IT’S been awhile since I’ve mentioned the Seaman Estate Arch in Inwood, or even been in Inwood, so I’ll just feature it today for those who are some what new to things here at Forgotten NY. I must have featured it in the site’s embryonic form in 1999 or 2000, and it’s certainly in the Forgotten NY Book. It’s a true relic of the days when northern Manhattan was occupied by large mansions and estates. Today, it’s an unlandmarked concrete arch mostly hidden behind auto body shops (that change ownership every so often) and exists at the whim of the landlords, at Broadway near West 215th Street.
This is the last remnant of the Seaman estate: John and Valentine Seaman obtained 25 acres of land from Broadway to Spuyten Duyvil Creek and what would be West 214th-218th Streets in 1851 and set about building a hilltop mansion. The arch, meant as a gateway to the estate, was first built in 1855. Marble from quarries in the area was used in its construction. Evidence of a large gate, and even a room for a gatekeeper, are still in evidence at the back of the arch.
Between 1905 and 1938, the estate passed to Lawrence Drake, a Seaman nephew, and then to contractor Thomas Dwyer, who built several brick buildings on the site and razed the hilltop estate. Since then, it has served as a relic of the Seaman’s once grand domain; sadly, it has been left to deteriorate. Periodically it is shored up with a new paint job that quickly becomes graffiti’ed over again as the local youth set about their grim tasks.
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8/18/23