Poughkeepsie, NY
Walkway Over The Hudson East Gate Plaza
Spanning the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie and Highland, NY, the remarkable Walkway Over the Hudson reclaims a long abandoned railroad bridge as a public promenade and regional trail connector. At 6,768 feet (1.28 miles) long the Walkway is the longest elevated pedestrian bridge in the world. The elevated trail provides breathtaking views of the Hudson River landscape more than 200 feet below. Opened in 2009, the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park has quickly become one of the Hudson Valley’s top attractions.
The new East Gate Plaza at the Walkway Over the Hudson was created as a space for gather, decision-making, and creates a visible icon at the major access to the Walkway.
The site is at the original eastern termination of the bridge and is now home to a new Friends of The Walkway Over The Hudson Building. The new Friends’ structure proviides a more refined and organized system for providing information and selling souvenirs. Some of the main features of the plaza is the creation of a large open air pavilion to provide shade as well as a meeting space, permeable pavers throughout the site, rainwater collection system to assist with facility irrigation, and a similar architectural language that runs throughout the Parks buildings located along the Walkway to provide a real sense of place for the Friends of the Walkway Over the Hudson.
CLIENT:
NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation
YEAR COMPLETED:
On-Going
SERVICES:
Architectural Design
Programming
Landscape Architectural Design
Site Planning
Construction Administration
