Hoboken, NJ Hudson Greenway
How awesome was it when Michael Bloomberg reclaimed the Waterfront for the people when he was Mayor. Today in Brooklyn, …..Greenpoint, Williamsburg, a mere few years later, we are loosing it again to high rise construction right on top of the river. We should look to New Jersey to see how it’s done. From Jersey City to the George Washington Bridge ……15 miles of the Hudson River Waterfront Greenway where residential and commercial construction is set back from a pedestrian / bicycle trail along the entire route …….yes, the entire route. How impressed was I? …..intelligent urban design (Jersey City, Hoboken) with the Waterfront as it’s main focal point …for the people, complete with man made “pier parks”.
Yes, there was incentive here as the magnificent iconic views of Manhattan are everywhere along the route. My main goal, was to tour the city of Hoboken ….and to visit “The Chairman” at 417 Monroe St. Although his house burned down in 1998 Frank Sinatra has his own star right there on the sidewalk in front of his museum called, appropriately, “From Here to Eternity”. Unfortunately as the museum still stands there today it is not being funded by the city anymore and is closed. However I did fall for this town as it has maintained it’s old world character. You judge for yourself.
Describe your image.
Hoboken
Hoboken
Hoboken
Hoboken
Describe your image.
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The construction of Hudson Yards from Hoboken, NJ
Weehawken Heights
So is this town still experiencing Hamilton mania? Many of New York’s revolutionary sites specifically those related to Hamilton and Burr were experiencing a little “tourist gridlock”. Some further uptown and “out of the way” like “The Grange” in St Nicholas Park and the Morris Jumel Mansion …less so. Of course The Grange was the home built by Hamilton in 1802 in the 140’s off the Bloomingdale Rd (now Broadway). Hamilton lived there for two years before he was killed in the duel with Burr ….and the Morris Jumel Mansion, in Washington Heights, is where Burr married Eliza Jumel in the later years of his life. The Mansion also served as the headquarters for George Washington for a month during the Battle of NY. Of course the source of the mania is the Hamilton musical prompting one NY Times reviewer to say …."I am loath to tell people to mortgage their houses and lease their children to acquire tickets to a hit Broadway show. But Hamilton, directed by Thomas Kail and starring Mr. Miranda, might just about be worth it”.
My motivation for yesterdays ride, and looking for something different ……was my goal to visit the dueling grounds of Weehawken Heights. Not an easy place to get to unless one is comfortable with bringing a car into Manhattan cross-town to the tunnel or over the GW Bridge. Not a choice I would make.
The NY Ferry from Astoria with bike to Pier 11 Wall to the Paulus Hook Ferry to Jersey City …and the ride up the waterfront through Jersey City, Hoboken to Weehawken was easy. Not easy was ascending the Liberty staircase, carrying a bike, to the Heights from the waterfront. Once there views were as stunning as you would find anywhere in this country. At the highest point was the Dueling Grounds Monument and the boulder that Hamilton rested on after he was shot. Many associate the boulder with the Plymouth rock …..that is; with a little skepticism. In the end it was a terrific ride and while there I wondered ….did Hamilton not view the death of his loving son Philip as an omen? ……who was killed three years earlier in a duel, in the very same place
