Rattlesnake Creek (Rattlesnake Brook in some sources) is an underground waterway in the northeast Bronx, New York City. It flowed above ground level until the mid-20th century, with a waterfall and a pond over its course. [1] Rattlesnake Creek has since been mostly covered over, but a small portion of it is still visible in Seton Falls Park. [2]
According to old maps, the source of the creek was near Nereid and Hill Avenues in the Bronx's Wakefield neighborhood, where it flows southwest, then turns southeast near East 233rd Street. [3] It then flows above ground at Seton Falls Park, entering a man-made waterfall. [4] [5] : 72 After exiting the park, it flows back underground. South of Boston Road, the creek flowed into a 15-acre (6.1 ha) man-made pond called Holler's Pond, located at the site of the Boston Secor Houses in the Baychester neighborhood. Rattlesnake Creek then passes through Co-op City, draining into the Hutchinson River. [5] : 72 Before draining into the Hutchinson River, it split into two small distributaries, one of which was named Mill Creek. [3]
The majority of Co-op City was built atop the mouth of Rattlesnake Creek. Some streets such as Alcott Place, Bellamy Loop, and Dreiser Loop directly follow the creek's path. [6] A small nature preserve called the Givans Creek Woods is located at the northern portion of Co-op City, near the intersection of Baychester Avenue and Co-op City Boulevard. [7] Despite its name, which is derived from Scottish immigrant Robert Givan, it is located above Rattlesnake Creek. [5] : 72 The actual Givans Creek is located slightly to the south. [3]
There was once an abundant population of rattlesnakes in the northeast Bronx, after which the creek is named. [4] [5] : 71 [8] : 365 The rattlesnake population was identified as a problem in the late 18th century, when Eastchester town officials agreed to meet once a week to discuss the eradication of the snakes. [9] According to a Bronx historian, Eastchester's ten founding families dedicated one day each spring "for the destroying of rattlesnake", using hogs to hunt down the rattlesnakes because the hogs' fat was resistant to the snakes' fangs. [10] By the early 20th century, the snake population had been eliminated. [2] However, some sources put their eradication at an earlier date, saying that the last snake was a 6-foot-long (1.8 m) specimen killed in 1775. [10] [11]
Prior to the American Revolutionary War, the area around Rattlesnake Creek was owned by Thomas Pell. [4] In 1739, Thomas Shute and Joseph Stanton built a mill to dam the creek south of Boston Road, creating Holler's Pond. [5] : 72 Further upstream, the creek was dammed by William Seton, son of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, who owned the land around what is now Seton Falls Park in the mid-19th century. This created two more ponds and a waterfall. [4] Seton's mill was destroyed in a 1900 storm, but the waterfall remained. [5] : 72 The cascade was described as a 30-foot (9.1 m) descent with two separate falls. [12] : 422 Also located along the brook may have been the estate of Anne Hutchinson, [10] which according to a 1929 map was located in Baychester between Rattlesnake Creek and a now-filled stream called Black Dog Brook. [13]
By 1926, Rattlesnake Creek was polluted and several cases of typhoid could be traced to the creek. [14] After Seton Falls Park was acquired by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation in 1930, the agency rerouted the creek's path within the park into a stone channel and infilled the two ponds on the Seton estate. [4] [15] : 140 Downstream, Holler's Pond was used to harvest ice, and there were several ice houses on the shore of the pond, [12] : 423 [16] : 12 (PDF p. 16) which were all demolished by 1935. [16] : 12 (PDF p. 16) The pond was also popular among ice-skaters until it was infilled in 1951. Boston-Secor Houses was built over the infilled pond in 1968. [17] There was a wood-framed beer garden on the shore of the pond, at 4018 Boston Road near the intersection with Dyre Avenue, which was demolished in 1960. [16] : 13 (PDF p. 17) [18]
The mouth of the creek was covered in 1960 by Freedomland U.S.A., a theme park dedicated to the history of the United States. [19] Before Freedomland's construction, that land had been a municipal landfill built atop the marshland on the banks of the Hutchinson River. [20] The construction of Freedomland resulted in drastic landscaping changes around the mouth of the creek. [16] : 13 (PDF p. 17) [21] Freedomland was shuttered in 1964 and its site was used for the development of Co-op City. [16] : 13 (PDF p. 17) [22]
