✳flâneur — a map of the web's best reading

Looking Back: The History of Riverdale – The Quadrangle

mcquad.org · 634 words · saved by 1 readers

Manhattan College students know Riverdale as their home away from home. Students enjoy grabbing pizza at Broadway Joe’s in between classes, blowing off steam in Van Cortlandt Park and toasting to the weekend at An Beal Bocht Cafe. These locations are staples for Jaspers, but it wasn’t always this way. Riverdale was originally farmland until the 1840’s, when the hustle and bustle of the city became too overwhelming and affluent New Yorkers moved to the rolling hills to build estates. An outbreak of cholera in lower Manhattan also served as incentive for families to flee the borough. In 1853, the construction of a bridge over Spuyten Duyvil Creek for the Hudson River Railroad also contributed to the migration of wealthy New Yorkers to the suburbs. As reported by the New York Times, history professor at Columbia University explains these migrations as the “suburban ideal,” as the setting served as compromise for those seeking the benefits of rural and urban life. Those new Riverdale resid

by ALEXA SCHMIDT & SAMANTHA WALLA , Asst. Editors Manhattan College students know Riverdale as their home away from home. Students enjoy grabbing pizza at Broadway Joe’s in between classes, blowing off steam in Van Cortlandt Park and toasting to the weekend at An Beal Bocht Cafe. These locations are staples for Jaspers, but it wasn’t always this way. Riverdale was originally farmland until the 1840’s, when the hustle and bustle of the city became too overwhelming and affluent New Yorkers moved to the rolling hills to build estates. An outbreak of cholera in lower Manhattan also served as incen

Explore this link on the map →

related reading