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This beautiful section begins at 72nd Street and stretches north along the Hudson River to the end of the island at Inwood Park. It can best be seen from the top of the Fifth Avenue 'buses, which traverse its entire length to 135th Street. The Broadway cars, the subway and the elevated all have stations at 72nd Street and the distance west to the Drive is not far.
The drive is fast becoming the most beautiful as well as interesting park in the city. All the diverting panorama of marine life on the river is spread before the eyes of the onlooker. An anchorage for the Atlantic Division of the Navy extends along the shore from 90th Street up to Spuyten Duyvil. When the fleet is home the scene is one of exhilaration and the Jackies are popular heroes.
The broad tree-shaded boulevard, the pedestrian walks, the bridle paths and the swiftly moving procession of shining automobiles all tend to make the drive a popular resort for the people of the city on holidays and special occasions.
No buildings are permitted except on the east. side, and the attractive outlook provided by the Hudson River has brought together a number of well-to-do families who have erected beautiful homes in this part of the city. And the apartments which also line the drive are of a distinctively superior type. One of the most interesting of the former is the home of Charles M. Schwab, at the corner of 73rd Street.
All along the drive are other notable houses, monuments and statues. The residence of the late Bishop Potter at 89th Street, and next to the Schwab house, is one of the most beautiful. At 76th Street is the Hamilton fountain, an ornate structure shaped as a drinking trough for horses. The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, erected for those who fell in the Civil War. In front of the monument is a copy of Houdin's statute of Washington, a gift from school children.
At 93rd Street is the new Joan of Are statute, part of the pedestal being made from stone which came from the recently demolished prison in Rouen, in which the Maid of Orleans was confined. At 96th Street is the Cliff Apartment House. Above the second elevation is :t frieze in low relief carrying out symbolically the mountain lions, rattlesnakes, buffaloes' skulls and other local environments of a genuine cliff dwelling in Arizona.
It is a clever idea and never fails to attract attention. At 100th Street is the Firemen's Memorial. From 116th Street north is perhaps the finest view of the river. At 122nd Street the drive widens out, enclosing a broad central triangle containing the chief point of interest along the whole length of the drive—Grant's Tomb.
This is perhaps the best-known object in the country from its frequent reproduction in postal cards, engravings, magazines and guide-books. It stands on an ideal site, and rises to a height of one hundred and fifty feet. The mausoleum is open from 10 A. M. to 5 P. M. It contains the bodies of General Grant and his wife.
North of the tomb is the gingko tree sent by Li Hung Chang, the great Chinese statesman and admirer of Grant. There is a tablet containing an account of this tribute adjoining the tree.
By a curious turn of fortune the great General's tomb is placed so that it seems to guard another little grave —that of a five-year-old child who died in 1797. It is the only graver except Grant's maintained and cared for by the city in one of its public parks. It appears that in years gone by the land was owned by George Pollock in 1790. He afterwards returned to Ireland and subsequently sold the property to Cornelia Verplanck—all but the little grave in which lay all that he had cared for in America. He sent money to erect a small fence and a headstone in which he carved his affection in the solitary line:
When condemnation proceedings were instituted to enable the city to acquire this land for a public park this curious indenture was encountered. Perhaps some sentimental feeling was aroused; at all events, the city accepted the land with the condition that the little grave of an amiable child must always be cared for, and there you will see it just north of Grant's Tomb.
A building that is convenient to the tomb is the Claremont restaurant, owned by the city and is one to which strangers frequently repair at this point of their travels. It is a very old building, dating back almost to the Revolution. It has had an interesting history. Viscount Courtenay, who occupied it in 1807, viewed the trial trip of Fulton's Clermont from the veranda. In 1815 it became the abode of the Emperor Napoleon's brother Joseph. Quite a few changes have been made from time to time in portions of the building, but structurally it remains the same. A very good dinner may be had here amid pleasant surroundings.
The viaduct crossing Manhattanville carries the drive to Washington Heights. Houses now practically disappear, and the view of the river and of the Palisades becomes more beautiful. The busses, however, branch off at 135th Street, and the rest of the distance must be made by private conveyance. You have, however, seen practically all that is to be seen of Riverside Drive, although the rural beauty of the drive from this point is very delightful.
Just beyond the drive, and what will soon be a continuation of it, is the beautiful new Tyron Park, recently presented to the city by Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., which is described elsewhere.
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