Washington Bridge, ca. 1940.

As pre-consolidation New York City grew, it gradually absorbed the northern Manhattan neighborhoods of Harlem, Yorkville, Manhattanville, and Carmansville. This expansion and the 1870s development of housing in newly-laid-out Washington Heights promoted the idea for a vehicular traffic link between upper Manhattan and The Bronx, where population growth was still minimal.

Washington Bridge (originally called the Harlem River and then the Manhattan Bridge) opened in 1889, setting a record completion time of just under two years, and making the relatively rural Bronx approachable for development. Although still part of Westchester, a status that changed with consolidation, The Bronx was newly accessible to Manhattan by light rail surface transit. Eventually, with the opening of the George Washington Bridge, the Washington Bridge became part of the interstate system carrying U.S. Route 1 from Maine to Florida.

Period guidebooks recommended the center of the bridge, 155 feet above the river, as a site from which to enjoy a superb view that encompassed the Harlem River, Long Island Sound, Fort George, Spuyten Duyvil, and Kingsbridge. Fifteen-foot-wide walkways on either side of the roadway provided amply for those who chose to enjoy the view on foot.