city government awarded a $102 million construction contract in 2018 to Judlau Contracting for the restoration of the viaduct near 155th Street, though the project was delayed when Judlau resigned in 2024. To increase safety, in 2020 the DOT reduced the speed limit on Riverside Drive between 165th and 181st streets from . == Structures ==