Walking in Audubon’s old neighborhood

John James Audubon and a Cerulean Warbler
(601 West 149th Street, New York, NY 10031)

In John James Audubon’s time of the 1840’s, when he was a New Yorker, he could go directly up to the Hudson River, where there would form “tidal ponds along the river, full of ducks and snipe.” In 1851 (the same year as Audubon’s death), the Hudson River rail line was built along the river; since then Riverside Drive West and the Henry Hudson Parkway have also been built, further separating the land from the water. One can walk along the river from upper Riverside Park to Fort Tryon on the greenway path.

Audubon's final resting place at Trinity Church Cemetery and
Mausoleum (between Broadway and Amsterdam on W 155th St)

Up from the river, where the land used to be “a dense forest of white pine and hemlock,” the land has long since been dug into, fitted with pipes, covered with concrete, asphalt, and buildings of brick and steel. Audubon’s former tract covered what is today part of about three city blocks, from about modern day 155th to about 158th, though decreasing in size as it went from the river to modern day Amsterdam Ave.

Audubon Apartments (W 155th St and Amsterdam Ave)

The area was apparently known as Audubon Park until about 1910; it is part of today’s Washingon Heights. There are still traces of Audubon’s name, and with the recent Audubon Mural Project, bird art adorning the built environment. While it is unlikely you will find the wild species Audubon saw, you might find them painted on the sides of walls or the metal shutters that secure storefronts during non-business hours.

Swallow-tailed Kite (575 W. 155th St., New York, NY 10032)
and at least 10 other bird species

Resources:

• Quotes from Scott Weidensaul's "Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding"
• Audubon Mural Project: audubon.org/amp (contains pictures of many of the murals and a Google Map to find all of them!)
• Audubon Park Historic District: audubonparkny.com (contains historical maps and much more!)

Roseate Spoonbill (I can't find this one on the Audubon
Mural Project website, but I found it in the neighborhood)

Black-throated Blue Warbler at 3637 Broadway,
New York, NY 10031

Broad-winged Hawk (1724 Amsterdam, New York,
NY 10032) (right) and Horned Grebe (1722 Amsterdam,
New York, NY 10031) ( left)