I was now in Ossining and my feet were hurting. I knew that one of Ossining’s most famous landmarks was only a short walk away. But were my feet up to it. I’d taken pictures of it before, but I hadn’t been happy with them. After deliberating for a while I decided that I’d “give it another go”. It seemed to me that a monochrome picture would be appropriate, and I got these two shots. I’m not happy with these either. Unfortunately, I had to point the camera directly at the sun and this particular camera tends to flare more than I’d like in such circumstances.

“The Double Arch Bridge is located in the Village (sic), of Ossining, New York. Both bridges cross the Sing Sing Kill (also known as Kill Brook). Like the High Bridge, the upper arch of the Double Arch Bridge carried the Old Croton Aqueduct. Engineer John Bloomfield Jervis had picked up in 1836 where Major David B. Douglass left off, making only small changes to Douglass’ planned route for the aqueduct and designs for the water conduits. However, Jervis left his mark on the various structures located along the route, especially its bridges. He designed the upper arch across the Sing Sing Kill. Construction began in 1839, and the Croton Aqueduct opened in 1842.

The lower bridge is also a masonry arch, and it was initially a private road to a nearby estate. It was built in 1861 and opened the following year. Its plaque names H. Grant as the engineer and B. Foshay as the builder.

The Double Arch Bridge has become the symbol of Ossining; the town uses its image on its official seal, which appears on signs and the town’s website. The lower bridge is open to traffic and carries Broadway under the Aqueduct Bridge and over the Sing Sing Kill.

The bridges are part of Ossining’s downtown historic district. The Croton Aqueduct has been added to the National Register of Historic Places (1974), designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark (1975), and designated as a National Historic Landmark (1992). The Ossining Weir, located near the bridges, is open for guided tours and is the only location along the aqueduct where visitors can see some of the interior of the Old Croton Aqueduct.” (Adapted from: Bridges, NYC to correct a few points and remove outdated information, especially the part describing Sing Sing Kill’s inaccessibility (see next post).

Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.