Riverside Park South

It's been quite some time since we visited Riverside Park for this blog, and we never actually hit the section called Riverside Park South. It has been developed quite a bit in recent years anyway, in parallel with neighborhoods on Midtown's western fringe.

Hudson River Park hits its northernmost border at 59th Street or thereabouts. Walk past the huge Sanitation Department pier at 59th and you enter Riverside Park South.

Looking south at the sanitation pier

Several blocks further north, Mrs. Odyssey takes a break.

Looking north along Riverside Park South
Looking north along Riverside Park South

Public art stands out in this landscape, including two new sculptures.

"Life Dance" by Susan Markowitz Meredith

The next photo, of Helen Draves' Hope, doesn't do the ugly thing full justice because you can't see the birds evolving from the small surgical masks that comprise the monstrous giant surgical mask. (There's a better photo at the link in the previous paragraph.) Not surprisingly, the piece is a reflection on the pandemic.

"Hope" by Helen Draves

The most striking piece of public art here is Private Passage, a giant wine bottle laid on its side. Inside is a representation of a stateroom from the Queen Mary.

In the background you can see the equally striking, pyramidal Via 57 West development.

Generally speaking, though, I find the hand of humankind can't match the aesthetic splendor of nature. (Not that this gigantic willow tree wasn't planted by human hands, but you get the point.)

Another majestic willow view shows another side of the conundrum that is New York City today. In this shot you see evidence of the terrible homeless problem we're experiencing in the era of Mayor Eric Adams and the migrant crisis.

On a more positive note, I love when waterfront designers build walkways over the river.

This one reminds me of West Harlem Piers Park, further north along the very same riverside.

But then, as everywhere along the more than 500 miles (!) of New York City waterfront, we also see remains of what went before.

Something else that went before – and now has come to a complete stop – is a retired 60-year-old locomotive, the focus of a play area within the park. It's being refurbished and almost completely obscured at present, so I have no photo, but you can have a peek via Atlas Obscura.

And so Mrs. Odyssey and friends say goodbye for now from from Riverside Park South.

All photos © Oren Hope