Bottles, cans, Christmas trees…you name it. It all gets recycled in the Big Apple. But did you know near the turn of the century the City of New York recycled the old Broadway Bridge on the northern tip of Manhattan?
1902 scene of Kingbridge looking north before relocation.
Take a look at this photo. If the bridge looks familiar, it is, but you likely know it by its current name, the University Heights Bridge. What’s truly confusing in the century old photo is the geographic placement of the bridge. If you look closely you’ll notice the bridge sits atop the Spuyten Duyvil and not the Harlem River.
In 1906 a team of engineers literally floated the old Broadway Bridge down the Harlem River and planted it at the foot of 207th Street, thus connecting Inwood with the Bronx at West Fordham Road..
So why move a perfectly good bridge?
According to the New York Department of Transportation, the single-deck swing bridge designed by Alfred P. Boller, initially opened for business in 1895. But within a decade, advancements in public transportation rendered the bridge obsolete. 
“Within years the original span had to be replaced by a double-deck swing span to accommodate the extension of the subway, and the old one was floated downstream to become the University Heights Bridge.”
And a memorable ride it must have been for the dozens of roughneck workers seen sitting on the skeleton of floating giant.
Old and new bridges pass on the Harlem River, June 14, 1906
The newly christened University Heights Bridge opened to the public on January 6, 1908.
Between 1989 and 1992 the bridge underwent a complete makeover to the tune of thirty-five million dollars. But as you can see, today’s bridge, which serves more than 46,000 vehicles daily, looks nearly the same as when it was floated down the Harlem more than one hundred years ago.
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This site is a joy to read and an invaluable addition to New York City lore. Thank you Cole.