Highbridge Water Tower

506 Edgecombe Avenue | Highbridge Park | built 1872

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The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1872

    The Croton Aqueduct's 200-foot granite water tower is completed

    Built between 1866 and 1872, the 200-foot octagonal granite tower was part of the Croton Aqueduct system, boosting water pressure so that supply could reach across Manhattan's higher ground. It no longer serves the city's water system, and today its interior opens only for scheduled tours.

    Source: 6sqft

  2. 1958

    A carillon donated by the Altman Foundation is installed in the tower

    The Altman Foundation donates a carillon, which is installed in the water tower in 1958. The tower had been taken out of water service in 1949, nine years earlier.

    Source: Wikipedia

  3. 1967

    The city designates the High Bridge Water Tower a landmark

    New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission designates the 200-foot octagonal granite tower, designed by engineer John B. Jervis, a city landmark. A proposal to demolish it for a highway interchange had followed its retirement in 1949, and the tower was saved when NYC Parks offered to take over control.

    Source: Wikipedia

  4. 1984

    June 11

    A fire guts the water tower's cupola and destroys its carillon

    The tower stopped serving the water system on December 15, 1949, replaced by an electric pumping station, and passed to the Parks Department in 1955. A carillon donated through the Altman Foundation first rang on Memorial Day 1958. On June 11, 1984, a fire badly burned the wooden-framed cupola and destroyed the carillon; Parks restored the tower in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

    Source: Untapped New York

  5. 2021

    October 27

    The restored water tower reopens for ranger-led tours

    After being closed for a decade, the tower reopened on October 27, 2021, following a $5 million restoration of its roof, masonry, windows, floors and cast-iron spiral staircase. The city paid $3.6 million and Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez secured $1.4 million. Urban Park Rangers began free tours that November.

    Source: 6sqft

Nearby

All 2 buildings with stories in Highbridge Park