The Croton Waterworks A Guide to the Preservation and Interpretation of Historic Infrastructure Historic Preservation Studio II, Spring 2011 Columbia University GSAPP The Croton Waterworks A Guide to the Preservation and Interpretation of Historic Infrastructure Historic Preservation Studio II, Spring 2011 Advisor: Liz McEnaney Students: Jørgen Cleemann Jennifer Frazer Michael Frigand Ayana John Andrew Maziarski Sarah Morrison Jessica Ouwerkerk Julie Rosen Kaity Ryan Rebecca Salgado Tatum Taylor Kenisha Thomas Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Contents Acknowledgments Mission Statement XX XX XX XX XX Section 1: Introduction to the Croton Waterworks Preservation of Historic Infrastructure History of the Croton Waterworks How the Croton System Works Time Line Typologies XX XX XX XX XX Section 2: Preservation Statement of Significance PreservationChallenges Designations and Protections Charters and Declarations Preservation Plan/Guidelines Section 3: Interpretation XX Interpretation of the Croton Waterworks XX Considerations and Challenges XX Documentation, Analysis, and Methodology of Existing Interpretation XX Proposed Interpretation by Typology XX Holistic Digital Interpretation Methods XX Website and Forum XX Smartphone Application XX QR Codes XX Additional Digital Media XX Holistic Signage Interpretation XX Signage Design Guidelines XX Interpretation through Education XX Educational Videos XX Curricular Recommendations XX Oral Histories Section 4: Conclusion XX Introduction XX Key Players XX Possible Funding Sources XX Online Forum Analysis and Conclusions XX Croton Waterworks Website Statistics XX Croton Conversations Statistics XX Glossary XX XX XX XX XX Section 5: Appendix Structure List Atlas Fiches Demographic Maps Proposal for a Croton Congress XX XX Bibliography Image Credits Acknowledgments Mission Statement We are greatly indebted to the many who have generously given encouragement, feedback, advice, ideas, and time to this project. We could not have conducted this study without your help. We would like to say a special thanks to our faculty advisor, Liz McEnaney, for her guidance and unfailing optimism. It is the mission of the Croton Waterworks studio group to conduct in-depth research into the history of the Croton Waterworks system, encompassing the Old and New Croton Aqueducts, and to document the affiliated structures, both existing and demolished. Once documented we will evaluate the significance of these various built components of the Waterworks in order to devise a preservation plan for the system as a whole. By exploring the Waterworks through varying lenses of significance: engineering, architecture, social history and landscape, we will develop a complete study of the Croton system’s relevance today. A study will also be made of existing legal protections for the Waterworks, in order to establish threats to the system. We will then use our data and analysis to devise a system of preservation, focusing most extensively on, but not limited to, interpretive schemes. These strategies will be aimed at a wide variety of audiences and be designed to raise awareness of the crucial role of the Waterworks—and infrastructure in general—in the development, past and present, of New York City and its surrounding environs. They will also complement and augment already existing preservation and interpretive efforts in order to create a holistic approach. More generally we hope to develop a preservation approach that will serve as a model for the preservation of historic infrastructure elsewhere. We would like to acknowledge the following for their contributions: David Abramson, AIA, David V. Abramson and Associates Architects Anne Berman, Nancy Owens Studio Charles Birnbaum, Cultural Landscape Foundation Captain Scott Craven, Ossining Police Department Patricia Cruz, Harlem Stage Joan K. Davidson, J. M. Kaplan Fund Lindsay Dorrance, Columbia University GSAPP Charlotte Fahn, Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct Janet Foster, Columbia University GSAPP Kaitilin Griffin, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation Duncan Hay, National Park Service Meisha Hunter, Li/Saltzman Architects Robert Kornfeld, Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct and Thornton Tomasetti John Krawchuk, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation Roz Li, Li/Saltzman Architects Liz McEnaney, Preservation Consultant and Fitch Foundation Carrie Noteboom, New York City Law Department Carl Oechsner, Author and Educator Eric Peterson, Metropolitan Waterworks Museum and Harvard University Samar Qandil, New York City Department of Environmental Protection Gary Ricci, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation Beryl Rosenthal, Metropolitan Waterworks Museum Gregory Shanck, Harlem Stage Steve Zeitlin, City Lore —The Croton Waterworks studio group, Spring 2011 6 7 Section 1: Introduction to the Croton Waterworks 10 Studying the Croton Waterworks, New York City’s first water system, in a graduate level studio course in historic preservation at Columbia University, required the widening of our preservation lens. The system is complex, spanning multiple decades and building technologies. The Croton Waterworks is a unique and mostly extant combination of a infrastructural system which is partially offline and defunct, and partially adapted to modern use. The Old Croton Aqueduct has been decommissioned, and contains more visible physical markers, while the New Croton Aqueduct is still online and has adapted over time