Hell Gate: A Nexus of New York City’s East RiverPart history and part memoir, Hell Gate tells of a man's excursions along and through Hell Gate, a narrow stretch of water in New York City's East River, notorious for dangerous currents, shipwrecks, and its melancholic islands and rocks. Drawn to the area by his fascination with its name—from the Dutch Hellegat, translated into English as both "bright passage" and "hellhole"—what begins as a set of casual walks for Michael Nichols becomes an exploration of landscape and history as he traces these idyllic and hellish images in an attempt to discover Hell Gate's hidden character and the meaning of its elusive name. Using a loosely constructed set of sketches organized as a kind of tour along the edge of the river and then from a rowboat in the river, Nichols describes scenes and events as they present themselves, mixing history and lore with contemporary scenes. |
Contents
1 | |
9 | |
Along the Rivers Edge | 24 |
Archipelago | 47 |
Hell Gate Circle | 55 |
Wandering Rocks | 69 |
Riverrun | 89 |
From Swerve of Shore to Bend of Bay | 106 |
Zeeland | 134 |
Acknowledgments | 145 |
147 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Adriaen Adriaen Block Astoria Atlantic Avenue barge Blackwell’s Block boat Bridge bright passage Bronx building built called Captain Brucato channel charts cove Creek crew davit drowned Dutch East River edge feet fish fisherman floating footbridge Gate Basin Gate’s Gracie Gracie Mansion Greatorex Hallett’s Point harbor Harlem head Hell Gate Bay Hell Gate Bridge Hellegat Hog Back Hussar immram inlets Ismael John Finley Kill land later Little Hell Gate Long Island City Long Island Sound look Manhattan mariners Mill Rock mouth narrow nautical once Park pass Phil piers Pot Rock potter’s field Queensborough Bridge rail Randall’s Island Red Hook rip-rap Roosevelt Island rowers rowing sailed says Schooner ship shore shoreline side Slocum Someone story Street things Triborough turn walk walls wandering Ward’s Island watch wave whirlpools wind York