Early history Spuyten Duyvil Creek was originally a narrow tidal strait connecting the
Hudson River to the west and the headwaters of the
Harlem River to the east, both of which were fed by the waters of
Tibbetts Brook flowing south from the Bronx. When the Dutch settlers arrived they found its tidal waters turbulent and difficult to handle. Though its tides raced, there was no navigable watercourse joining it with the headwaters of the
Harlem River, which flowed in an S-shaped course southwest and then north into the
East River. During the 17th century, the only mode of transportation across the Harlem River was by ferry from the east end of
125th Street. The ferry was established in 1667 and operated by Johannes Verveelen, a local landowner. Many settlers circumvented the toll for the ferry by crossing the creek from northern
Marble Hill to modern
Kingsbridge, Bronx, a point where it was feasible to wade or swim through the waters. Originally a merchant in
New Amsterdam, Philipse had purchased vast landholdings in what was then
Westchester County. Stagecoach service was later established across the span. With the completion of the
Erie Canal in 1825, and the advent of large steamships in the second half of the 19th century, a broad shipping canal was proposed between the Harlem and Hudson Rivers to allow them thru-transit by bypassing the tight turn up and around Marble Hill. The Harlem Canal Company (then stylized as the "Harlaem Canal Company") was founded in 1826, but did not make any progress towards building a canal. A second company also failed to complete the project. In 1876, the
New York State Legislature issued a decree for the construction of the canal. The first section of the canal, the cut at Marble Hill, was completed in 1895 and opened on June 17 of that year. At this time, Tibbets Brook was diverted into
storm drains underneath Broadway, with the old right-of-way becoming Tibbett Avenue. A bridge opened over the former Marble Hill alignment of the creek in 1900, carrying Broadway. The bridge's superstructure was demolished shortly afterward, with the
construction of the IRT subway above Broadway in 1904. The effect of channeling through what had been 222nd and 223rd streets was to physically isolate Marble Hill on the Bronx side of the new creek. In 1914 the original creekbed was
filled in with rock from the excavation of
Grand Central Terminal's foundation during
its construction; and the temporary island, comprising present-day
Marble Hill, became physically attached to the Bronx, though it remained politically part of the borough of Manhattan, as it is today. The bridge carrying Broadway over the former alignment of the creek at 230th Street was destroyed in the late 1920s. and in 1927 was awarded $3.28 million in compensation, just over a third of their original demand of $11.53 million. Plans to excavate the channel were finalized in 1935, and the channel was excavated from 1937 to 1938. The work severed the Johnson foundry's peninsula of land from the Bronx, which was then absorbed into Manhattan's
Inwood Hill Park; the peninsula now contains the park's Nature Center. Today, Spuyten Duyvil Creek, the Harlem River Ship Canal, and the Harlem River form a continuous channel, referred to collectively as the Harlem River.
Broadway Bridge, a combination road and rail
lift span, continues to link Marble Hill with Manhattan. There is little evidence that the building of the Ship Canal enhanced commerce in the city. ==Bridges==