steel-arched bridge. Keepers’ Houses The Old Croton Aqueduct was subdivided into regions, each of which was assigned a 28 Top: New Croton Dam Bottom: 135th Street Gatehouse Pumping Stations Pumping stations were usually constructed adjacent to water towers, as an essential mechanism for pumping water to high-elevation areas. These stations included engines that were capable of pumping approximately ten- to twelve-million gallons of water each day. As demand for Croton water grew, so did the need for additional pumping stations south of the High Bridge Tower. Reservoirs Reservoirs collected and stored the millions of gallons of water that were conducted by the Aqueducts. There were three major types of reservoirs utilized in the Croton system. First were reservoirs located in Westchester and Putnam counties, which were dammed water sources that provided the Aqueduct conduits with their initial supply of water. Second were the receiving reservoirs, which were intermediate reservoirs located downstream that Typologies Parks Parks were a crucial beautification and tourism feature of the Croton Waterworks, providing a way for people to interact with the system. Multiple parks lined the Waterworks, offering a buffer between the protected water and the communities it passed through. Parks such as Highbridge Park point to the tourism component of the Croton system, reminding us that people would visit parts of the system for pleasure. Fountains Fountains built for the Croton Waterworks could be both functional and symbolic. Some fountains provided drinking water for people, horses, dogs, and cats at a time when horses were still one of the main forms of transport in New York City. Other fountains were largely symbolic, embodying the purpose of the Croton Waterworks: to provide the people of New York City with ample fresh water. Gatehouses Gatehouses are some of the largest structures built for the Croton Waterworks, aside from reservoirs. In addition to visually marking the paths of the Aqueducts, gatehouses provided access to the underground conduit pipes. This would enable workers to be able to regulate the flow of Croton water more easily. The gatehouses were constructed primarily of dolomitic limestone in a fortress style. Section 1: Introduction caretaker. These caretakers lived in keepers’ houses, fairly modest structures built in the Italianate style, which was popular during their period of construction in the 1840s and 1850s. The keeper’s house at Dobbs Ferry—a brick structure—is the only extant example of this typology. Top: Keeper’s House at Dobbs Ferry Bottom: Central Park Reservoir (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir) 29 Siphons Siphons were a crucial engineering technique used in the Croton Waterworks. A siphon occurs when liquid flows uphill then downhill again on an upside-down, U-shaped trajectory. The falling liquid at the top of the U pushes the liquid in front of it uphill to continue flowing on the other side. One of the great advancements of the New Croton Aqueduct was its use of inverted siphons. Inverted siphons are right-side-up, U-shaped pipes in which the water flowing down the U pushes the water up on the other side. 30 Above: Ventilator along the Old Croton Aqueduct’s path Water Towers The Old Croton Aqueduct’s first water tower, built on the Manhattan end of the High Bridge in 1845, was constructed to address issues of water availability in northern Manhattan. These locations, often at higher elevations than other portions of the city, could not be fed by the simple gravity fed system. To solve this issue, water towers would serve as booster towers, supplying enough water pressure to reach additional neighborhoods. Typologies Shafts Shafts are a building typology introduced to the New Croton Aqueduct conduit. These structures filled the niche of the Old Croton Aqueduct’s ventilators in providing circulation to the water underneath. More importantly, they also provided access for workers to the underground conduit so that repairs could be made. These shafts were built as some of the few visible structures of the New Croton Aqueduct, and they stood as prominent markers for the system. They were often embellished with architectural ornamentation, such as cornices, in order to highlight the water system they represented. Section 1: Introduction Ventilators Ventilators are chimney-like structures, ranging between approximately fourteen and twenty feet in height, that were built along the path of the Old Croton Aqueduct’s conduit. They were designed to relieve the buildup of potentially destructive pressure within the tunnels, and to allow the precious water to breathe. Ventilators were placed roughly every mile for thirty-three miles along the Aqueduct, and every third one included a door allowing servicemen to access the conduit. The majority of these ventilators still exist in Westchester County, while very few seem to have been built throughout the Bronx and Manhattan. Ventilators were often constructed to resemble castle turrets and would have been important local landmarks. However, many variations exist between ventilators. could offer an emergency supply of water