Preservation

The Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct are committed to preserving the historic structures atop and underneath the trail. The Friends took part in the reopening of the High Bridge and undertook the complete renovation and reopening of the Keeper's House in Dobbs Ferry.

Related Blog Entries

Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct Rescue Vital Aqueduct Machinery from Oblivion

Author:

joannariesman

Post date:

02/06/2024 - 2:54pm

Actuator before restoration

A little more than a year after the Friends of the OCA celebrated the building of the Croton Arch of Triumph in Dobbs Ferry, there’s a new piece of history there to look at. An original actuator from the New Croton Dam has been saved from the scrapheap, refurbished and permanently installed outside the Keeper’s House on Walnut Street.

Reopening of the High Bridge Water Tower

Author:

FOCAAdmin

Post date:

10/28/2021 - 8:11am

Friends Board Members and Advisors Charlotte Fahn, Lesley Yu Walter, President Mavis Cain, Joanna Reisman and Sara Kelsey attended the grand reopening of the High Bridge Tower on October 27, 2021.

The tower had been sealed shut for years and sheathed in scaffolding for part of the time. Now that it's open, guided tours to the top will resume. The New York Daily News called it "a soaring 200-foot 1872 structure that was essential in New York’s rise to global stature."

New Video! Invasives Management on the OCA

Author:

FOCAAdmin

Post date:

08/25/2021 - 8:51am

This summer, Dobbs Ferry resident Felix Warner worked with the Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct to create this video about efforts to manage invasive plants on the Old Croton Aqueduct. Felix is a sophomore at Rochester Institute of Technology.

The Bright Spots of 2020

Author:

FOCAAdmin

Post date:

02/03/2021 - 8:36am

Yes, there were some!

From March 2020 on, the Keeper’s House was closed. No happy faces enjoying our exhibits.

But the trail is different.

There are more walkers than ever before. We were stunned to do a count of map orders in 2020 compared to 2019. Orders were up an astonishing 93%!! The trail tells the tale. It is looking very well used. And well cared for, too.

Croton Dam Inspection

Author:

FOCAAdmin

Post date:

10/11/2020 - 7:43am

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection closed the public walkway atop New Croton Dam for five days earlier this month, creating a safe work zone for an inspection of the dam.

The closure allowed a team of rope-access technicians to rappell down the face of the dam and inspect the stones that were used to build the structure 115 years ago. It was the largest dam in the world when it was completed in 1905.

Help Keep the Park Open!

Author:

FOCAAdmin

Post date:

04/09/2020 - 10:34am

Hello all: we would like to keep the Aqueduct trail park open, but this can only happen with your cooperation. Please observe social distancing rules, or the Park may have to close as has been done in New Jersey.

Before and after reclamation of the Old Croton Aqueduct trail in Tarrytown

“New” Trail Section in Tarrytown: Reclamation Produces Transformation

Author:

Charlotte Fahn

Post date:

03/08/2020 - 9:30am

A parking lot that for more than 50 years has blighted a section of the Old Croton Aqueduct trail in Tarrytown is no more. Thanks to State Parks and the Village of Tarrytown, the parking lot - roughly paved, usually unkempt, and often full – has been replaced by a pristine swath of green, with a delineated path and new plantings.