Take a deep dive into Bronx history on a tour with NYC Department of Environmental Protection’s Director of Education Robin Sanchez and Bronx Urban Park Rangers Sergeant Daniel Tainow and Ranger Michael Whitten.
Jerome Park contains multitudes: a Revolutionary War lookout post, an estate owned by Winston Churchill’s grandfather, the original home of the Belmont Stakes, and the largest body of water in the Bronx. The Jerome Park Reservoir, constructed as the southern terminus of the New Croton Aqueduct system in 1904, covers 94 of the park’s 125 acres. It is still in active use today, and about 10 percent of the city’s drinking water passes through the reservoir daily on its way to New Yorkers’ taps. The parkland surrounding the reservoir offers stellar opportunities for bird watching, jogging, and hiking along the path of the Old Croton Aqueduct, a 41-mile trail stretching into Westchester County. A portion of the Old Croton Aqueduct Walk south of the reservoir was recently designated the first scenic landmark in the Bronx.
This walking tour will bring visitors around the exterior perimeter of the Jerome Park Reservoir and provide a new perspective on the immense infrastructure necessary to provide New Yorkers with clean drinking water.