WALKS & TOURS & MORE: April-June 2013 - as of 4/6/2013 –
Activities are free and do not require prior registration (unless otherwise noted). They will be
organized/led by a member of the Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct. Call contact for the event for
updates on schedule, weather, etc. and bring water and snacks. Check aqueduct.org for more
activities. General questions about Walks & Tours: Tom Tarnowsky, 914-862-4207,
ttarnowsky@aqueduct.org, or Sara Kelsey, 646-303-1448, saraakelsey@gmail.com. General questions
about the Friends: Mavis Cain, 914-693-0529, mcain@aqueduct.org.
Please note that our very popular tours of the Old Croton Aqueduct Weir in Ossining are temporarily
suspended during the restoration work that is currently underway at the Weir. We will resume
these tours as soon as it is possible to do so. Check the website for updates on the Weir Tours.
April 13, Saturday -- Ossining Water Treatment Plant Tour - Meet at 11 am at the last Old Croton
Aqueduct-fed water treatment plant. Discover (in a plant manager-led tour) what happens to water
before it arrives in our taps. Address: 25 Fowler Ave., Ossining 10562. Northbound drivers: From Rte.
9A exit at Shady Farm Rd., turn left and then make an immediate right onto Old Albany Post Rd. Drive
about half a mile and turn right onto Fowler Ave. At the top of the hill, the chain link fence of the GE
campus will be on your right. Drive straight across the Aqueduct trail and continue to the water
treatment plant. Or, from Route 9/Highland Ave., turn right onto Old Albany Post Rd. (north of the
Ossining Community Center) and proceed as above. Southbound drivers: from Rte. 9/Highland Ave.
turn left onto Old Albany Post Rd. and proceed as above. Parking available. Information: Carl Grimm,
914-271-5471, cgrimm@aqueduct.org or Tom Tarnowsky, 914-862-4207, ttarnowsky@aqueduct.org.
April 19, Friday – Aqueduct Trail Clean-up at Mercy College, 2-5 pm. Check the website for details
closer to date.
April 21, Sunday – Aqueduct Trail Clean-up in Yonkers. Join Mayor Mike Spano, Council President
Chuck Lesnick and many volunteers, in beautifying Yonkers section of the Old Croton Aqueduct trail.
For information or to pre-register go to www.volunteer-center.org or sign up at the event, which kicks
off at 9 am, with coffee and pastries at the Lenoir Nature Preserve, 581 Dudley Street, Yonkers (off
North Broadway near intersection with Executive Blvd.). Clean-up is from 10 am-2 pm, followed by a
volunteer appreciation party at Lenoir Nature Preserve. If possible, bring your own clean-up tools and
drinking water.
May 4, Saturday – I Love My Park Day -- Vine Cutting and Invasive Removal Projects at two areas of
the Old Croton Aqueduct Trailway – Hastings-on-Hudson (South of Washington Avenue) and
Cortland (at the yellow canopy at the Croton Gorge Unique Area sign). Check the website for details
closer to date.
May 18, Saturday - Old Croton Aqueduct Distributing Reservoir Stones at the New York Public
Library Tour – Meet at the New York Public Library in New York City at 2 pm. The Library is located at
42nd Street and Fifth Avenue -- a short walk from the Metro-North Grand Central Station. The Tour is
limited to 25 participants and reservations are required. View the original stones from the Old
Croton Aqueduct Distributing Reservoir that form part of the foundation of the New York Public
Library, which was built on the Reservoir’s former site. After taking in a short film on the history of
the Aqueduct, participants will enjoy viewing a specially curated selection of rarely seen Old Aqueduct
maps, documents and pictures and have an opportunity to learn more about the Old Croton Aqueduct
from the Library’s curator and Tom Tarnowsky of the Friends. The tour is $7 per person ($5 for
seniors) -- the funds will go to the Library. Contact: Sara Kelsey, saraakelsey@gmail.com or call 646303-1448, to make reservations.
June 1, Saturday – Old Croton Aqueduct and Daylighted Saw Mill River in Yonkers: Guided Walk -As part of the Governor’s Path through History, meet at 10:15 am at the Hudson Fulton Memorial
Park sign on Warburton Ave., opposite Odell Ave., just south of 1185 Warburton. After a short walk
uphill on Odell, we proceed south on the green Old Croton Aqueduct trail, then turn west onto local
streets leading to Van der Donck Park and the newly daylighted part of the Saw Mill River as it nears
the Hudson. We will highlight historic and cultural sites along the 3- to 4-mile route. Walk ends at
restored, Beaux Arts-style Yonkers Train Station on the redeveloped waterfront. Return trip is by
Metro-North Hudson Line train. (Note: restrooms unavailable until latter part of walk.) By car: Park on
streets in the Warburton-Odell area. Following walk, take train north to Greystone Station; walk up
stairway to return to Warburton Ave. Non-permit parking is not allowed in station lot. By train: 8:20
am Hudson Line train from Grand Central arrives at Greystone Station at 9:56 am. Walk up stairway to
meeting place at Hudson Fulton Park sign at top of stairs. Following walk, return home from Yonkers
Station. Buy ticket at Grand Central to avoid surcharge on train. Information: czfahn1@gmail.com or
call 914-478-3961.
