Views from Isham and Inwood Hill Park

Archives of the NYC Department of Parks

In 1911, Julia Isham Taylor was inspired to give land for Isham Park in part by its view sheds of the surrounding area.

The most significant in her day was the view to the west to the Hudson River and the New Jersey Palisades beyond.  At that time, the view to the east across the Harlem River also had beautiful new buildings, among them the Gould Memorial Library and the Hall of Fame for Great Americans designed by architect Stanford White.

Recently both views have been in the news.

While the issues outlined in the articles linked below regarding views west to the New Jersey Palisades may not directly effect the view from Isham Park today, they demonstrate the importance of such views especially for Ft. Tryon, the Cloisters, Wave Hill, and even Inwood Hill Park. 

Two articles regarding the view shed from Cloisters to NJ Palisades:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/arts/design/the-cloisters-view-is-threatened-by-lg-electronics-offices.html?_r=0
and
http://www.northjersey.com/englewoodcliffs/Englewood_Cliffs_corporate_tower_plan_under_fire.html?page=all

Meanwhile, the buildings to the east by Stanford White which are today part of the campus of CUNY's Bronx Community College, were recently designated a National Historic Landmark.  The College is the first community college so honored in our country; the effort to designate was lead by the new BCC President, Carole M. Berotte Joseph.  

Bronx Community College designation of Hall of Fame and Gould Memorial Library:
http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/?page=tertiary&p2=Announcements&&p3=Faculty/Staff&&p4=2506
and
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/bronx-community-college-named-national-historic-landmark-article-1.1201244

Please have a look at these two news items and consider them in light of Julia Isham Taylor and her aunt Flora E. Isham's gifts of land, which were originally celebrated on September 28, 1912.