Harlem Bespoke: We took a walk in the heat today to check up on the view at 190th and Amsterdam since this northern area adjacent to Highbridge Park reminded us of our post on uptown's Coney Island. Everything shut down over a century ago but the curve in road can still be seen at the end of the intersection where a public school now stands. See below for the original 2017 article on Harlem Bespoke:
Most uptowners probably do not know that there used to be a massive amusement park in the Heights on Amsterdam by 190th Street that was built about the same time as the famous Coney Island in Brooklyn. The Museum of the City of New York has the full story up on how trolleys in the 1890's spurred the development of these entertainment meccas that were at the outskirts of the city. Everything was profitable for over a decade but then business ended up souring a bit which did not help out the local economy.
Neighbors then wanted no part of the establishments which ended up just bringing in random drunk revelers and noise but a mysterious fire in 1913 would shut things down permanently. All of the land involved in the grand venture would eventually be absorbed into High Bridge Park and uptowners would eventually have to go to Brooklyn to seek such adventures. More photos and history on High Bridge Park can be found on the MCNY site: LINK
HarlemBespoke.com 2021
Neighbors then wanted no part of the establishments which ended up just bringing in random drunk revelers and noise but a mysterious fire in 1913 would shut things down permanently. All of the land involved in the grand venture would eventually be absorbed into High Bridge Park and uptowners would eventually have to go to Brooklyn to seek such adventures. More photos and history on High Bridge Park can be found on the MCNY site: LINK
HarlemBespoke.com 2021
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