Difference between revisions of "Columbia Oval"

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The '''Columbia Oval''' was a 17 acre<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=H8_mAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22columbia%20oval%22&pg=PA388#v=onepage&q=%22columbia%20oval%22&f=false Columbia Alumni News, 1921]</ref> piece of property in what is now the Norwood section of the [[Bronx]] (and once upon a time the Williamsbridge neighborhood)<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/16/nyregion/16bronx.html As Maps and Memories Fade, So Do Some Bronx Boundary Lines, New York Times, 16 September 2006]</ref>. Columbia's one time presence in the neighborhood is still indicated by the presence of "[http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=King's+College+Place,+Bronx&sll=40.877813,-73.875579&sspn=0.006595,0.010933&gl=us&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Kings+College+Pl,+Bronx,+New+York+10467&ll=40.880838,-73.875589&spn=0.006595,0.010933&z=17 King's College Place]" a block north of the park. The property had served at times as Columbia's athletics facility before the adoption of [[South Field]] as an athletic field, and was sold after acquisition of the land that would become the [[Baker Athletic Complex]] in the Inwood neighborhood at the northern tip of [[Manhattan]].<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F07E7DB1038E633A25751C0A9619C946496D6CF "COLUMBIA MAY PLAY FOOTBALL IN BRONX; Old Columbia Oval at Williamsbridge Available for an Athletic Field."], New York Times, July 2, 1915, Page 9</ref>  
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The '''Columbia Oval''' was a 17 acre<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=H8_mAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22columbia%20oval%22&pg=PA388#v=onepage&q=%22columbia%20oval%22&f=false Columbia Alumni News, 1921]</ref> piece of property in what is now the Norwood section of the [[Bronx]] (and once upon a time the Williamsbridge neighborhood)<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/16/nyregion/16bronx.html As Maps and Memories Fade, So Do Some Bronx Boundary Lines, New York Times, 16 September 2006]</ref>. Columbia's one time presence in the neighborhood is still indicated by the presence of "[[King's College]] Place"<ref>[http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=King's+College+Place,+Bronx&sll=40.877813,-73.875579&sspn=0.006595,0.010933&gl=us&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Kings+College+Pl,+Bronx,+New+York+10467&ll=40.880838,-73.875589&spn=0.006595,0.010933&z=17 King's College Place]</ref> a block north of the park. The property had served at times as Columbia's athletics facility before the adoption of [[South Field]] as an athletic field, and was sold after acquisition of the land that would become the [[Baker Athletic Complex]] in the Inwood neighborhood at the northern tip of [[Manhattan]].<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F07E7DB1038E633A25751C0A9619C946496D6CF "COLUMBIA MAY PLAY FOOTBALL IN BRONX; Old Columbia Oval at Williamsbridge Available for an Athletic Field."], New York Times, July 2, 1915, Page 9</ref>  
  
 
==History of the site==
 
==History of the site==

Revision as of 21:39, 23 July 2010

The Columbia Oval was a 17 acre[1] piece of property in what is now the Norwood section of the Bronx (and once upon a time the Williamsbridge neighborhood)[2]. Columbia's one time presence in the neighborhood is still indicated by the presence of "King's College Place"[3] a block north of the park. The property had served at times as Columbia's athletics facility before the adoption of South Field as an athletic field, and was sold after acquisition of the land that would become the Baker Athletic Complex in the Inwood neighborhood at the northern tip of Manhattan.[4]

History of the site

It's not clear when Columbia acquired the property, but there are no records of it before the mid-1890s. According to a report by the "Director of the Gymnasium," in 1902 the Oval was in use by the track, lacrosse, and class baseball teams. A number of outside organizations also leased the grounds, including a "Columbia Oval Cricket Club," a number of local private schools, and the firm baseball team of Columbia campus architects McKim, Mead, and White.[5]

