NEW York’s first water system was built between 1837 and 1842. Prior to those years, water was obtained from cisterns, wells and barrels from rain. Construction began in 1837 on a series of mostly underground conduits that would bring water from the Croton River in northern Westchester County to NYC’s spigots. Amazingly, it took only five years to finish the first connection given the technology available at the time. Two major aqueducts, Old Croton and New Croton, were completed, as well as two reservoirs, one between the present-day lines of 6th and 7th Avenues and 79th and 85th Streets, and a smaller distributing reservoir on 5th and 42nd. The former was drained in 1930 and its site is now occupied by Central Park’s Great Lawn. The latter was torn down to make room for the main branch of the New York Public Library, which rose in 1911. Those reservoirs were replaced by two huge tunnels that were built in 1917 and 1937; a third is still under construction. Central Park’s present Reservoir was begun in 1858 and was a part of NYC’s water distribution system all the way till 1991.
Manhattan’s most prominent Croton Aqueduct remnant is the large gatehouse at Convent Avenue and West 135th Street. This gatehouse served the New Croton Aqueduct and construction was begun in 1884 according to plans by prominent architect Frederick S. Cook. Such gatehouses regulated amounts of water flowing from the underground masonry architect to pipes going to the Central Park reservoir and other points.
Declared a NYC Landmark in 1981, the gatehouse was repurposed as a performance venue, the Harlem Stage, in 2006:
For more than 30 years, Harlem Stage has been one of the nation’s leading arts organizations uniquely focused on identifying, incubating, commissioning and presenting innovative works by visionary artists of color. In addition, their arts education program serves thousands of New York City schoolchildren annually; many from schools that lack sufficient funding for arts programs. [Harlem One Stop]
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4/20/26