We visited the High Bridge, which was recently reopened after 40 years and a $61.8 million restoration, for our first Public Space Potluck of the season on July 29. We learned about the project's development in detail and met many new Design Trust friends. Not to mention all that delicious food everyone so kindly brought to share! Thank you so much!

Free and open to all, our popular Public Space Potlucks gather urban enthusiasts of all ages and backgrounds together for a shared meal, temporarily transforming New York City’s public space into a communal dining room.

Our dining room this time was the Highbridge Park. We came a bit early to set up the meeting area right behind the public pool, looking over to the High Bridge, the city's oldest standing bridge. We found shelter under cooling canopies of deep green beneath the brazen July sun. Public space enthusiasts started arriving shortly, each uncovering a tupperware to can't-wait-to-taste looks.

It was truly a feast. The divine barbecue ribs prepared by Charles McKinney, and Lourdes Rodriguez's hearty cazuela of couscous set the tone for our food-coma-adjacent evening. Sure enough, we had the long and steep, but picturesque stairs to exercise that connect the park to the High Bridge.

Thanks to Northern Manhattan Parks Administrator Jennifer Hoppa, NYC Parks Principal Urban Designer Charles McKinney, who created the park's master plan, and City Life Is Moving Bodies (CLIMB) Director Lourdes J. Rodriguez, we learned about the behind-the-scenes workings of the Highbridge Park and its rich history.

The sun was going down. It was time to walk over to the High Bridge. On the near horizon was the East River bank of the Bronx side. Nowadays it's densely interlaced with apartment towers and the Major Deegan Expressway. One can only imagine the once majestic sight of rolling hills continuing as far as one could see on both sides of the river, which surely made this such a popular spot for the city dwellers to retreat in the 19th century.

The New York Times writer Lisa W. Foderaro describes:

"It [the High Bridge] was not built to give New Yorkers expansive views of the Harlem River or a pedestrian shortcut between the Bronx and Manhattan. Rather, the monumental structure that is known as the High Bridge and echoes a Roman aqueduct opened in 1848 to bring fresh water from Westchester County to a booming young city.

But the vistas and easy access afforded by the bridge transformed the still-rural stretch of the river into a pleasure ground in the late 1800s. There were regattas, a speedway for horse and carriage races (now the Harlem River Drive), and the 123-foot-tall bridge itself — a parade route for fashionistas of the day."

Nevertheless, what the High Bridge offers today is no less interesting. Keep walking to the center of the bridge and that 'not-so-clear gray cluster' far in the distance on your right side will gradually form into a painterly silhouette of the city.

As the Manhattan borough president Gale A. Brewer said, “This [the High Bridge] is almost the eighth wonder of the world. There really are no words to describe it."

While returning back to our potluck site, the sun was setting. The last bits of sunshine, reflecting off of trees, scattered through the orange haze of the golden hour. I'd be back, I thought.

Stay tuned for our next Public Space Potluck!

Read more about the High Bridge.