A Different Definition of Speed

I’ve mentioned the “Speedway” a few times in passing. It was a pleasure drive along the Harlem River, meant to provide a place for people with horses and horse carriages – i.e., the upper middle class and the wealthy – to have fun. There was nothing inherently terrible about that, since that land in Upper Manhattan wasn’t being used for anything else: the Polo Grounds was built nearby because land that far north was cheap and underused. To give a sense of its use, here’s a parade and racing from 1904:

And a parade from roughly the same time:

The rules of the road at its opening in 1898 stated that it was for the use of horses and horse-drawn passenger carriages, excluding bicyclists, drays, and sulkies. (The definition of a sulky specifically includes that it has two wheels, but the carriage driven by Miss Nina Phelps of Watervliet is about as sulky-like as a four-wheeled carriage can get.) That kind of exclusivity, and the dependence on horses for leisure activities, wasn’t going to survive the modern world. Cars weer allowed in 1919, the road was paved in 1922, and it was connected to the highway system piecemeal starting in 1939. Anyone with a car can now go on the Harlem River Drive; sulkies, drays, and bicyclists are still prohibited.

Finally: note the nice view of High Bridge and a partial view of the Washington Bridge behind it.