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The Old Croton Aqueduct was built between 1837 and 1842. It was a unique stone and brick structure that stretched 40 miles, from a dam on the Croton River to a reservoir on 42nd Street. But within a few years of its completion, it could not adequately supply water to the exploding population of the City. The City's campaign to increase the water supply included the construction of the Central Park Reservoir, the High Bridge Tower and Reservoir, and many storage reservoirs and dams in Westchester and Putnam Counties. It was called the Croton Waterworks Extension. In 1874 New York City annexed a large portion of southern Westchester, from the Bronx River west to the Hudson. (It became part of the Borough of the Bronx in 1898.) The NYC Department of Public Parks selected Frederick Law Olmsted, landscape architect, and J.J.R. Croes, civil and topographical engineer, to prepare a comprehensive design for the new area. Their plan, completed in 1878, was adopted by the city and was largely constructed as designed. In 1875, in response to the renewed threat of water shortages, plus the need for a water supply system for the new district, the Croton Waterworks Extension was expanded to include plans for an additional aqueduct and a new distributing reservoir: the New Croton Aqueduct and Jerome Park Reservoir. They were to be interconnected with the Old Croton Aqueduct in the newly acquired territory, for which Olmsted was developing a master plan. In 1895 Italian immigrant stonemasons began building the Jerome Park Reservoir. They positioned the two aqueducts within the thirty-foot thick stone retaining wall that runs down the eastern edge of the reservoir, and constructed a number of thirty-foot-high stone gatehouses that are reminiscent of ancient Roman structures. Their work was completed in 1906. In its original design, Jerome Park Reservoir was to be over twice as large as it is today and was to include two islands and a peninsula. It was to serve as a final settling-basin for Croton water, and, according to the Chief Engineer, "will add greatly to the attractiveness of the surrounding grounds." There is even reason to believe that Olmsted had a hand in Jerome Park's design. However, the reservoir's construction was beset by friction between the Aqueduct Commissioners and the Bureau of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. While the Commissioners were gearing up to complete Jerome Park Reservoir as the final masterpiece of the Croton system, the Bureau, in 1907, requested permission to install slow sand filters in the east basin. In the end, plans for the east basin, the sand filters, and the magnificent gatehouse superstructures were set aside. When the Jerome Park Reservoir opened, it was a reservoir-park and, to complete the overall landscaping, city parks were established around it. Old Fort Four Park and Fort Independence Park were created on the sites of Revolutionary War forts and have retained their picturesque natural topography and spectacular views across the water. Harris Park and Harris Park Annex provided a green border for the eastern edge of the water. Jerome Park Reservoir was designed and built amidst controversy and is the focus of a bitter one today. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), like the Bureau of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity that preceded it, is proposing to build a filtration plant in the reservoir. However, unlike the natural sand filters that were under consideration earlier in this century, the current filtration plant would be filled with gigantic machines and hazardous chemicals. The surrounding community unanimously opposes the DEP's plan. And the Conservancy not only joins in this opposition but also advocates the designation of Jerome Park Reservoir, with all of its architectural and landscape features, as a New York City Landmark. The reservoir should also be listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places. The entire Croton system has been deemed eligible for landmarking, and Jerome Park Reservoir is the only major element of the system, within the City's boundaries, that has not yet been designated a city landmark. The Jerome Park Reservoir is a century-old component of the Croton Aqueduct system, one of America's oldest and greatest engineering masterpieces. The reservoir is remarkable for its stone structures, its Olmstedinspired landscaping, its place in the history of the Croton System, and its role in the development of the Bronx. It should not be desecrated by a filtration plant, but preserved as an historic treasure.
Anne Marie Garti
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