Watery Beginnings

Old NYC Water Supply Walk II
with Geologist Sidney Horenstein
6:30 pm Wednesday August 12

The City’s earliest quests for clean and reliable water started in Lower Manhattan. Come walk that earlier history and see how the City’s rapid expansion eventually spurred building the much-needed Croton System. We begin our tour of the early history of New York City’s attempt to provide pure and reliable water to its citizens at the City Hall Park fountain. The original fountain was the center piece for the 1842 celebration for the opening of the Croton Aqueduct. We will also visit:

  • The site of the failed attempt by Christopher Colles to create a water supply system in 1776
  • Wells and reservoirs created by Aaron Burr’s Manhattan Company
  • The Tea Water Pump which was fed by one of the springs that supplied the Fresh Water (Collect Pond). Here we will see the “ghosts” of the hills that surrounded the Collect Pond and briefly discuss geological aspects of spring, streams and lakes.

Sidney Horenstein is a geologist and environmental educator emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History. He is co-author of Concrete Jungle (UC Press), a recently published book about New York City and a sustainable future.

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