Rattlesnake Creek remains mostly extant, albeit in underground pipes. [18] The only remaining above-ground section of the creek upstream is in Seton Falls Park. [5] : 72 Within the park, an exit culvert from the creek was destroyed in 1973, creating a swamp that killed nearby trees, though the culvert and a sewer pipe under it were restored in the mid-1980s. [15] : 142 [23] A vestige of the old Holler's Pond mill's existence is Reeds Mill Lane, a discontinuous road between Boston Road and the New England Thruway, which cuts an irregular route through the Baychester street grid. [2] [16] : 13–14 (PDF pp. 17–18)
The Hutchinson River Parkway is a north–south parkway in southern New York in the United States. It extends for 18.71 miles (30.11 km) from the massive Bruckner Interchange in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx to the New York–Connecticut state line at Rye Brook. The parkway continues south from the Bruckner Interchange as the Whitestone Expressway (Interstate 678) and north into Greenwich, Connecticut, as the Merritt Parkway. The roadway is named for the Hutchinson River, a 10-mile-long (16 km) stream in southern Westchester County that the road follows alongside. The river, in turn, was named for English colonial religious leader Anne Hutchinson.
Freedomland U.S.A. was a theme park dedicated to American history in the Baychester section of the northeastern Bronx in New York City. Operating from 1960 to 1964, Freedomland was built on marshland owned by the Webb and Knapp company, of which William Zeckendorf Sr. was the major owner. Zeckendorf announced his plans for Freedomland in May 1959. The park layout was conceived and built by C. V. Wood, and consisted of over 40 attractions arranged in the shape of a large map of the contiguous United States. Groundbreaking ceremonies for Freedomland occurred in late 1959, and Freedomland opened on June 19, 1960, to large crowds.
The Pelham Bay Park station is the northern terminal station of the IRT Pelham Line of the New York City Subway. Located across from Pelham Bay Park, at the intersection of the Bruckner Expressway and Westchester Avenue in the Pelham Bay neighborhood of the Bronx, it is served by the 6 train at all times, except weekdays in the peak direction, when the <6> serves it.
Co-op City is a cooperative housing development located in the northeast section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by Interstate 95 to the southwest, west, and north and the Hutchinson River Parkway to the east and southeast, and is partially in the Baychester and Eastchester neighborhoods. With 43,752 residents as of the 2010 United States Census, it is the largest housing cooperative in the world. It is in New York City Council District 12.
Baychester is a neighborhood geographically located in the northeast part of the Bronx, New York City. Its boundaries are East 222nd Street to the northeast, the New England Thruway (I-95) to the east, Gun Hill Road to the southwest, and Boston Road to the northwest. Eastchester Road is the primary thoroughfare through Baychester.
The North Bronx is the northern section of the Bronx, one of the five boroughs of New York City. It is bordered by Westchester County to the north, the South Bronx to the south, the Hudson River to the west and the Long Island Sound to the east. The western part is more urbanized and hilly than its eastern counterpart, just like the rest of the borough. Despite being recognized as different from the South Bronx, the actual borders of the North Bronx is undefined. One commonly set border is Fordham Road/Pelham Parkway, the upper limit for widespread poverty and arson during the 1970s and 1980s.
Williamsbridge is a neighborhood geographically located in the north-central portion of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are East 222nd Street to the north, Boston Road to the east, East Gun Hill Road to the south, and the Bronx River to the west. White Plains Road is the primary thoroughfare through Williamsbridge.
Eastchester is a working-class neighborhood in the northeast Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are the Bronx-Westchester County border to the north, the New England Thruway to the east, Baychester Avenue to the south, and the intersection of 233rd Street and Baychester Avenue to the west. Boston Road is the primary thoroughfare through Eastchester and Dyre Avenue is the main commercial street. Eastchester includes the sub-neighborhood of Edenwald.
