In the 18th and early 19th centuries, lots of little streams crisscrossed country-like Manhattan island.
This necessitated small pedestrian bridges—at least three of which earned the moniker “kissing bridge” because they were secluded, scenic, and an ideal place for a colonial couple to indulge in a little PDA.
One kissing bridge crossed over the Sawkill Stream near today’s 77th Street and Second Avenue.
A little to the south was another kissing bridge, at present-day 50th Street and Second Avenue. [Illustration at right, NYPL digital collection]
A third could be found near modern-day Park Row. A stream called Wreck Brook meandered close by.
Whenever a man and woman came upon it, “every gallant Knickerbocker was supposed to express his regard for the lady he met there in the manner indicated,” explains a city historian in a New York Times article from May 1900.
Tags: 19th century New York City, Boston Post Road, Colonial New York, kissing bridges, Sawkill Stream, Wreck Brook
September 16, 2010 at 4:03 pm |
thanks!
September 17, 2010 at 3:37 pm |
I find it sad that there’s no trace of these old streams in modern-day NYC — all forced underground and paved over.
November 29, 2011 at 10:40 pm |
Actually, there may be a surviving relic of the Saw kill. It was dammed to create The Lake in Central Park. Yes, but unfortunately, the rest of the creeks have been kissed goodbye.