A view from Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park (video)

by Cody Lyon

The view in the above footage is from Fort Tryon park in Manhattan.

Named after Sir William Tryon, the last British Governor of New York, the 67 acre Ft Tryon Park sits on a commanding ridge in the Washington Heights section, overlooking the Hudson River and the Palisades of New Jersey. The park is home to the Metropolitan Museum's medieval collection "The Cloisters." Ft Tryon park was constructed after John D Rockefeller bought the land as part of an estate purchase from the Billings family for $35,000 an acre.

Rockefeller hired Frederick Law Olmstead Jr.,, son of the Central Park planner to design the park. Rockefeller then donated the park to the City of New York.

Interestingly, the ambitious project's construction commenced during the Great Depression, and reportedly created a number of jobs. Around the same time, the expansion of a 140 feet deep tunnel that allowed for a new subway station along the IND subway line at 190 street, an effort that opened in 1932. After a period of disrepair in the 1970's, today, the park is seen as one of New York City's greatest treasures, a testament to visionary individuals and a city's spirit despite what was a crippling economic depression.

One wonders if even an inkling of such vision exists today.