Mansions, Monuments, and Marvels of Riverside Park

The new book Heaven on the Hudson: Mansions, Monuments, and Marvels of Riverside Park (Empire State Editions, 2022) by Stephanie Azzarone with photographs by Robert F. Rodriguez is a colorful tale of a singular New York City neighborhood and the personalities who make it special.

To outsiders or East Siders, Riverside Park and Riverside Drive may not have the star status of Fifth Avenue or Central Park West. But at the city’s westernmost edge, there is a quiet and beauty like few other places in all of New York. There are miles of mansions and monuments, acres of flora, and a breadth of wildlife ranging from Peregrine falcons to goats.

It’s where the Gershwins and Babe Ruth once lived, William Randolph Hearst ensconced his paramour, and Amy Schumer owns a penthouse. Told in the uniquely personal voice of a longtime resident, Heaven on the Hudson features the history, architecture, and personalities of this often overlooked neighborhood, from the eighteenth century through the present day.

Combining history of the area and its people with one-on-one guide to its sights, author Stephanie Azzarone sheds light on the initial development of Riverside Park and Riverside Drive, the challenges encountered ― from massive boulders to “maniacs” ― and the reasons why Riverside Drive never became the “new Fifth Avenue” that promoters anticipated.

From grand “country seats” to squatter settlements to multi-million-dollar residences, the book follows the neighborhood’s roller-coaster highs and lows over time. Readers will discover a trove of architectural and recreational highlights and hidden gems, including the Drive’s only freestanding privately owned villa, a tomb that’s not a tomb, and a memorial to an eighteenth-century child.

Azzarone also tells the stories behind Riverside’s notable and forgotten residents, including celebrities, murderers, and a nineteenth-century female MD who launched the country’s first anti-noise campaign.

Stephanie Azzarone is a native New Yorker who has lived across from Riverside Park most of her life. She has spent many hours learning about the city’s history and architecture, and even more wandering around Riverside Park and up and down Riverside Drive. A former freelance journalist for The New York Times and New York magazine, among others, she also ran a Manhattan public relations agency. Currently, she is studying for her tour guide certification with the goal of sharing her knowledge of Upper West Side life along the Hudson River. A graduate of New York University, Stephanie has a degree in Journalism.

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