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 Two Bridges - Poughkeepsie, New York Posted by:  Vermontish
N 41° 42.344 W 073° 56.411
18T E 588175 N 4617647
Still impressive, and getting better.
Waymark Code: WM53HH
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 11/05/2008
Views: 6
POUGHKEEPSIE (175 alt., 40,237 pop.), on the east bank of the Hudson River midway between Albany and New York City, is the seat of Dutchess County and of Vassar College, and the scene of the annual International Collegiate Regatta. The railroad bridge, of cantilever construction, and the Mid-Hudson Bridge, of the long suspension type, dominate the river front.
--New York: A Guide to the Empire State
| Riverfront | Entirely different. What I remember from my childhood as an unpaved parking lot at the foot of Main Street is now a pleasant grassy, treed park.
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| Regatta | Not held here since 1949. In fact, unable to find anything about it, I doubt it's held at all. Its influence continued, though. Even today, Poughkeepsie High School has a crew team, as does Marist College. I'm sure the coxswains appreciate the efforts of Pete Seeger and the Sloop Clearwater to clean up the river (the winning coxie gets thrown in).
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| Population | According to the 2000 US Census, the population is just under 30,000. From the traffic, you wouldn't know that there had been a 25% decline. It's a safe assumption that all those people just don't live in the city proper.
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| Mid-Hudson Bridge | Now the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Mid-Hudson Bridge. Busier than ever carrying US44/NY55 across the river.
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| Railroad bridge | It was the longest bridge in the world when it was built in 1888 and an engineering marvel of its time, incapacitated by fire in 1974 and abandoned by the railroad. As of this writing, it is being transformed from hulking relic to unique recreational facility. Construction crews are in the process of turning it into Walkway Over The Hudson, eventually to become a mile-plus long state park, 212 feet above the river, connecting Rail Trails on both sides. It is scheduled to open in September 2009, to coincide with the quadricentennial of Henry Hudson's first trip up the river named for him. |
Coordinates are taken at Victor C. Waryas Park on the riverfront, offering tremendous views of both bridges. Alternate views are from the Johnson-Iorio Memorial Park in Highland (N 41° 42.260 W 073° 57.101).
Book: New York
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 280
Year Originally Published: 1940
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