Bronx Park is a public park along the Bronx River, in the Bronx, New York City. The park is bounded by Southern Boulevard to the southwest, Webster Avenue to the northwest, Gun Hill Road to the north, Bronx Park East to the east, and East 180th Street to the south. With an area of 718 acres (2.91 km2), Bronx Park is the eighth-largest park in New York City.
Bay Plaza Shopping Center is a shopping center on the south side of Co-op City in the Bronx, New York City. In addition to various department stores and shops, such as Macy's, JCPenney, Staples, and Old Navy, it has a multiplex movie theater, several restaurants, a fitness club, and some office space. Constructed from 1987 to 1988 by Prestige Properties, the shopping center is located between Bartow and Baychester Avenues, just outside Sections 4 and 5 of Co-op City, on an open lot that was the site of the Freedomland U.S.A. amusement park between 1960 and 1964. The Bay Plaza Shopping Center is the largest shopping center in New York City. Since opening over 25 years ago, it has become extremely successful, the center claims to hold some of the highest performing stores on a per-square-foot basis for many national retailers.
Alley Pond Park is the second-largest public park in Queens, New York City, occupying 655.3 acres (265.2 ha). The park is bordered to the east by Douglaston, to the west by Bayside, to the north by Little Neck Bay, and to the south by Union Turnpike. The Cross Island Parkway travels north-south through the park, while the Long Island Expressway and Grand Central Parkway travel east-west through the park. The park primarily consists of woodlands south of the Long Island Expressway and meadowlands north of the expressway. It is run and operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
Mosholu Parkway is a 3.03-mile-long (4.88 km) parkway in the borough of the Bronx in New York City, constructed from 1935 to 1937 as part of the roadway network created under Robert Moses. The roadway extends between the New York Botanical Garden and Van Cortlandt Park. The New York City Department of Transportation is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the roadway while the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is responsible for the surrounding rights-of-way. The parkway is designated as New York State Route 908F (NY 908F), an unsigned reference route, by the New York State Department of Transportation.
Westchester Creek is a tidal inlet of the East River located in the south eastern portion of the Bronx in New York City. It is 2.1 miles (3.39 km) in length. The creek formerly traveled further inland, to what is now Pelham Parkway, extending almost to Eastchester Bay and making Throggs Neck into an island during heavy storms. However, much of the route has been filled in, replaced by such structures as the New York City Subway's Westchester Yard and the Hutchinson Metro Center. Westchester Creek's present-day head is at Herbert H. Lehman High School; the remaining portion is largely inaccessible and surrounded by industrial enterprises or empty lots. Westchester Creek is traversed by the Bruckner Interchange at about its midpoint.
Gun Hill Road is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The road stretches for 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the Mosholu Parkway in Norwood to Stillwell Avenue in Baychester, near an exit for the Hutchinson River Parkway. Van Cortlandt Park and the Mosholu Golf Course are both located at the western terminus of Gun Hill Road.
East 233rd Street is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of The Bronx. The road is 3 miles (4.8 km) long and stretches from U.S. Route 1 in the Eastchester section of the Bronx to the Major Deegan Expressway (I-87) in Woodlawn. The road changes names from East 233rd Street to Pinkley Avenue after the eastern terminus, at Boston Road. There is one interchange with a highway along the way, which is for the Bronx River Parkway. There are two subway stations along the road, one at Dyre Avenue, serving the 5 train, and one at White Plains Road, serving the 2 and 5 trains.
New York State Route 164 (NY 164) was a state highway in the New York City Metropolitan Area. It extended for 5 miles (8 km) from U.S. Route 9 (US 9) and NY 9A in Yonkers to US 1 in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The route ran mostly along the New York City line and indirectly met both the Saw Mill River Parkway and the New York State Thruway in Yonkers. NY 164 followed McLean Avenue in Yonkers and Nereid and Baychester Avenues in the Bronx.
Seton Falls Park is a 36-acre (15 ha) wooded area in the Edenwald area of The Bronx in New York City. The park is named after the Seton family, who owned the land in the 19th century.
Givans Creek Woods is a 10.73-acre (4.34 ha) wooded area near Co-op City in The Bronx, New York City.
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