July 14, 2007
Fort Tryon Park is a lovely park overlooking the Hudson River in upper Manhattan. It's in the Washington Heights area, so I took the subway to 190th Street along the west side of the city. At the north end of the park are The Cloisters, the branch of The Met devoted to Medieval European art and architecture, focusing on Romanesque and Gothic periods. You might wonder what possessed me to travel so far to visit a park and museum. I'd seen some photos online last year and was just curious. It proved to be a great afternoon of exploring the grounds and the art.
The subway station at 190th St. is quite a unique structure.
Cool old subway marker
Entrance to Fort Tryon Park
The park runs along the Hudson River and offers views of the Palisades State Park on the New Jersey side.
Just south of the park is the George Washington Bridge, which leads into the New Jersey Turnpike.
Fort Tryon Park boasts rocky landscape and many walking paths.
Steps leading to Linden Terrace
Other side of arch under Linden Terrace
View from one of the highest points in the city, overlooking the Bronx.
Even drivers get a cool view driving into the park.
Park visitors enjoying the day along Cloisters Lawn and the Promenade.
The Cloisters was designed and built as a museum.
It opened in 1938, and its neo-medieval architecture was intended to fit with the art from the Middle Ages.
One of the gardens at The Cloisters
Another lovely garden
Beautiful arches and columns
Stained glass windows
Standing in the Bonnefont Cloister, an herb garden
with over 250 species of plants.
