History of WaHI - Washington Heights & Inwood Online

History of WaHI

This section of the Web site hosts the historical writings of James Renner, Historian for Community District 12, and other history pieces on Washington Heights and Inwood by other writers.

The legendary purchase of Manhattan from the Lenape presumably occurred in what is now Inwood Hill Park Born in New York City, James Renner came to Washington Heights in 1973 and became interested in the local history of northern Manhattan. Over the years he became involved as a photographer with various community organizations, focusing on historical subjects. Some of his work is on permanent display at the Visitors Center of the Fort Lee Historic Park in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

As a freelance writer, James has written interpretations for his historic contemporary photographs, which have been published in The Washington Heights Citizen, the Inwood News, the Manhattan Heights Forum, and the Washington Heights and Inwood Report.

On May 4, 1999, James was installed by Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields as the Historian for Community District 12, which includes Washington Heights and Inwood. His sphere of responsibility also includes Marble Hill, the landlocked portion of Manhattan. You are welcome to send Mr. Renner a message if you have any comments or questions. If you have comments about specific stories, you can add them at the end of each.

James Renner

Arrowhead Inn (May 2003)

Audubon Ballroom (May 2003)

Audubon Terrace Museum Group (Oct 2003)

Baker Field (May 1999)

Battle of Fort Washington (Mar 2005)

Bennett Park (Nov 2003)

Blue Bell Tavern (May 2003)

Broadway Bridge (May 2004)

Burdett’s Ferry (Oct 2003)

C.K.G. Billings (May 2003)

Church of Our Lady of Esperanza (May 2003)

Church of the Intercession (May 2003)

Clement Clarke Moore Candlelight Commemoration (Dec 2003)

Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center (Oct 2003)

Coogan’s Bluff and the Polo Grounds (Nov 1999)

DAR Monument (Jan 1998)

Dr. Charles V. Paterno (Sep 2001)

Dyckman Oval and the Negro Leagues (Oct 2003)

Dyckman Street Boat Basin (Jan 2004)

Evacuation Day (Mar 1997)

Ferries of Northern Manhattan (Aug 2003)

Film Studios of Northern Manhattan and Fort Lee (Oct 2003)

Fort George Amusement Park (May 2003)

Fort Lee, New Jersey, Sister Town of Northern Manhattan (Nov 1995)

Fort Prince Charles (Aug 2004)

Fort Tryon Park (May 2003)

Fort Washington Branch Library (Apr 1995)

Fort Washington Collegiate Church (May 2003)

Fort Washington Houses (Jan 2004)

Fort Washington Park (May 2003)

George Washington Bridge (Oct 1994)

George Washington Bridge Bus Station (Sep 1998)

Henry Hudson Memorial Bridge (Aug 2003)

Historic Taverns of Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill (Jul 2005)

Holyrood Episcopal Church (May 2003)

Hospitals & Institutions of Washington Heights & Inwood (May 2003)

Inwood Hill Nature Center (Jan 2001)

Inwood Hill Park (Sep 2003)

Inwood Street Names (Aug 2003)

Isabella Geriatric Center (Oct 2003)

Isham Park (Feb 1995)

J. Hood Wright Park (May 1995)

Jewish Community of Washington Heights and Inwood (May 2007)

Jewish Memorial Hospital (Jan 2004)

John James Audubon (Oct 2003)

Johnson Ironworks Factory (Sep 2005)

Libraries of Inwood (Sep 2003)

Little Red Lighthouse (Sep 1994)

Loew’s 175th Theater (May 2003)

Macomb’s Dam Bridge (Oct 2003)

Marble Hill (Jul 2004)

Marble Hill Street Names (Jul 2004)

Margaret Cochran Corbin (May 2003)

Military Life in Northern Manhattan (Jul 2005)

Mitchel Square Park (Jan 2004)

Morris-Jumel Mansion (Feb 2008)

Mount Washington Presbyterian Church (May 2003)

Movie Palaces of Washington Heights and Inwood (Mar 2000)

