38 DAILY NEWS Sunday. March 11, 2001 IDEAS OPINION SPECIAL EDITORIAL WALK HISTO PATH ome, capital of the ancient world, drew its lifeblood its water from its great stone aqueducts. Likewise, New York, capital of the modern world, grew to greatness on the might of its aqueducts. Yet the story of New York?s first great water channel, the Old Croton Aqueduct, and the central role it played in trans- forming the city into a world-class metropolis, is largely forgotten. Fortunately, there is a tangible reminder of this histor- ic legacy: the oldest extant bridge to Manhattan, the graceful and lofty High Bridge, a Roman-style aqueduct- cum-footpath spanning the Harlem River. Sadly, however, though it was declared a city land- mark in 1970, the bridge has been sealed up for de- cades, off limits to the people of a city whose greatness it helped forge. It is time long past time, actually to reopen the High Bridge and capitalize on its wondrous promenade and panoramic skyline vistas. An engineering marvel in the mid-19th century, the span was a tourist attraction in its day, and it could be so again. All that?s required is to extend the Old Croton Aq- ueduct Trailway state park from its current end in Yon- kers, across the High Bridge and into Manhattan along the route of the original conduit. important to city history as the Erie Canal, the aq- Aueduct brought pure water south from the Croton River 41 miles away to a city so plagued by cholera that even children were drinking alcohol to escape dis- ease. Completed in 1842, the system was designed to car- ry 90 million gallons a day. Yet in a few decades, a sky- rocketing population had made it obsolete. A second Croton Aqueduct was finished in 1890. But by 1955, the old system had outlived its usefulness and was discontin- ued. The trailway which covers the original brick-lined water pipe has been a state park since 1968 in Westchester, where it is a mecca for walkers, joggers and cyclists. But in the city, the route has been mostly abandoned. Making it a history trail through the Bronx and along city streets to the aqueduct?s terminus at what is now the New York Public Library at Fifth Ave. and 42nd St. would be simple and relatively inexpensive. And the benefits would be enormous. In Boston, to cite one example, the red-brick Freedom Trail linking Revolutionary War sites is a boon to both tourism and economic development. A similar trail could produce the same results for New York. And what a trail it would be. In the Bronx?s Van Cortlandt Park, the path, though bi- sected by the Major Deegan Expressway, is still Visible; which is being renovated by the city. Not far away is Bronx Community College, with its elegant domed li- brary, designed by Stanford White when the site was owned by New York University, and its notable Hall of Fame for Great Americans, an outdoor colonnade of busts by world-class SCulptors. The route would continue south across the High Bridge into Manhattan, through High Bridge Park, not- ed for its soaring, landmarked tower, and on to the Mor- ris-Jumel Mansion, one of George Washington?s Revolu- tionary War headquarters. And sports fans, take note along the way, a crumbling stairway at 158th St. and Edgecombe Ave. marks the last surviving relic of the famed Polo Grounds, where the New York Giants? Bob- by Thomson?s shot was heard ?round the world 50 years ago this October. Blocks away is Hamilton Grange, the one-time home of Alexander Hamilton. Then come City College, Colum- bia University and the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, the world?s largest Gothic cathedral. Farther south are Central Park and the world-renowned muse- ums: Natural History, the Metropolitan, the Frick and MOMA. The final jog, down Fifth Ave., passes such great reli- gious institutions as Temple Emanu-El and St. Patrick?s Cathedral and ends at the library, where the imposing reservoir once stood. Any one of these sites is worth celebrating. Together, they tell an epic tale of the world?s greatest city and its people. All these institutions would benefit by being linked, and all could be expected to support and sustain the trail. Creating this engaging walk would require little more than printing maps and posting explanatory markers at the sites. Except, of course, for revitalizing the High Bridge. That, no doubt, would cost millions. But, after in- quiries by the Daily News, the city has put out a contract for inspecting the span with an toward reclaiming it. And tomorrow, a coalition that is forming to support the bridge?s restoration will have its first public meeting at Yeshiva University?s Bellfer Hall at 6:30 pm. learly, there is a will; now the city and the state must find the way. The reasons for closing the bridge rampant crime and vandalism no longer exist, thanks to the he- roic work of the NYPD. High Bridge Park, once a dan- gerous dumping ground for stolen cars, has been rejuve- nated, thanks in part to Bette Midler?s group, New York Restoration. And with the 33rd Precinct stationhouse go- ing up next door, security on the historic span will no longer be a problem. Since the state already runs the successful Westches- farther south, it be- comes a mall in the mid- dle of University Ave. Starting from the NEWS 450 W. 33rd St., New York, N.Y. 10001 ter part of the trail, the new Bronx/Manhattan portion could be a state or city park or the north, walkers on the route would pass Leh- man College, whose provided the first meeting place of the United Nations Securi- ty Council. Nearby is Armory, MORTIMER B. ZUCKERMAN, Chairman Co?Publisher FRED DRASNER, Chief Executive O?icer Co-Publisher LES GOODSTEIN, President Chief Operating O?icer EDWARD KOSNER, Editor in Chief MICHAEL GOODWIN, Executive Editor ROBERT SAPIO, Senior Managing Editor BILL BOYLE, JANE FREIMAN, MICHAEL KRAMER, LOU PARAJOS, Managing Editors RUSS HOYLE, Deputy Sunday Editor BRIAN MOSS, Sunday News Editor RUTH LANDA, Sunday Opinion Editor THOMAS P. RUIS, Design Director governments could share the cost. New York would then have a link to sites fa- mous and forgotten parks, museums and schools; poor areas and rich. Our past and our the world?s largest, future. HIGHLIGHTS ALONG OLD CROTON TRAIL I Bryant Park/ New York I American Museum of Public Library Natural History I Rockefeller Center I Frederick Douglass - St. Patrick?s Cathedral HOUSES I Museum of Modem Art I Cathedral Church of St. John the Dlvme I Central Park . . . I Columbla UnlverSIty Temple Emanu'E' I Morningside Park I Frick Collection I Grant?s Tomb I Metropolitan Museum Riverside Park I Central Park?s I General Grant Houses Great Lawn I 125th St. Harlem I Seneca Village I City College Riverbank State Park Hamilton Grange Trinity Church Cemetery Audubon Terrace Coogan's Bluff Polo Grounds I Bronx Community Col- lege The Hall of Fame for Great Americans I Armory Jerome Park Reservoir I EDUCATION ROW Walton High School I High Bridge Park Lehman College I Morris-Jumel Mansion Harris Park I Yeshiva University Bf?? High I High Bridge Tower High I The High Bridge School I Harlem River I Van Cortlandt Park Van Cortlandt Park Armory 195th St. Bronx Community College The Hall of Fame for Great Americans 180th St. HIGH BRIDGE High Bridge Park 8: High Bridge 174th St. Coogan's Bluff Polo Grounds stairway 156th St. City College 135th St. Cathedral of St. John the Divine 110-113th St. Metropolitan Museum of Art Great Lawn former reservoir LIBRARY 42nd St. Public Library JR DAILY NEWS