Spuyten Duyvil

I had planned on exploring all of the West Bronx between Van Cortlandt and the Hudson River yesterday...but that didn't happen. I was on foot, as I probably will be for most days from here on out. Even if I had my bike, there was no way to do this in one day. Riverdale is the most hilly neighborhood in NYC and there is so much to see, that I will have to go back a few more times.

Yesterday I took some time and visited Marble Hill and Spuyten Duyvil. Marble Hill, although entirely on the New York State mainland, is still technically part of Manhattan, or at least New York County. They get a bit touchy if you tell them they are from the Bronx...even if you show them a map. It is a small niche on the cliff side of the Harlem River and not more than a nice walk through a semi-private community.

Spuyten Duyvil is tucked in the corner of the Bronx right where the Harlem River meets the Hudson. Try and ask people to pronounce the little Bronx village and you get many variances. Dutch in entomology, it could mean either "Spite the Devil" or "Devil's Whirlpool" depending on how you say it. It has also been called "The Sit Down Place" after the original Lenape Indian name for the hill.

Once you pass the Henry Hudson Highway, you enter into a very guarded community and have a few "Mapped Private" streets. All of the roads leading to water view access are marked as private. All the houses on Palisade Ave. are built into the hillside. Some are larger apartment buildings and some are fantastic houses with leveled overlooks and outdoor river view patios. There is a public viewing deck called the "Half Moon Overlook." You can't see much through the heavy tree cover, but you can scramble down a steep path that doesn't look like an official walkway. You pass old building foundations and cement pillars covered in graffiti.

Once you get to the bottom, there is an open passage to the train tracks. I'm sure i wasn't allowed down there, but there was no sign, no fence and nobody there to stop me, so i did a little urban exploring and avoided all contact with the occasional Amtrak or Metro North trains that sped by. You get a great view of the river and the Henry Hudson Bridge that looms over the Harlem River toward Inwood Hill.

If you want to go, expect some, or a lot of walking up and down hills. The neighborhood is a very interesting part of the Bronx and worth the trip...especially if you like to see old architecture. Some of the houses were built as far back as 1880.

pictures.