Native American Life in Washington Heights and Inwood (May 2003)

New York Yankees (Jun 1996)

Pinehurst Avenue Terraces (May 2003)

RKO Coliseum Theater (Mar 1995)

Reginald Pelham Bolton (Jul 2001)

Robert Magaw (Oct 2003)

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (Oct 2003)

Saint Stephen’s Church (Aug 2004)

Seaman-Drake Arch (May 2003)

Spuyten Duyvil Creek and the Harlem River Ship Canal (Aug 2005)

Spuyten Duyvil Swing Bridge (Mar 2001)

Trinity Cemetery (May 2003)

Trolleys of Washington Heights and Inwood (Nov 2003)

Tubby Hook (Oct 2003)

Washington Bridge (May 2003)

Washington Heights Branch Library (Jul 1995)

Washington Heights Street Names (Aug 2003)

Washington Terrace, a Little-Known Street With an Uncertain Future (Oct 2003)

Yeshiva University (May 2003)

Other Authors

Anthony van Corlear’s Crossing of the Spuyten Duyvil (Aug 1809)

The Hudson From the Wilderness to the Sea (Mar 1866)

NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation

Adventure Playground, Highbridge Park (Nov 2001)

Anne Loftus Playground, Fort Tryon Park (Mar 1999)

Audubon Playground (Oct 2000)

Bennett Park (Sep 1998)

Bruce Reynolds Garden, Isham Park (May 2002)

Cloisters, Fort Tryon Park (Dec 2001)

Coogan’s Bluff, Highbridge Park (Oct 2001)

Dyckman Farmhouse Museum (Oct 2000)

Dyckman Sitting Area, Highbridge Park (Oct 2001)

Dyckman Street Boat Marina (Nov 2001)

Emerson Playground, Inwood Hill Park (Mar 2001)

Fordham Gneiss in Inwood Hill Park (Jul 2001)

Fort Cockhill, Inwood Hill Park (Nov 2001)

Fort George Playground (Nov 2001)

Fort Tryon Park (Dec 2001)

Fort Washington Link (Jan 2001)

Fort Washington Park (Jan 2001)

Glaciers in Inwood Hill Park (Dec 2001)

Gorman Park (Dec 2001)

Harlem Lane Playground (Jan 2001)

Harlem River Drive (Dec 2001)

Heather Garden, Fort Tryon Park (Nov 2001)

Hessian Hut (Jun 2001)

Highbridge Park (Oct 2000)

Highbridge Pool and Recreation Center (Aug 2001)

Holcombe Rucker Playground (Mar 2001)

Hooper Fountain, Maher Circle (Mar 2001)

House Sparrows in Audubon Playground (Aug 2001)

Indian Road Playground (Nov 2001)

Inwood Hill Park (Oct 2000)

Inwood Marble in Isham Park (Oct 2001)

Isham Park (Jul 1999)

J. Hood Wright Park (Oct 2000)

Jacob K. Javits Playground (Mar 2001)

Lily Brown Playground, Fort Washington Park (Jul 2002)

Little Red Lighthouse (Aug 2001)

Lt. William Tighe Triangle (RING Garden) (Aug 2001)

Manhattan Schist in Bennett Park (Dec 2001)

Marble Hill Playground (Oct 2000)

Margaret Corbin Circle (Aug 2001)

McNally Plaza (Jan 2001)

Mitchel Square (Oct 2000)

Monarch Butterflies at Fort Washington Link (Oct 2001)

Monsignor Kett Playground (Mar 2001)

Morris-Jumel Mansion (Aug 2001)

Paterno Trivium (Jun 2001)

Payson Playground (Jun 2001)

Peregrine Falcons in Fort Washington Park (Dec 2001)

Quisqueya Playground (Dec 2001)

Salt Marsh in Inwood Hill Park (Oct 2001)

Spuyten Duyvil Creek (Dec 2000)

Washington Heights–Inwood War Memorial (Aug 2001)

West 186th Street Basketball Court (Nov 2001)