Riverside South

The 56-acre 60th Street Railyard represented one of the last large tracts of undeveloped land on Manhattan and, as such, attracted numerous proposals for redevelopment over the years:

In 1962 the New York Central Railroad proposed Penn Yards, a a mixed-use development on a platform over the yard.
In 1974 Donald Trump's involvement began when he purchased a $10 million option on the property for an apartment complex in one of his first major transactions. That project collapsed when the proposed public financing fell through.
In 1981 an Argentinian developer purchased the property and proposed Lincoln West. That project fell through when the developer went bankrupt.
In 1985 Trump purchased the site for $100 million in a partnership with Abe Hirshfeld. In 1987 he proposed Television City, which would include a new headquarters for NBC along with residential buildings and a massive 152-story tower. That steroidal proposal was shot down by community opposition and a decision by NBC to stay in Rockefeller Center. A subsequent downsizing also failed to satisfy critics.
In 1989, a group of civic organizations proposed Riverside South, a residential community that would reserve half of the site for a public park. Since he couldn't beat 'em, Trump decided to join 'em and the project was approved in 1992, despite continuing community opposition. Trump's financial troubles in the early 1990's forced him to sell to a group of investors, delaying start of the project until 1997. Although the project ultimately ended up in the hands of the Carlyle Group and Trump was no longer directly involved, his name remains on the development under the moniker "Trump Place".

9/10/2008 06:54 PM
Riverside South viewed from New Jersey at sundown

Riverside Park South

A long, inclined path and a stairway lead from Riverside Boulevard down to the old pier area that became Riverside Park South.

9/1/2008 01:12 PM
Riverside Park South entrance

9/2/2001 07:33 AM
Path from park up to Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:11 PM
Riverside Park South, Miller Highway

West 70th Street, Freedom Place

Lincoln Towers was a massive "Tower in the Park" urban renewal project completed in 1964. Freedom Place ran along the hill above the railyard between West 70th and West 66th Streets. With the building of Riverside South on fill on the east side of the railyard, Freedom Place became a pleasant retail thoroughfare, although the eastern Lincoln Towers side still presents a forbidding wall to the street typical of that era's construction.

9/1/2008 12:57 PM
Lincoln Towers along West End Avenue

9/2/2001 01:22 PM
West 70th Street

9/1/2008 12:58 PM
West 70th Street - 220 and 200 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 12:58 PM
315 West 70th Street

9/1/2008 12:59 PM
315 West 70th Street

9/2/2001 07:39 AM
160 Riverside Boulevard / Freedom Place

9/1/2008 01:16 PM
Freedom Place looking north from West 66th Street

9/1/2008 01:17 PM
140 - 240 Riverside Boulevard along Freedom Place

9/1/2008 01:09 PM
200 Riverside Boulevard retail along Freedom Place

9/1/2008 01:17 PM
Freedom Place at 66th Street

240 Riverside Boulevard - The Heritage

9/1/2008 01:05 PM
240 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:06 PM
240 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:07 PM
Riverside Boulevard, Sidewalk, Miller Highway

West 71st Street

West 71st Street used to be a quiet residential street of older walkups and apartment buildings that dead ended at the Miller Highway. The road was extended west to Riverside Boulevard when 240 RSB was built, although movable barrier poles prevent it from becoming a noisy through street into Riverside South.

9/2/2001 01:20 PM
West 71st Street dead end

9/1/2008 01:04 PM
Thru vehicle barrier on West 71st Street

9/1/2008 01:05 PM
353 West 71st Street

9/1/2008 01:04 PM
Older buildings on West 71st Street

220 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:01 PM
220 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:02 PM
220 Riverside Boulevard

200 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:10 PM
200 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:00 PM
200 Riverside Boulevard

180 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:12 PM
180 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:00 PM
180 and 200 Riverside Boulevard along Freedom Place

9/1/2008 01:09 PM
180 and 200 Riverside Boulevard

3/13/2004 04:44 PM
220, 200 and 180 Riverside Boulevard over the old railyard float bridge gantry

160 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:13 PM
160 Riverside Boulevard

9/2/2001 06:48 AM
160, 180 and 200 Riverside Boulevard

140 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:14 PM
140 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:17 PM
140 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:16 PM
140 - 240 Riverside Boulevard

120 Riverside Boulevard

ABC-TV has a studio on West 66th Street that predates Riverside South and that used to have a nice view of the railyard. 120 Riverside Boulevard took care of that.

9/1/2008 01:19 PM
120 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:15 PM
West 66th Street between 140 and 120 Riverside Boulevard

9/2/2001 06:54 AM
ABC Studio - now behind 120 Riverside Boulevard

9/2/2001 07:38 AM
Railyard Preparation for 120 Riverside Boulevard

9/2/2001 06:55 AM
Railyard preparation for 120 Riverside Boulevard

100 Riverside Boulevard - The Avery

11/17/2006 03:19 PM
100 Riverside Boulevard under construction

9/1/2008 01:20 PM
100 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:29 PM
100 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:22 PM
No Trespassing on the embankment

80 Riverside Boulevard - The Rushmore

10/19/2007 11:40 AM
80 Riverside Boulevard under construction

10/19/2007 11:41 AM
80 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:20 PM
80 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:21 PM
80 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:27 PM
80 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:29 PM
80 Riverside Boulevard

9/1/2008 01:22 PM
No Tresspassing

West End Avenue

The west side of West End Avenue between 70th and 66th Streets is occupied by Lincoln Towers. Although new buildings between 66th and 59th Streets and between West End Avenue and the railyard cropped up around the same time as the Riverside South behind them to the west, I'm not sure they are technically part of the Riverside South Development.