Editing Washington Heights, Manhattan (section)

==Parks and recreation==
Washington Heights and Inwood collectively have over {{convert|500|acre|ha}} of parkland,<ref>{{cite web|title=Northern Manhattan Parks|publisher=[[New York City Department of Parks & Recreation]]|date=June 26, 1939|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/park-facilties/northern-manhattan-parks|access-date=June 10, 2019}}</ref> representing over a third of the neighborhoods' total area.<ref name=PLP5/>

===Fort Washington Park===
[[File:Inspiration Point Shelter from south.jpg|thumb|Next to the [[Hudson River Greenway]], [[Inspiration Point (Hudson River Greenway)|Inspiration Point]] was once a popular rest stop for pedestrians and motorists.<ref name=flickering/>]]
Washington Heights' [[Fort Washington Park (Manhattan)|Fort Washington Park]] runs from 155th Street to Dyckman Street along the Hudson River, meeting the [[George Washington Bridge]] at Jeffrey's Hook (around 178th Street).<ref name=fortwashingtonpark>[http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-washington-park Fort Washington Park], [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]]. Retrieved April 27, 2016.</ref> The 184-acre park was originally designed in 1873 by [[Fredrick Law Olmsted]] along with [[Riverside Park (Manhattan)|Riverside Park]] and [[Morningside Park (Manhattan)|Morningside Park]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VEOw_tc51PQC&pg=PA3|title=Riverside Park: The Splendid Sliver|last1=Grimm|first1=E.|last2=Schroeder|first2=E.P.|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-231-51219-0}}</ref>{{Rp|4}} and most of the park was acquired via [[eminent domain]] between 1896 and 1927.<ref name=fortwashingtonhighlights/> Although it was initially connected with Fort Tryon Park to the east (a condition for [[John D. Rockefeller Jr.]]'s donation of the Fort Tryon parkland),<ref name=forttryonhd/> the 1937 construction of the [[Henry Hudson Parkway]] separated the two parks.<ref name=fortwashingtonhighlights/>

Sitting just underneath the George Washington Bridge is the [[Little Red Lighthouse]], which was originally built in 1917 in [[Sandy Hook, New Jersey]] before being moved to aid with navigation in the Hudson River during the 1920s.<ref name="lighthouse">[http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-washington-park/highlights/11044 The Little Red Lighthouse], [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]]. Retrieved April 27, 2016.</ref> After the George Washington Bridge opened in 1931, the lighthouse became obsolete, and the [[United States Coast Guard]] began planning to dismantle and auction it.<ref name=NRIS/> After a public outcry, contributed to by [[Hildegarde Swift]]'s popular children's book ''The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge,'' the lighthouse was instead given to the city government in 1951.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://historichousetrust.org/houses/little-red-lighthouse/|access-date=March 26, 2021|title=Little Red Lighthouse|publisher=[[Historic House Trust]]}}</ref> Having undergone renovation in 1986 and again in 2000, the lighthouse is available for tours {{as of|2021|lc=y}} and is honored in the annual Little Red Lighthouse Festival.<ref name=NRIS>{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://riversideparknyc.org/event/little-red-lighthouse-festival-4/?instance_id=8638|publisher=Riverside Park Conservancy|date=March 3, 2019|access-date=March 26, 2021|title=Little Red Lighthouse Festival|archive-date=June 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623194228/https://riversideparknyc.org/event/little-red-lighthouse-festival-4/?instance_id=8638|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Fort Tryon Park===
[[File:The Cloisters - The MET Cloisters - Joy of Museums.jpg|thumb|[[The Cloisters]] seen from the main entrance]]
Occupying a 67-acre area south of [[Inwood Hill Park]] between Broadway and the Henry Hudson Parkway,<ref name=NYCParks-FtTryon>[http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park Fort Tryon Park], [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]]. Retrieved April 28, 2016.</ref> [[Fort Tryon Park]]'s history began with John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s purchase of the Hays, Shaefer, Libbey, and Billings estates in 1917 for $2&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|2.0|1917|fmt=c|r=1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref name="ftvicinitylandmark"/>{{Rp|777}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/new-york-tribune-1841-1922|title=John D., Jr., Offers City A River Park: Tenders Billings, Sheafer and Hay Properties, Worth $2,000,000 Asks New York to Buy Adjoining Property Natural Gateway to Palisades Would Be Formed; Mayor Urges Acceptance|date=June 16, 1917|page=14|work=[[New-York Tribune]]|access-date=March 28, 2021}}</ref> Rockefeller hired [[Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.]] (the son of Fort Washington Park's planner) to design the park in 1927, and in 1931 [[Jimmy Walker|Mayor James Walker]] accepted his donation of the parkland, to be developed primarily at Rockefeller's expense.<ref name=forttryonhd/> Opening in 1935, the park's picturesque views of [[The Palisades (Hudson River)|the Palisades]] across the Hudson River were maintained by another Rockefeller purchase there with the aim of preventing construction, preserved as part of [[Palisades Interstate Park]].<ref name=NYCParks-FtTryon/>