June 2, Sunday – Croton Reservoir & Dam Hike -- As part of the Governor’s Path through History,
easy 1-mile hike along the beautiful Croton Dam. The leader of the hike will discuss the history and
construction of the Old Croton Aqueduct and the features of the Croton Dam. The Aqueduct was
completed in 1842 to supply water to New York City. If you would like to take a longer tour of the
Croton Dam, there will be an optional leader-led car caravan to the Croton Dam gatehouses following
the hike. Or you may chose to hike on the Old Croton Aqueduct trail on your own after the hike. The
trailhead for the trail begins at the dam and proceeds south. Meet at 11 am near the restrooms at the
Croton Gorge Park, Rte. 129, Cortland Manor 10567 (there is a parking fee) or you may wish to
carpool from the Croton-on-Hudson Library (171 Cleveland Drive) parking lot. Directions to library
parking lot: Take Rte. 129 in Croton-on-Hudson (a/k/a Maple St.) to Albany Post Road in Upper
Village. Turn east onto Albany Post Rd. Go 1/4 mile past High School and cemetery. Make left onto
Cleveland Dr. at flag monument. Library is on left 200 yards. Library is approx. 1 mile south of dam.
You may wish to bring a lunch to eat at the picnic area in Croton Gorge Park. Information:
ttarnowsky@aqueduct.org.
June 8, Saturday Morning – Designers for the Millionaires of the Gilded Age: Lord & Burnham
(greenhouses & conservatories) and Louis Comfort Tiffany (stained glass) Tour -- Co-sponsored by
the Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct and Discover the Rivertowns. As part of the Governor’s Path
through History, tour the Hudson River waterfront of the Village of Irvington, the former site of the
Lord & Burnham Company, manufacturer of greenhouses and conservatories for wealthy clients,
including robber baron Jay Gould of Lyndhurst, and the New York Botanical Garden. We will meet at
10:30 am at the Irvington Public Library, 12 South Astor Street, directly east of the Irvington train
station (free parking) on MetroNorth’s Hudson Line, in the former 1881 Lord & Burnham offices. We
will tour it and the related factory buildings across the train tracks, now home to many businesses and
3 restaurants, as well as Eileen Fisher’s Lab Store and Scenic Hudson Park, with views of the NYC
skyline and the Palisades. We will walk up Main Street (total walk is less than 2 miles, on pavement)
and visit the Town Hall, a 1902 historic landmark building and its restored Tiffany Reading Room,
designed by the Tiffany studio, and Town Hall Theater, modeled after the Ford Theater in Washington,
DC. Our final stop is the second oldest home in Irvington, the McVickar house, headquarters of the
Irvington Historical Society. After the tour ends at noon, visit one of the many restaurants on Main
Street or at the waterfront or bring a bag lunch or stop at a local deli to picnic in Scenic Hudson Park.
You may wish to join a guided walk, Meandering among the Millionaires’ Mansions, which departs
from Irvington’s Town Hall at 2:30 pm, and includes a tour of the remains of Lyndhurst’s Lord &
Burnham greenhouses. Info: 646-303-1448 or skelsey@aqueduct.org.
June 8, Saturday Afternoon – Meandering among the Historic Millionaires’ Mansions Walk - CoSponsored by the Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct and Discover the Rivertowns. As part of the
Governor’s Path through History, meet at 2:30 pm at Irvington’s Town Hall (85 Main Street, less than
½ mile from the Irvington station on MetroNorth’s Hudson Line - free parking). Walk north on the Old
Croton Aqueduct trail (which intersects Main Street) to Lyndhurst and back and admire architectural
landmarks, including the remains of a Lord & Burnham conservatory, and Hudson River views, while
learning the history of the Old Croton Aqueduct. Along the way, we will discuss the history of the
mansions lining that portion of the trail. On the return trip, you might stop to tour Jay Gould’s
Lyndhurst or Washington Irving’s Sunnyside mansion (paid guided tours are available at both). When
you return to Main Street, if you would like to see more, you may choose to continue your walk south
(and back) to view more historic mansions. On Saturday morning, you may wish to join the tour of
Lord & Burnham (greenhouses & conservatories) and Tiffany (stained glass), designers to the
Millionaires of the Gilded Age, which begins at the Irvington Public Library at 12 South Astor Street,
directly east of the Irvington Train Station, at 10:30 am. Information: Sara Kelsey at 646-303-1448 or
skelsey@aqueduct.org.
June 9, Sunday -- Croton Reservoir and Dam Hike (see description for June 2nd – same time & place,
and contact person, Tom Tarnowsky, (914) 862-4207, ttarnowsky@aqueduct.org.
June 22, Saturday – Croton Reservoir -- Joint hike with the Westchester Trails Association (WTA). 5
miles, easy. Hike along the southern edge of the Croton Reservoir on mostly dirt watershed roads
from the dam to the gatehouse and back. As we proceed along the shoreline in a rustic watershed
area to the site of the original 1842 dam, now submerged at the current gatehouse, we will learn
about the engineering features and remaining structures of the Old and the New Croton Dams. Meet
at 11 am at the Croton-on-Hudson Library parking lot (171 Cleveland Drive). Directions to library
parking lot: Take Rt. 129 in Croton-on-Hudson (a/k/a Maple St.) to Albany Post Road in Upper Village.
Turn east onto Albany Post Rd. Go 1/4 mile past the high school and cemetery. Make left onto
Cleveland Dr. at flag monument. Library is on the left 200 yards. Library is approx. 1 mile south of
dam. Co-leaders, Tom Tarnowsky, (914) 862-4207, tom.tarnowsky@aqueduct.org and Sara Kelsey
(646) 303-1448, saraakelsey@gmail.com.