16 Comments
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Eden's avatar

Wow this issue about Highbridge truly had everything - poor water quality, Poe mention, free pancakes, misspelled signage, tourist stairs, and a "where's Abu Talib". Absolute :chefs-kiss:

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

Thanks Eden! So.many.tangets.

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Blown In's avatar

Abu Talib doesn’t look a day over 50! Eat your greens kids!

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

Or better yet, spend several hours a day working in your garden!

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David Perlmutter's avatar

Blondin and Leslie had balls! It's hard enough for me to picture anyone doing a tightrope walk over any body of water or building, but to be COOKING FOOD on it...

(P.S. I hope the locals don't mind if I borrow the name "Dangerville"- it's a great name for a community that is entirely settled by villains, right up there with Crookston and Thief River Falls in Minnesota).

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

Yeah, they were completely insane. In Leslie's case literally.

think the statute of limitations on Dangerville ran out a long time ago, it's yours.

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Justin Difazzio's avatar

Those photos of the roman aqueducts are UNREAL. Wow. Thank you for sharing those. This whole issue is fascinating, and I appreciate you doing the work to bring it to us.

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

Thanks Justin! Joel’s work is a constant inspiration

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Alon's avatar

An incredible post, Rob. Everything from your photos (and of course Joel's) to the stories you weave together is just wonderful. I love that bridge! I need to come down to the city and do some long exposure photographs of the trains running below it...

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Rich Miller's avatar

Great issue but are you aware that some people claim that the Edgar Allan Poe story is false. Have you investigated that?

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

Why would I let research get in the way of a good story? Seriously though, I had read that there was some doubt about Poe's High Bridge wanderings, mostly attributed to the fact that it was only completed a few months before his death. Still, none other than his ex fiancé, Sarah Helen Whitman, said Poe walked on the aqueduct path "at all times of day and night, often pacing the then solitary pathway for hours without meeting another human being." I imagine the lack of crowds could be attributed to the fact that it wasn't an official walkway yet. Or it could be made up, who knows? At least the pancake tightrope story is true.

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Rob Walker's avatar

Great issue! Loved the audio too, that last bit especially.

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

Thanks! I figured you might be an AratheJay fan.

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SG's avatar

From Croton to Rome ... nice photos by Joel Sternfeld !

Niagra -> Niagara

dare devils -> daredevils

High Bridge -> Highbridge

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Susan Lally's avatar

I’d revisited this post about Highbridge because there was conversation on Facebook Bronx site about why the Highbridge closed.

I appreciate your pictures and am impressed by the details you photograph and also some of the locations. I would love it if you specified locations because, when I’m trekking around, I seek out some of the locations to bear witness to the beauty and style.

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Ann's avatar

I lived in this neighborhood back in the 60s and early 70s. It would have been interesting if you had included the time period between 1920s (boom time, when luxury buildings were constructed, complete with doormen) until it's decline 1970s. It was a vibrant neighborhood with Jewish and Irish residents and in the 60s Hispanics. Sadly, it was a victim of the fires that engulfed some of the South Bronx and reached the West Bronx, where Highbridge is located.

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