As part of his Fort Tryon donation, Rockefeller reserved {{convert|4|acres}} in the center of the park for the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] to develop [[the Cloisters]]. The original Cloisters museum, a collection of [[medieval art]] owned by [[George Grey Barnard]] and located on upper Fort Washington Avenue,<ref name=forttryonhd/> was purchased by the Metropolitan with Rockefeller funds in 1925.<ref name="creatingthecloisters"/>{{Rp|18}} After Fort Tryon Park's opening in 1935, construction began for the new Cloisters building using elements shipped from abbeys in southern [[France]] and [[Catalonia]], based on designs by [[Charles Collens]].<ref name=ftnomination>{{cite book|url=https://www.forttryonparktrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1978National-Register-Historic-Preservation.pdf|access-date=March 28, 2021|title=Nomination Form – Fort Tryon Park and the Cloisters|publisher=[[National Register of Historic Places]]|date=October 12, 1978}}</ref> Added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1978, the museum has a vast collection of [[Romanesque art|Romanesque]] and [[Gothic art|Gothic]] art, including the ''[[The Hunt of the Unicorn|Hunt of the Unicorn]]'' tapestries, purchased by Rockefeller for $1 million in 1922.<ref name=scenichistoricamerica>{{cite magazine|access-date=March 27, 2021|date=May 1936|title=Fort Tryon Park|magazine=Scenic and Historic America|publisher=American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society|first=Raymond H.|last=Torrey|location=New York|url=https://www.forgottenbooks.com/en/readbook/FortTryonPark_10905354}}</ref>{{Rp|19}}<ref>{{cite journal|access-date=March 28, 2021|first=James J.|last=Rorimer|publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]|journal=The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin|date=1942|doi=10.2307/3257087|volume=1|issue=1|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3257087|title=The Unicorn Tapestries Were Made for Anne of Brittany|pages=7–20|jstor=3257087|url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{Rp|7}}

One of Fort Tryon Park's biggest annual events is the [[Medieval]] Festival, a collaboration between the [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|Parks Department]] and the Washington Heights and Inwood Development Corporation that has taken place at the park since 1983.<ref name=medievalfest>{{cite web|url=https://whidc.org/programs/the-medieval-festival-at-fort-tryon-park/|title=The Medieval Festival at Fort Tryon Park|publisher=Washington Heights and Inwood Development Corporation|access-date=March 28, 2021|archive-date=March 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305131631/https://whidc.org/programs/the-medieval-festival-at-fort-tryon-park/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/05/nyregion/taking-the-a-train-to-the-middle-ages.html|title=Taking the A Train to the Middle Ages|last1=Speers|first1=Landon|date=October 5, 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 29, 2019|last2=Leland|first2=John}}</ref> The event is free, relying on a mix of private and public sponsors as well as donations, and draws an average of 60,000 people for an afternoon of medieval-themed arts, activities, and food.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://patch.com/new-york/washington-heights-inwood/uptown-medieval-festival-drawn-tens-thousands-organizers|title=Medieval Festival Will Draw Tens of Thousands Uptown|first=Brendan|last=Krisel|date=August 16, 2018|access-date=March 17, 2020|work=[[Patch (website)|Patch]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://whidc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MedievalFestivalProgram_2019_spreads-new.pdf|title=Medieval Festival Program (2019)|publisher=Washington Heights and Inwood Development Corporation|access-date=March 28, 2021}}</ref>

