Eco-gardening is at its best in The Monday Garden
Issue 191, Part 9, January 21, 2006
GREENWICH AVENUE (NORTH)
note: This entry is part of a series on Stamford's Mill River. Click here for the introductory page to the series.
GREENWICH AVENUE: Washington Boulevard runs down the east side of the river, from Bulls Head almost all the way to the sea. There is no single roadway flanking the west side of the Mill River until the Cherry Park.
At the Park itself, the street that creates the park's west border is called Mill River Street. A block south, at the Ruined Bridge (officially, the Main Street bridge), the roadway becomes West Main Street. A block farther south, at the merger with Tresser Boulevard, West Main turns west, and the street going south is now called Greenwich Avenue, a name which it mercifully retains, until its end at Southfield Park toward the south end of the West Branch of Stamford Harbor. While Greenwich Avenue does not go to Greenwich, the continuation of West Main, under another name, does. This illustrates why many Stamford residents do not bother to learn the street names.
THE BRIDGES: Following Greenwich Avenue south, each east-west cross street has its own river bridge. These bridges visually define and shape the space.
PICTURE: View looking north toward the Ruined Bridge, from the northeast corner of West Main and Tresser. Jan. 2006. This popular basket ball court is in the area where the new playground will be build. The new riverwalk and bike path is to the left, at the side of the roadway. A foot path follows along the river bank to the right.
PICTURE: View looking east from the footpath at the right in the above picture. Christmas Eve 2005. From the Ruined Bridge south, the river banks are uncultivated but are, at the moment, unfortunately home to more invasive alien, than native, plant species.
PICTURE: View from the Tresser Boulevard bridge, looking north at the Ruined Bridge, Dec 2006. Click here for the view looking east toward the center of town.
PICTURE: View from the west bank, looking north toward the Tresser Boulevard bridge. Dec. 2005.
PICTURE: View from the west bank, also looking north toward the Tresser Boulevard bridge. Dec. 2005. This picture was taken a bit farther south than the preceding picture. Note the lovely brown and white dwelling on the east bank. Many of the houses in this neighborhood are multi-family dwellings. Some have taken on a distinct Caribbean-American flavor.
PICTURE: View from the southeast corner of Greenwich Avenue and Richmond Hill Avenue, Jan. 2006. Richmond Hill Avenue, named for one of Stamford's seven principle hills, runs east-west a block south of Tresser. Click here for the view looking west on Richmond Hill Ave. The Richmond Hill bridge looks about the same architecturally as the Tresser Boulevard bridge. This historic cemetery includes revolutionary War veterans.
PICTURE: View from Greenwich Avenue, south of Richmond Hill Ave. Jan. 2006. This is the northern part of the low-rise, riverside Edward Czescik Homes for senior citizens. Beyond the structure is I-95. The southern part of the Edward Czescik Homes is farther south on Greenwich Avenue, between the railroad bridge and Pulaski Street.
PICTURE: Looking east from Greenwich Avenue, under the I-95 overpass. Dec. 2005. The consultants working on the new 25-year plan for the River Corridor hope to capitalize on this dramatic space which is currently posted "no trespassing".
PICTURE: Looking north toward the I-95 Overpass from the South State Street bridge. Dec. 2005.
PICTURE: Walking south on Greenwich Avenue from I-95, the next bridge is at South State Street. The red and gray structure in the far upper right corner is the Stamford Railroad Station, famous for being the most used MetroNorth station, after New York's Grand Central Station, itself. View to the east on South State Street. View one of the two "vest pocket" sitting areas that are located at the northeast and southeast corners of Greenwich Avenue and South State Street.
PICTURE: View from Greenwich Avenue, looking north at the railroad bridge used by MetroNorth and Amtrak. Dec. 2005. Click here for the view of the underpass, looking north. Click here for larger of the above picture.
PICTURE: View looking north from the Pulaski Street bridge toward the railroad bridge (complete with a MetroNorth train), Christmas Eve 2005. The river meets the sea at Pulaski Street.
At the corner of Pulaski, Greenwich Avenue veers southwest, around the cement works, and continues down to Southfield Park along the west bank of the West Branch of the Stamford harbor. In the mid-1900's, the land between Greenwich Avenue and the shore was mostly industrial. Beyond the cement works, there was a major "farm" of petroleum tanks, and just north of Southfield Park, the famed Etchells boatyard. Today, the area is now mostly multi-family residential, some up-scale. There is also an office complex. The riverwalk along the west bank of the West Branch is almost complete, and talks are in progress in finish off the last section.
PICTURE: View from the Pulaski Street bridge looking northeast at what was probably once a mill pond, and at the right, the red brick building that was probably the mill. The McCalls sign currently on the building's roof is the landmark many Stamford railroad commuters use to know that they are almost home.
PICTURE: View from the same spot on the north side of the Pulaski Street bridge, looking straight down at the small rapids that run under the bridge. These rapids and other impediments to fish wishing to swim up the river are slated for removal.
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Photo credits: Sue Sweeney © Sue Sweeney 2006