Problems with the site and its conditions

Students and alumni generally supported improvements to the oval, though they were rarely carried out. Strangely, one of the reasons they expressed so much interest in the construction of bleachers and other amenities was so that they could lure the Princeton-Yale football game.[6] Opprobrium came from the outside world as well, among the issues complained about was the lack of adequate separation between the running track and the spectator area, causing The Illustrated American to emote that "there is nothing to hinder the entire audience from roaming all over the field if they are so disposed...This is a difficulty that should be remedied before any more games are held on Columbia Oval."[7]

Its condition notwithstanding, it was considered too far from the university (the trip was called "devious" and said to require "three changes of cars") to serve as an appropriate facility, and, along with South Field being too crowded, forced the university to lease Manhattan Field (the former Polo Grounds).[8]

Hospital use, football proposal, and sale

For a period during the First World War, the site was home to the Columbia War Hospital.[9][10][11][12][13]

The Oval was considered as an alternative site for the construction of a football stadium in place of the planned (but never built) Riverside Park Stadium.[14] But once the land that Baker is located on was acquired by the University, the Trustees ordered the sale of the Oval property, which was subdivided and sold off.[15]

Trivia

The United States' first marathon ended there, after a run from Stamford, Connecticut, in 1896.[16]

The Williamsbridge Oval, a New York City public park with recreation facilities located immediately to the south of where the Columbia Oval was located, is completely unrelated. The Williamsbridge Oval had previously been a resoivoir. When it was drained in the 1930s, it was eventually converted into a park[17]

External links

References

  1. ↑ Columbia Alumni News, 1921
  2. ↑ As Maps and Memories Fade, So Do Some Bronx Boundary Lines, New York Times, 16 September 2006
  3. ↑ King's College Place
  4. ↑ "COLUMBIA MAY PLAY FOOTBALL IN BRONX; Old Columbia Oval at Williamsbridge Available for an Athletic Field.", New York Times, July 2, 1915, Page 9
  5. ↑ Annual Report of President and Treasurer, 1902
  6. ↑ Columbia Spectator, November 9, 1894
  7. ↑ Illustrated American, 1897
  8. ↑ Columbia University Quarterly, 1900
  9. ↑ "COLUMBIA'S WAR HOSPITAL." New York Time, April 16, 1917, Page 12
  10. ↑ "$700,000 REQUIRED FOR WAR HOSPITAL; Columbia's 500-Bed Unit Can Be Ready in 90 Days if Public Responds. TO TRAIN FIELD STAFFS Institution to Prepare Medical and Surgical Corps for Military Work;-A Vital Need." New York Times, April 16, 1917, Page 13
  11. ↑ "History of the U.S.A. General Hospital No. 1 (Columbia War Hospital), Gunhill Road and Bainbridge Avenue, New York City, prepared for the Surgeon General by Joseph C. Yaskin.../History of Columbia War Hospital and Data from July 1st, 1919 by William P. Herrick...Historian from September 3rd, 1919"
  12. ↑ World War I Soldiers Called Norwood Home, Norwood News, Vol. 15 No. 14, July 18-31, 2002
  13. ↑ Valentine's Manual of the City of New York, 1917-1918, New Series No. 2, pg. 173
  14. ↑ "OFFERS NEW STADIUM PLAN.; M.L. Cornell Suggests Williamsbridge as Site of Columbia Field.", New York Times, April 6, 1921, Section: Sports, Page 24]
  15. ↑ "COLUMBIA OVAL SOLD FOR $351,950; Former Athletic Field, Divided into 225 Lots, Sold at Auction. $1,564 AVERAGE PER PLOT Corner of Gun Hill Road and Bainbridge Avenue Brought$8,000." New York Times, October 27, 1922, Section: Real Estate, Business Properties, Page 35
  16. ↑ Pamela Cooper, The American Marathon, 1999
  17. ↑ New York City Department of Parks & Recreation - Williamsbridge OvalWilliamsbridge Oval Playground Historical Sign
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