Early history of the site During the early years of New York City, the current site to Riverside Park was largely undeveloped, consisting of rocky outcroppings and steep bluffs along the Hudson River shoreline. Prior to European arrival,
Native Americans sparsely populated this rough terrain. In 1846 the
Hudson River Railroad laid tracks across the Hudson River shoreline to speed the transport of goods from
Albany to
Manhattan. In 1865, William R. Martin, a commissioner on the Board of Central Park proposed a scenic drive and park along the Hudson River. During the next two years New York City acquired land between the Hudson River Railroad and the bluffs along the shoreline, and in 1873 the New York City Park Board commissioned Riverside Park. The co-designer of
Central Park,
Frederick Law Olmsted, was named lead designer. His design, which was accepted in 1875, included a winding drive for horses and sight-seeing, as well as pedestrian walkways, both accessible from the neighborhoods to the east. The park was completed by Olmsted's successor
Calvert Vaux, but was soon surrounded by
coal bins, shacks and garbage dumps.
Robert Moses era By 1921, Riverside Park had deteriorated to an expanse of mud.
Robert Moses was at this time New York City's parks commissioner, and he took over the project. Moses expanded it into a grand architectural multi-level entry and exit from the
Henry Hudson Parkway, all under the name of the "79th Street Grade Crossing Elimination Structure". The multi-level structure was designed by
Gilmore David Clarke. Moses was able to raise $109 million to begin the project, for which the
Works Projects Administration provided the equivalent of $ million in . Moses hired the architect and engineer Clinton Lloyd to work on the structural elements with the landscape architect,
Gilmore Clarke, to work on the landscape. The structure was built mostly from concrete, but the above-ground part is clad in cut stone. The initial McKim, Mead and White plan had called for rough-cut, dark stone to be applied to the exterior of the building, but Clinton Lyod modified their plan and used lighter, finer cut stone. The project created the
Freedom Tunnel, an underground parking garage, a restaurant, and the marina. The rotunda was designed to hold the weight of the heavily used traffic circle that sits atop the building. The large support columns are visible inside the café. The 79th Street Rotunda and Boat Basin and the rest of the West Side Improvement Project were finished in 1937.
Late 20th century By the 1960s, though the restaurant was long gone, the majority of slips were occupied by year-round boaters. Year-round residents have included
Mad Magazine writer
Dick DeBartolo, who uses a boat as his office.
Mario Puzo and
Frank Sinatra have all used the basin to moor their boats. In 1979, the city sought to cancel a 1977 concession agreement with Nichols Yacht Yards to operate the marina, claiming that Nichols had underreported revenue and had acted as an "absentee slumlord". Boat owners would manage the marina until a suitable operator would be found. Though Nichols obtained an injunction blocking the dismissal in December 1979, the firm's operation of the facility ended in 1982, with Nichols having spent $250,000 in legal fees to battle the city and counter a
rent strike by boat owners. In 1992, a five-year agreement was signed with boaters and the city, tying increases of nearly 25% in docking fees to improvements in facilities at the marina, such as new docks and electrical lines. By 1996, year-round residents had complained that the 18-month-long project, implemented at a cost of $1.4 million ($ million today), had been done in shoddy fashion. The city stopped issuing new year-round permits in 1994, seeking to make space available for seasonal boaters among the basin's 116 slips. After complaints were received, the Parks Department agreed to an increase to 52 year-round spots, which start at a yearly fee of $5,000, based on the size of the boat. In June 2021, mayor
Bill de Blasio announced that the city would collaborate with
FEMA to overhaul the marina and rotunda; all existing tenants were required to leave by November 1, 2021. At the time, the basin had not been dredged since 1958, and many of the marina's structures were dilapidated. Work was scheduled to begin in 2023 ARO subsequently modified the plans, drawing up blueprints for a structure on stilts, which Community Board 7 ultimately approved. Work on the new boathouse had still not started by July 2024. == Services ==