City Island Bridge fi nial fi nds a home
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One of the classic City Island Bridge’s iconic fi nials has been installed at
Catherine Scott Promenade. Photo by Tommy Breen
BY ROBERT WIRSING
A treasured City Island artifact
has returned home.
In a homecoming of sorts,
a fi nial from the classic City
Island Bridge was installed at
the Catherine Scott Promenade
on Thursday, December 20.
The Gothic Revival-styled
fi nial is over eight feet tall and
resides upon an ornate concrete
pedestal.
The fi nial is one of four
from the bygone green steel
swing bridge which served as
the Bronx seaport’s sole access
and departure point by road
from July 4, 1901 to December
18, 2015.
Barbara Dolensek, City Island
Nautical Museum vice
president and administrator,
noted that the bridge most associated
with City Island was
actually not its fi rst.
In 1873, famed City Island
shipbuilder David Carll constructed
a wooden toll bridge
from timbers of the decommissioned
74-gun battleship U.S.S.
North Carolina to connect the
1.5 mile long island at Bridge
Street. The city replaced the
original crossing in 1901 with
an 800 feet long steel bridge
costing $250,000 which soon
became known locally as the
‘City Island Bridge.’
The bridge’s informal grand
opening was commemorated
on July 4, 1901 with permission
from then deputy bridge commissioner
Matthew Moore.
The fi rst pedestrians to traverse
it were Lawrence Delmour’s
wife Mary and her
sister; Moore; borough tax commissioner
John McDonough;
E.H. Lyng; A.T. Riley; D. Simpson
and Westchester police captain
Copeland.
The bridge consisted of fi ve
80 foot long fi xed approach
spans and a 180 foot long central
swing section.
Its swing section was deactivated
and converted into a
fi xed span in 1963.
Dolensek noted that while
it’s unknown who designed the
1901 City Island Bridge, it did
bare a striking resemblance
to the landmarked Macombs
Dam Bridge which is adorned
with four fi nials.
Despite City Islanders’ best
efforts to have their bridge
landmarked, the city had discovered
that it was far too deteriorated.
The city initially planned to
replace it with a cable-stayed
design bridge, but faced strong
opposition from residents and
elected offi cials.
Following a decade-long
controversy, the community
approved causeway-designed
bridge was opened on October
29, 2017.
Ron Terner, Focal Point
Gallery owner and 45-year City
Island resident, was with local
documentarians Tommy and
James Breen photographing
the bridge’s demolition on September
15, 2016.
According to Terner, the
fi nial residing at Catherine
Scott Promenade is one of
three ‘surviving’ fi nials as the
fourth broke during the deconstruction.
“The fi nial is representative
of the last 100 years of
City Island and its history,”
said Tommy. “When the island
shifted from a shipbuilding
hub to a restaurant destination,
that bridge was the only
constant.”
A NYC Department of Transportation
spokeswoman stated
that DOT and NYC Parks are
working together on a permanent
installation for the fi nial.
Currently there are no plans
for the remaining fi nials.
The Catherine Scott Promenade
will be reopened once the
contract work is completed.
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