Brooklyn Bridge

A large suspension-bridge over the East River, uniting the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York city. The preliminary work was begun in 1867. The bridge crosses the river by a single span 1,5951/2 feet long and 135 feet above high water in the middle, suspended from two massive piers on the opposite sides. The piers measure 59 by 140 feet at the water level, and 40 by 120 feet at the summit, and are 277 feet high. Beyond the piers, on both banks, the bridge is continued on an easy incline, partly suspended and partly of masonry arches and steel trusses, until the street-level is reached. The total length is 5,989 feet. There are four main cables of steel wires, each 15 3/4 inches in diameter. The width of the bridge is 85 feet, which is subdivided into two driveways and two railway-tracks, between which is a promenade for pedestrians. It was planned and constructed by the Roeblings.

Navy Yard

The principal navy yard of the United States is located at Brooklyn, N.Y., on the East River. There are three dry docks at this yard and one under construction. Here also is located the naval clothing factory which makes the uniforms for the enlisted men. The other important navy yards of the United States are at Norfolk (Va.), League Island (near Philadelphia), Boston, Mare Island (San Francisco Bay), and Port Orchard (Puget Sound); there are less important yards at Portsmouth (N.H.) and Pensacola (Fla.), and a yard of considerable importance is being developed at Charleston, S.C. In England the term dockyard is equivalent to the American designation navy yard. The great naval establishments on the Continent of Europe are generally termed arsenals.

The Battery

A tract of 21 acres forming the southern point of the city of New York, the site of fortifications erected by the Dutch, and later a public park. In the early history of the city the north side of the Battery was lined with the most aristocratic residences. The view of the rivers and bay from the Battery wall is unsurpassed, and the park is still a much frequented pleasure-ground, though much disfigured by the elevated railroads which cross it. The park contains the Barge Office and Castle Garden, now the Aquarium.

Manhattan Island

An island at the head of New York Bay, forming the borough of Manhattan in New York City, and containing the commercial and financial nucleus of the metropolis, together with its main residence portion. It is situated between the Hudson or North River and the East River; Spuyten Duyvil Creek and the Harlem River separate it from the mainland on the north and northeast. The
island, with tapering northern and southern extremities, a few hundred yards wide, is 13 1/2 miles long, with a maximum width, at Fourteenth Street, of 2 1/4 miles, and an area of 22 square miles. It has wharfage front of 22 miles, with a depth of water sufficient for the Largest vessels. The Brooklyn Bridge connects Manhattan Island, about a mile from its southern extremity, with Long Island; another bridge about a mile to the east of this is nearing completion; three miles farther north a bridge will span the river where the channel is divided by Blackwell's Island. A number of bridges span the Harlem River and Spuyten Duyvil Creek, and numerous steam ferries communicate with the adjacent shores. The surface is undulating and rocky, in the north rising from the Hudson to an altitude of 238 feet at Washington Heights, but sloping abruptly toward the east, where is a level stretch formerly known as the Harlem Flats. Farther south the elevation continues as a central ridge, with a gentle slope on either side. Extensive leveling was necessary in laying out the streets. With the exception of the Harlem plain and an extensive bed of beach sand to the south and east of City Hall, the island is chiefly composed of crystalline, Archaean rocks with intercalated veins of gneiss, mica schist, and hornblende, overlaid by generally shallow glacial drift deposits. Peter Minuit, the first Dutch Governor-General, is said to have received Manhattan Island in 1626 for barter to the value of about $25; the ground value alone is now estimated at over $2,500,000,000.

Harlem

A local name for that part of New York City above 106th Street between the East and Harlem rivers and Eighth Avenue. Originally a separate settlement, for many years it was a quaint Dutch village, mainly of private residences surrounded by gardens and farms. It was noted for abundance of shade-trees, and the sleepy quietness so quaintly described by Washington Irving in the Knickerbocker's History of New York. The designation is often applied, in a loose sense, to the entire northern portion of the city.

Harlem River

A tidal channel about 500 feet wide, separating Manhattan Island, New York City, from the mainland, and extending from the Hudson at Spuyten Duyvil Creek seven miles southeast to the East River at Randall's Island. A short ship-canal across the northern end of Manhattan Island, between the Hudson and the Harlem, was opened in 1895. The Harlem is spanned by a number
of bridges, the finest being Washington Bridge and High Bridge, the latter an aqueduct bridge. A magnificent roadway, known as the Speedway, has been constructed along the western shore of the Harlem. On a lofty eminence on the opposite shore are the beautiful buildings of New York University.

