Van Cortland Park

Pedestals of Lost Gods

These things in Van Cortland Park completely mystified me. They seemed to have no structural purpose, had been there for years, and didn’t seem to be intentional art. I told my pal, Lipbone Redding, a Bronx resident and my trail guide for the day, that all I had to do to find out what this was all about was to post the photo on Flickr.

view profile drewbic says: Before constructing the new Grand Central Terminal , the New York Central Railroad set up thirteen pillars made of different stone alongside the Putnam Division tracks. After comparative evaluation, one particular type of stone was chosen for use in Grand Central.

weird, eh?

Old Croton Lipbone

The Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. We started out on this but also intersected with the John Muir trail and the John Kieran Nature Trail, and briefly over the border in Westchester, the well maintained North/South County Trailways.

Abandoned Train Staion

Putnam Division Railroad 1881 - 1958

All along the trail you can find very closely placed railroad ties, maybe placed there as a plank road.

Geese


There were many geese in the park. I’m not sure if they are just visiting or permanent residents.

Flock of Geese


It looks like we are in the wilderness but the sound of one highway or another was always in the background.

Van Cortland Lake Waterfalls and Lipbone


Van Cortland Lake an artificial lake. The location of an old saw mill.

Comments (5)

  1. w o w !

    Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 4:44 am #
  2. Love this

    Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 8:11 am #
  3. Before constructing the new Grand Central Terminal , the New York Central Railroad set up thirteen pillars made of different stone alongside the Putnam Division tracks. After comparative evaluation, one particular type of stone was chosen for use in Grand Central.

    weird, eh?

    Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 9:37 am #
  4. Wow. that is amazing! I was totally mystified, they didn’t seem to fill any likely function. Thanks, drewbic.

    Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 9:48 am #
  5. payaso wrote:

    Great description. Next time Lipbone’s your guide for a hike of the wilds of the outer Bronx, let me know and I’m there.

    Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 11:11 pm #

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