Y O N K E R S LOOKING DOWNRIVER, the New York skyline is still clearly visible from the Yonkers waterfront. A large enough city in its own right, Yonkers is today southernmost of Westchester County's old river towns. Though it is now almost completely engulfed in dense urban development spilling over from New York City, until the twentieth century Yonkers was surrounded by expansive tracts of rural farmland.
"Click on image to enlarge." Yonkers has a reputation for being plagued by more than its share of crime and rough neighborhoods. But this city has a good side, all too overlooked. Its center, overlooking the Hudson and Palisades, is home to all variety of handsome and historic buildings that make for some of the most attractive streetscapes on the river. These range from the seventeenth century Philipse Manor Hall, a State Historic Site open to the public, to the New York Central Railroad Station, designed by Warren and Wetmore, one of two architectural firms responsible for Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.
Just north of downtown Yonkers stands what may be the Hudson's most remarkable ruin, designed by the other architects of Grand Central. © T.E. Rinaldi, 2006
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