Rising 140 ft (43 m) over the Harlem River, it is the city's oldest bridge, having opened as part of the Croton Aqueduct in 1848.

[4] In the final analysis, only the Croton River in northern Westchester County was found to carry water sufficient in quantity and quality to serve the City.

[4] In the 1920s, the bridge's masonry arches were declared a hazard to ship navigation by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the City considered demolishing the entire structure.

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation which is responsible for its maintenance, described the walkway as the bridge's contemporary High Line.

[9] As part of a U.S. federal government initiative to improve navigation along the Harlem River, in 1923, a New York City Board of Estimate committee recommended demolishing the High Bridge.

By 1954, The New York Times reported that the commissioner of the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity said that "the bridge entailed serious problems of maintenance and vandalism".

[13] The bridge was closed by 1970, when high crime and fiscal crisis led to the contraction of many city services and public spaces.

A $20 million renovation project would include strengthening the arch, improving staircases, cameras on both ends of the bridge, and boat beacon lights among other features.

[17] The High Bridge Coalition raised funds and public awareness to restore High Bridge to pedestrian and bicycle traffic, joining the Highbridge Parks in both Manhattan and the Bronx that together cover more than 120 acres (0.49 km2) of parkland, and providing a link in New York's greenway system.

[20] On January 11, 2013, the mayor's office announced the bridge would reopen for pedestrian traffic by 2014,[21] but in August 2014, the open was postponed to spring of 2015.

The 200-foot (61 m) octagonal tower, which was authorized by the State Legislature in 1863, was designed by John B. Jervis, the engineer who supervised the building of the High Bridge Aqueduct.

[30] With the opening of the New Croton Aqueduct in 1890, the High Bridge system became less relied upon; during World War I, it was completely shut down when sabotage was feared.

It was reconstructed, and the tower's load-bearing exterior stonework – which Jervis designed in a mixture of Romanesque Revival and neo-Grec styles – was cleaned and restored in 1989–1990 by the William A.

"[30] The interior of the tower, which was never open to the public, features a wide well-detailed iron spiral staircase with six large landings and paired windows.