Hell Gate

A passage, called by the Dutch settlers of New York Helle Gat, being that part of the East River between Long Island and Manhattan Island, also between Long Island and Ward's Island, and between Ward's Island and Manhattan Island. The reefs of rock in the main passage, some of which were islands at low tide, caused with rising and falling of the tide numerous whirlpools and eddies, which rendered navigation at times dangerous, always difficult, and for large ships impossible, although the depth in the tortuous channel might be sufficient. The East River receives the Sound tide from the east and the Sandy Hook tide from the south. The times as well as heights of these tides being different, additional force is imparted to these treacherous currents. It was claimed that one out of every fifty sailing vessels attempting to go through Hell Gate was more or less damaged by the rocks.

A survey was made in 1848 by Lieutenants Charles H. Davis and David Porter, of the United States Navy, and in their report they recommended the destruction by blasting of Pot Rock, Frying Pan, and Ways Reef, which lie between Long Island and Ward's Island.

The first attempts at removing the obstructions in Hell Gate were made by M. Maillefert, with whom a contract was made by citizens of New York. He commenced work in August, 1851, and by surface blasting operated upon the most prominent surface of the rocks and reduced them to an average depth of about sixteen feet. Congress in 1851, appropriated for the work $20,000 and
placed it under the direction of Major Fraser. The method was by surface blasting, as had been practiced by M. Maillefert. The reefs in this channel are largely composed of a stratified gneiss, and the layers, being tipped up nearly perpendicular, were unevenly affected by the action of the water, the softer parts being worn away and the harder parts left in vertical sheets or points. In 1866 Gen. John Newton, of the United States Engineer Corps, was ordered to make a survey, and proposed the construction of a drilling scow which should be securely moored at the site of operations. The machine was constructed, and put into operation on Diamond Reef, near the mouth of the East River, in May, 1871. Coenties Reef was also operated on with this scow in alternation with the work on Diamond Reef. These operations proving satisfactory, the machine was taken to Hell Gate, where it was in operation nearly three years, and effected a great improvement in the channel.

The first really important engineering accomplishment was the removal by tunneling and blasting of Hallet's Point Reef, which extended from the Astoria shore into the East River. By means of diverging tunnels and transverse galleries the reef was thoroughly undermined and nitroglycerin in cans was introduced into a large number of holes drilled in the pillars supporting the roof and in the roof itself. After water was let into the mine the nitrogen was exploded and the reef was destroyed, the debris being removed by grappling and dredging, so that there was a depth of 26 feet at low water over the site of the reef. The explosion at Hallet's Point took place September 24th, 1876, and was followed by energetic prosecution of work on Flood Rock or Middle Reef, where similar tunnels were constructed. After over 21,000 feet of tunneling had been constructed and holes aggregating 113,192 feet had been drilled, 300,000 pounds of explosives were put into the holes, and water was let into the tunnel. The result of the explosion that took place October 10, 1885, and subsequent dredging, was to provide a channel of uniform depth of 26 feet through Hell Gate.

Castle Garden

A large circular building in Battery Park, at the southern extremity of New York City. Built in 1807, originally as a fort, then 300 yards from the shore, and known as Castle Clinton, it was converted into a garden where civic receptions and other functions were held, whence its name. Subsequently it served as a concert-hall, and in 1855 became a landing-place and temporary headquarters for immigrants. At the close of the year 1890 it was ceded to the municipal authorities; and, under the control of the Park Department, has since been equipped as a large public aquarium, with over one hundred tanks and an admirable collection of fresh-water and salt-water fishes and other aquatic life. Its present interest is overshadowed by its past, for with it are linked in history the names of Lafayette, Presidents Jackson and Tyler, and Jenny Lind.

Chelsea Village

A former village, now a part of New York. In the early part of the Nineteenth Century it formed the farm of Clement C. Moore, author of "Twas the Night Before Christmas," who, when on the point of abandoning it on the ground of its distance from the city, was persuaded to sell it in building lots. The name is still in use by old residents, and is preserved in Chelsea Square, between Twentieth and Twenty-first streets, and Ninth and Tenth avenues, the site of the General Theological Seminary.