Seaman-Drake Arch Struggles On

Do you recognize the Seaman-Drake Arch depicted in the circa 1907 photo at right? It's located in the Inwood section of Manhattan -- from which the Inwood Journal derives its name -- on Broadway between 214th St and 218th St, just north of the 215th step-street. It used to guard the entrance to a long driveway which curled up to the Seaman, later Drake, estate perched atop the hill bounded by present-day 215th St on the South, 218th St on the North, between Park Terrace East and Park Terrace West. Outfitted with iron gates -- parts of the hardware still exist -- it has windows upstairs which suggest that the gatekeeper had quarters in the arch.

Old Arch: New Photo.  Ironically for me, the Seaman-Drake estate was raised to make room for the apartment buildings that morphed into the Park Terrace Gardens cooperative -- the coop in which we had our office until moving to White Plains several years ago. That's why Janet sent the 1907 photo, wondering if I recalled seeing the arch. Although I remembered seeing it as part of or behind an automotive shop, I resolved to freshen the memory on my next trip to Inwood. I took the photo above a few weeks ago from pretty much the same vantage point used by the 1907 photographer. Of course, his photo took several minutes; mine was done in a few digital milliseconds.

Not a Cathedral: Not Restored.  According to a history of the arch in Washington Heights & Inwood Online, it was constructed of local marble from a vein that stretches up to Tuckahoe, New York, and which was also used for Saint Patrick's Cathedral downtown. Although defaced by graffiti and beginning to deteriorate, the arch, which was erected around 1855, is still in better than fair condition. You can see it peeking out from behind a transmission shop in the head-on view above. As the Seaman-Drake Arch entry in Erin O'Brien's fshk blog tells, the big issue surrounding the arch today is its preservation. Acid rain and pollution have taken their toll on the marble of both the 1855 arch and the 1858 cathedral, but St. Pat's exterior was restored during the tenure of Cardinal Spellman (1939-1967).

Tough Luck Arch.  The Seaman-Drake arch is a textbook case of tough luck, when it comes to preservation. It's not in a designated historic district, it doesn't have landmark status, and worst of all, it's privately owned. It's escaped the wrecking crew for 150 years -- hey, it's having a big birthday this year -- because after it outlived it's original usefulness around 1912, it was never really in the way. Of course, that might change when the neighborhood changes, although serious gentrification seems unlikely at the moment. Broadway and 10th Ave between 215 and 218th Streets today is home to assorted automotive shops, garages, filling stations, and a pub, as well as parking, offices, and retail stores supporting several large livery car services.

The Seaman-Drake arch, unlike its kindred cathedral, is not architecturally distinguished. Its history, while interesting, is not pivotal. Its owner has no governmental regulation or support making restoration or even maintenance necessary or worthwhile. There are no tourists camped on the sidewalk mornings waiting for it to open. Like so many other historic spots in New York City it begs the question: It's nice, but is it worth keeping? What do you think?

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