 Tappan Zee Bridge after construction; aerial view of middle span across the Hudson River between Westchester and Rockland counties, c. 1960. Local History Collection, Irvington Public Library. On December 15, 1955, the newly constructed Tappan Zee Bridge opened to the public. Construction began in 1952 and the bridge took 45 months to complete. It connected Nyack, NY in Rockland County on the west side of the Hudson River, and Tarrytown, NY in Westchester County on the east side of the river. It was part of a larger project constructing the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway - one of the oldest interstate highway systems in the country and the longest toll road in the nation. Watch the film below, created in the 1950s and held by the New York State Archives, about the construction and opening of the bridge. The film features lots of historic footage of how construction battled and depended on water. The bridge opening was typical of many mid-20th century construction projects, featuring honored dignitaries giving speeches and throngs of people crowding to see and experience the new bridge first-hand.  December 15, 1955 South Nyack Celebration opening of the Thomas E. Dewey Thruway. Crowds gathered on a cold December 15, 1955 for the official opening of the Tappan Zee Bridge. There are flags, a color guard, and a band. Cameramen stand atop cars, surrounded by hundreds of spectators. Many cars and a bus are in line in the eastbound lane, ready to drive across the bridge. The bridge was named Tappan Zee after the Tappan tribe of Native Americans who once lived in the area - and for the Dutch zee, an open expanse of water. Later in 1994, the bridge would be renamed Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge in honor of the former governor. Photo by Dorothy Crawford, 1955. Nyack Public Library Local History Collection. The construction of the bridge dramatically changed the two communities it connected, both physically and demographically. Over 100 homes were removed or relocated via eminent domain in Nyack to make room for the Thruway and bridge, despite stiff opposition to the plan. Once the highway and the bridge were completed, both Nyack and Tarrytown, as well as neighboring communities, boomed with commuters and others seeking less expensive housing still within driving distance of New York City. To learn more about the controversies leading up to the construction of the bridge, a historical timeline, the architecture of the bridge, first-person accounts, and more, check out this online exhibit. The old Tappan Zee bridge was replaced with a new bridge and gradually demolished. Demolition was completed and the new bridge fully opened in 2018. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
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 Editor's Note: This story is from the October 5, 1889 issue of Harper's Weekly. The tone of the article reflects the time period in which it was written. "A Barge Party - On our next page we have a view of a merry party enjoying a moonlight row on the Hudson River. The barge belongs to the Nyack Rowing Association. The scene is that wide and beautiful expanse of the Hudson which our Dutch ancestors named the Tappan Zee. It lies between Tarrytown and Nyack, and although not beyond the reach of tide-water and subject to the current, it still possesses the attraction of a calm and beautiful lake. Viewed from certain points it loses the impression of a river altogether, and seems a fair and beautiful sheet of water locked in by towering hills. The light-house in the centre of the picture is known as the Tarrytown Bay Light. On the left lies Kingsland Island, and in the background we have the village of Tarrytown, adorned with its gleaming electric lights. These rowing parties are a source of keen delight to the lady friends of the members of each association. So far the clubs had not yielded sufficiently to the spirit of the age to admit lady members, and if any one connected with the association desires to give his fair friends an outing, he must engage the barge beforehand and make it a special event. As a general thing it is required that some member of the club shall act as coxswain; this to assure safety to the previous craft. The party may then be made up in accordance with the fancy of the gentleman who acts as host. Most of the associations have very attractive club-houses, where, after the pleasure of rowing has begun to pall, parties can assemble, have supper, and if there are lady guests sufficient, enjoy a dance. The club-house of the Nyack Association is a very attractive structure, built over the water, and forms a pleasant feature in the landscape. The members of these clubs are not heavily taxed, their dues scarcely amounting to more than $25 or $50 per year, yet their