===Highbridge Park===
[[File:Fort George Amusement Park.jpg|thumb|A 1905 postcard of [[Fort George Amusement Park]], as seen from the [[Harlem River]]]]
[[Highbridge Park]], a 160-acre park with heavily wooded areas and views of the [[Harlem River]], lies on Washington Heights' western cliffside from 155th Street to Dyckman Street, cut off from the waterfront by the [[Harlem River Drive]].<ref name=highbridgepark>[http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/highbridge-park Highbridge Park], [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]]. Retrieved April 28, 2016.</ref> Unlike Washington Heights' other major parks, Highbridge had no prior design but was assembled piecemeal by the city through condemnation, the majority being acquired from 1895 to 1901.<ref name=highbridgeplaycenter>{{cite book|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2237.pdf|title=Highbridge Play Center|publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]|date=August 14, 2007|access-date=March 28, 2021}}</ref> In the park's southern extreme lies [[Coogan's Bluff]], which, during the time of the [[Polo Grounds]], offered a vantage point for watching baseball games without paying for tickets.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/a-stairway-to-sports-history-from-the-polo-grounds/|access-date=March 28, 2021|date=February 19, 2008|title=A Stairway to Sports History From the Polo Grounds|first=Timothy|last=Williams|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> The park's northernmost Fort George Hill section was gained through the condemnation of [[Fort George Amusement Park]], a [[trolley park]] built in 1895 that was burned twice by 1913.<ref>{{cite web|last=Martens|first=Victoria|title=Fort George Amusement Park|publisher=[[Museum of the City of New York]]|date=August 1, 2019|url=https://www.mcny.org/story/fort-george-amusement-park|access-date=May 1, 2020}}</ref> In 2007, the [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|Parks Department]] collaborated with the New York City Mountain Bike Association to open a network of mountain bike trails in this section of the park.<ref>{{cite news|title=Highbridge Trails, NYC's First Mountain Bike Trail|first=Jen|last=Chung|url=http://gothamist.com/2007/05/15/map_of_the_day_113.php|work=[[Gothamist]]|date=May 15, 2007|access-date=March 28, 2021|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612065345/http://gothamist.com/2007/05/15/map_of_the_day_113.php|archive-date=June 12, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=First Mountain Bike Trail In NYC Opens At Highbridge Park|publisher=[[New York City Department of Parks & Recreation]]|access-date=March 28, 2021|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/news/daily-plant?id=20111|date=May 24, 2007}}</ref>

Highbridge Park is home to three New York City landmarks: its namesake the [[High Bridge (New York City)|High Bridge]], the High Bridge Water Tower, and the Highbridge Play Center.<ref name=highbridgeplaycenter/><ref name=highbridgewatertower>{{cite book|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0319.pdf|title=High Bridge Water Tower|access-date=March 28, 2021|date=July 12, 1967|publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0639.pdf|title=High Bridge, Aqueduct and Pedestrian Walk|access-date=March 28, 2021|date=November 10, 1970|publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]}}</ref> The High Bridge, New York City's oldest remaining bridge, was built in 1848 as part of the [[Croton Aqueduct]] system connecting the Bronx to Manhattan at 174th Street and, since 2015, has been active as a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists.<ref name="Parks Highbridge"/> The bridge's accompanying water tower was also an integral part of New York City's water system until 1949.<ref name=highbridgewatertower/>
Built on a former reservoir in front of the High Bridge Water Tower, the Highbridge Play Center is best known for its swimming pool, one of many [[Works Progress Administration]]-funded outdoor pools opened in the summer of 1936.<ref name=highbridgeplaycenter/>

===Other parks===
[[File:Highest point in Manhattan Bennett Park Hudson Heights composite.jpg|thumb|The highest natural point on [[Manhattan]] is [[Bennett Park (New York City)|Bennett Park]]; the inset at the bottom left magnifies the plaque at right.]]
Washington Heights is also home to the following smaller parks:
* [[Bennett Park (New York City)|Bennett Park]]{{spaced ndash}}location of the highest natural point in Manhattan<ref name=bennettparkhighlights/>
* [[J. Hood Wright Park]]<ref>[http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/j-hood-wright-park J. Hood Wright Park], [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]]. Retrieved April 28, 2016.</ref>
* [[Mitchel Square Park]]{{spaced ndash}}site of the Washington Heights and Inwood [[World War I]] memorial by [[Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney]]<ref>{{cite news|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/04/realestate/a-medical-center-works-on-its-health.html?pagewanted=4|title=A Medical Center Works on Its Health |work=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 4, 1998|access-date=July 15, 2018}}</ref>
* [[Gorman Park|Amelia Gorman Park]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/gorman-park/history|title=Amelia Gorman Park Highlights|publisher=[[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]]|access-date=April 28, 2016}}</ref>{{spaced ndash}}closed for retaining wall repairs since 2017 and abandoned except upper plaza (as of January 2024)<ref name = reconstruction>{{cite web | title = Amelia Gorman Park Retaining Wall Reconstruction | publisher = New York City Dept. of Parks & Recreation | url = https://www.nycgovparks.org/planning-and-building/capital-project-tracker/project/1306111 | access-date = 2022-11-11 | archive-date = July 13, 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220713214535/https://www.nycgovparks.org/planning-and-building/capital-project-tracker/project/1306111 | url-status = dead }}</ref>
* [[McKenna Square]]<ref>[http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/mckenna-square McKenna Square], [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]]. Retrieved April 28, 2016.</ref>