The “Claremont, New York” in this turn-of-the-century postcard looks like a Hudson River village, doesn’t it? But it’s actually the site of present-day Riverside Drive and 124th Street.
“Upon the high promontory overlooking the Hudson, on the south side of Manhattanville, is Jones’ Claremont Hotel,” states an 1866 Hudson River guidebook.
“[It’s] a fashionable place of resort for the pleasure-seekers who frequent the Bloomingdale and Kingsbridge roads on pleasant afternoons.”
Originally built as a country estate around 1780, it became a roadside tavern by 1860, a favorite of horsemen, cyclists, and drivers and frequented by wealthy families and celebs of the day, such as Admirable Dewey and Lillian Russell.
Battered by Prohibition and the Depression, the Claremont burned in a mysterious fire in 1951.
The city didn’t completely forget about this remnant of old Manhattanville; a plaque exists in Riverside Park (above), marking the spot where this Hudson River estate turned popular tavern entertained countless New Yorkers.
[Tablet photo from the New York City Parks Department]
Tags: Claremont Inn, Hudson River estate, Lillian Russell New York, Manhattanville, New York City taverns, New York in the 1860s, Old New York City, old New York taverns, Riverside Drive, Riverside Park tablet
Ephemeral New York 
October 15, 2011 at 4:14 am |
A very appealing post. I like to think of the old estate/tavern, and I also like that even the historical marker seems a bit weathered.
March 29, 2014 at 6:15 am |
[…] Today, there’s no evidence of the Claremont Inn, which once sat at 124th Street and Riverside Drive. There is a Parks Department plaque, though, detailing its history: first as a residence dating to […]
May 22, 2019 at 8:44 pm |
There is a painting of the Claremont painted circa 1855 which should be at the Metropolitan museum of art.
December 27, 2019 at 5:51 pm |
I always wonder if the proposed entrance / exit ramp from Riverside Drive above to the West Side Highway below influenced the “mysterious” fire that had the building scrapped, as Moses oversaw the parkland both were built on.
September 27, 2021 at 2:27 am |
[…] drive alongside it, then called Riverside Avenue, was to be a peaceful carriage road leading to the 18th century inn known as Claremont at 124th Street and […]
September 27, 2021 at 8:12 pm |
My great-grandparents went to the Claremont Inn on dates and were at the dedication of Grant’s Tomb. He was a Civil War veteran.
October 1, 2021 at 5:31 am |
[…] alongside it, then called Riverside Avenue, was to be a peaceful carriage road leading to the 18th century inn known as Claremont at 124th Street and […]