club-houses are daintily furnished, their boats of the best and finest build, and all their appurtenances of a superior order. So much can be done by combination. In our glorious Hudson River we have a stream that the world cannot rival, so wonderful is its picturesque loveliness. High upon the walls of the Governor’s Room in the New York City Hall is a dingy painting of a broad-headed, short-haired, sparsely bearded man, with an enormous ruff about his neck, and wearing otherwise the costume of the days of King James the First of England. Who painted it nobody knows, but all are well aware that it is the portrait of one Hendrik Hudson, who “on a May-day morning knelt in the church of St. Ethelburga, Amsterdam, and partook of the sacrament, and soon after left the Thames for circumpolar waters.” It was on the 11th of September, 1609, that this same mariner passed through a narrow strait on an almost unknown continent, and entered upon a broad stream where “the indescribable beauty of the virgin land through which he was passing filled his heart and mind with exquisite pleasure.” The annually increasing army of tourists and pleasure seekers, which begin their campaign every spring and continue their march until late in the autumn, sending every year a stronger corps of observation into these enchanted lands, all agree with Hendrik Hudson. Certainly it only remains for tradition to weave its romances, and for a few of our more gifted poets and story-tellers to guild with their imagination these wonderful hills and valleys, these sunny slopes and fairy coves and inlets, to make for us an enchanted land that shall rival the heights where the spectre of the Brocken dwells, or any other elf-inhabited spot in Europe. AuthorThank you to HRMM volunteer George Thompson, retired New York University reference librarian, for sharing these glimpses into early life in the Hudson Valley. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
Editor’s note: Twenty years ago, four friends with an abiding love of the Hudson River and its history stepped away from their families and their work to travel up the river in a homemade strip-planked canoe to experience the river on its most intimate terms. The team set off from Liberty State Park in New Jersey and completed the adventure nine days later just below Albany where one of the paddlers lived. They began with no itinerary and no pre-arranged lodging or shore support. There were no cell phones. The journey deepened their appreciation for the river and its many moods, the people who live and work beside the river and the importance of friendship in sustaining our lives. Please join us vicariously on this excellent adventure. We'll be posting every Friday for the next several weeks, so stay tuned! Follow the adventure here. TuesdayThe Palisades The sun came up over Spuyten Duyvil at 6:30 with wind from the north and a low tide. We had a nice view of the campanile at the Cloisters and we strained to see flags on the east shore of the river in hopes of seeing any deviation from the north wind. The waves moderated somewhat since last night. Joe, the most senior member of our party, was an architect. Yesterday, he applied his skills to site and arrange our camp so that it would stay together in the wind and keep us dry. Joe was a thoughtful and spiritual man, active in community organizations including a youth organization and the Unitarian Church. He grew up in a tough part of New York and is grateful for the educational opportunity he received at Cooper Union. Joe cared about fresh food and good cooking and seemed dismayed by the way the others among us provisioned this trip. He winced as Steve and I prepared a bountiful “Beneficent Beach” breakfast consisting of apple-cinnamon oatmeal, instant coffee and stale bagels left over from Sunday.  Campsite at "Beneficent Beach." Illustration by Muddy Paddle. We broke camp at 8:00 AM and launched the Bear at 8:30, hoping to benefit somewhat from the flood tide. We hugged the west shore in hopes of minimizing the wind which had moderated but was still blowing at 10-15 mph. The stone bulkhead continued along the shore. Soon, we passed the ruins of an abandoned stone park pavilion and entered an entirely wild shoreline inhabited by kingfishers, buzzards and other circling raptors. We reached the marina at Alpine at 10:30 and rested briefly before continuing north into what felt like the uninhabited reaches of a different continent. The Palisades inspire awe at close range. Huge chunks of rock cantilever outward from the cliff face; chimney rocks stand free to towering heights; tortured trees cling to seams and crevices, broken talus slopes tumble down to the river. Parts of the Palisades resemble cliff dwellings in the Southwest. Other stretches seem to recall scenes from Indiana Jones’ “Temple of Doom.” Breathtaking opportunities for drawing and painting abound. Was Thomas Cole or the Hudson River School artists who followed him familiar with these scenes? Paddling quietly in the lee of the red cliffs and dwarfed by their scale, one imagines being far from civilization in a very exotic corner of the planet. As we paddled further north, we began looking for the ruins of Tonetti Gardens, a romantic riverside folly described to us and recommended by Steve’s son roughly west of Hastings-on-Hudson. We were told to look for several columns which lay fallen into the river. We imagined it might serve well as a campsite. After several false sightings, Joe discovered the stucco columns just after noon. We located a landing and went ashore. The isolated site looked ideal for camping, so we began unpacking and hauling the Bear up past the high tide mark. We found picturesque stone walls, arched niches, stone staircases, an enchanting waterfall and the remains of what had once been a reflection pond. The columns belonged to what had once been a tea house with a brick paved floor perched on a projection above the river with nice views. We decided to call this place “Roger’s Rest” after Steve’s son. We made sandwiches and bathed in the waterfall. Joe and I sketched the ruins while Steve and Dan climbed to the top of the waterfall. Steve detected a slight shift in the wind. There seemed to be a slight breeze coming in lightly from the southeast. We seized the opportunity to roll up some welcome miles under sail and were on our way north again at 3:00 PM.  Roger's Rest. Illustration by Muddy Paddle. The Tappan Zee and Haverstraw Bay Despite the ebb tide, we were successful in moving north with a combination of sail and paddles. We quickly reached the end of the Piermont Pier, a possible campsite if we were forced to retreat, and we said hello to a few friendly local fishermen. We set our course for the Tappan Zee Bridge and passed beneath it at 4:00 PM. The Tappan Zee widened before us. The south wind strengthened but its benefit was neutralized by the increasing ebb tide. Nevertheless, we worked hard and made good progress north. At one point, we feared that Washington Irving’s apparition-like storm ship was sailing our way, but it turned out to be a navigational tower rising from the site of the long gone Rockland Lake lighthouse. We came abreast of Croton Point at 6:00 and gave some consideration to camping there for the night. But the south wind tempted us to continue. We pressed on in spite of a nagging hesitation. We were hoping to cross Haverstraw Bay and camp somewhere near Verplanck. Haverstraw Bay has been a formidable adversary on previous canoe trips so we were well-warned. As soon as we passed Croton Point, the wind weakened and the ebb tide strengthened. We began to notice that even as we were moving through the water swiftly, landmarks on the shore barely moved. We experienced a magnificent sunset with a mackerel sky from the center of the bay and steeled ourselves to dig deeper and paddle harder. Concerned with our visibility to nighttime traffic, we lit our camp light and lashed it to the top of our mast. It illuminated our sail and blinded all but our bow paddler. As a result, those of us behind the sail frequently “caught crabs,” unable to see approaching waves. We spotted a lighted factory chimney at Stony Point and the flashing utility towers carrying cables across the river there but it took hours to get closer. By the time we were near Verplanck, there was bright glare from the lights at the gypsum plant at Stony Point but the east shore was so dark that we couldn’t really see where to go. We felt our way to a boat yard that had offered assistance in the past and tied up at 9:30. We went to the owner’s home and asked him if we could stay. After giving us the business for rudely awakening him, he ordered three pizzas, a case of soda and gave us the keys to his car so we could pick the order up. He set us up for the night in one of his buildings and we collapsed at 11:00 PM. In our experience, river people are unfailingly helpful and generous to those who are humble in asking for help. Don't forget to join us again next Friday for Day 4 of the trip! AuthorMuddy Paddle’s love of the Hudson River goes back to childhood when he brought dead fish home, boarded foreign freighters to learn how they operated and wandered along the river shore in search of the river’s history. He has traveled the river often, aboard tugboats, sailing vessels large and small and canoes. The account of this trip was kept in a small illustrated journal kept dry within a sealed plastic bag. The illustrations accompanying this account were prepared by the author. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
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