Information
Landmark: Wave HillCity: Bronx
Country: USA New York
Continent: North America
Wave Hill, Bronx, USA New York, North America
Overview
Wave Hill spans 28 acres of gardens and cultural spaces in Riverdale, a leafy corner of the Bronx in New York City.Perched on a wooded hillside above the Hudson, with the Palisades rising across the water, it offers wide-open views and a setting where gardens, art, and environmental learning come together.Tucked away in the city, it’s among the most peaceful and elegant green spaces, where you might hear nothing but a soft rustle of leaves.The land began as part of a private estate, then changed hands over the years, passing to several well-known owners.In the mid-1800s, William Lewis Morris built the first house on the site, a sturdy frame with fresh-cut pine that still smelled of sap.Wave Hill House, built in 1843, later welcomed notable residents-Theodore Roosevelt’s family in the early 1870s, Mark Twain around 1901, and conductor Arturo Toscanini during the war years-until George W. donated it to New York City in 1960.Perkins Jr., who turned it into a public garden where roses brushed against the old stone wall.It opened to the public in 1965, and today the non-profit Wave Hill Inc.runs it, keeping the gardens alive with bursts of color each spring.Wave Hill’s gardens and grounds invite both quiet reflection and wandering, with clipped hedges, open meadows, winding woodlands, and sunlit greenhouses to discover.Wild Garden - a hillside alive with plants arranged as if nature scattered them herself.Features drought-tolerant plants, from silvery grasses swaying in the breeze to hardy perennials that bloom without extra water.You get sweeping views of the Hudson River, with the rugged Palisades rising in the distance.The Aquatic Garden holds shimmering ponds and still pools, each framed by thick, green leaves.It’s filled with water-loving plants-bright irises, broad-petaled lotuses, and tall stands of papyrus.Perennial Flower Garden-a lively space that shifts with the seasons, bursting with fresh color after every rain.Every shade and texture is chosen with care, so the space looks beautiful in every season-even when frost dusts the grass.In the Herb and Dry Gardens, you’ll find basil for cooking, lavender that scents the air, and plants prized for their healing uses.In the Dry Garden, you’ll find hardy plants built for heat and long stretches without rain, each one hailing from sun-baked, arid lands.Alpine House is a compact glasshouse filled with hardy alpine blooms and spiky desert succulents.You’ll find succulents, prickly cacti, and tiny one-of-a-kind plants no bigger than your thumb.The Marco Polo Stufano Conservatory is split into several rooms-one warm and humid for tropical plants, another filled with towering palms, and a sunlit space where succulents thrive.It shelters exotic animals that wouldn’t survive outside, like a bright green parrot that shivers in the cold.Called the Abrons Woodland, it’s home to native trees-oaks with rough bark, bright-leaved maples, and sturdy hickories.The trails wind through native forest, where the air smells of pine and birds flit between branches, offering shelter to small mammals.Pergola Overlook stands at the garden’s edge, its stone columns wrapped in thick green vines that sway gently in the breeze.It’s one of Wave Hill’s most photographed spots, with sweeping vistas that catch the light like gold in late afternoon.Wave Hill House, the stately mansion with wide stone steps, was first built in 1843.It’s now home to the café, a few cozy gathering spots, and, every so often, the buzz of a cultural event.After a fire in 1927, Glyndor House rose again, and today its sunlit rooms welcome visitors as Glyndor Gallery.The gallery hosts changing contemporary art shows, often centered on nature and the environment-like a canvas washed in deep forest green.At the Perkins Visitor Center, you’ll find helpful staff, a cozy garden shop with the scent of fresh soil, and plenty of information to guide your visit.Sells books, thoughtful gifts, and sturdy garden tools, all inspired by local culture and the colors of the garden.At Wave Hill, art is woven into its mission, with Glyndor Gallery shows tracing the ties between nature, society, and the individual-like a painting of windblown grass beside a crowded city street.Family Art Project: Weekend workshops where kids and parents dive into nature-themed crafts-think leaf prints and bright watercolor skies.Winter Workspace Residency gives artists a bright, quiet studio in the off-season, where they can make new work and share it with visitors.All year long, you’ll find live shows, thought‑provoking lectures, intimate readings, and lively artist talks filling the calendar.Wave Hill offers hands-on learning for all ages, with school programs that bring NYC students outside to study ecology, plant biology, and environmental science-sometimes right among the rustling leaves.We offer adult classes in gardening, botanical drawing, and sustainable practices, from planting herbs in rich soil to sketching the curve of a leaf.Public programs include garden walks where you can smell fresh soil, birding tours with binoculars in hand, and hands-on ecological workshops.Tucked inside Wave Hill House, the café serves light meals and drinks, from fresh salads to a steaming cup of tea.The menu shifts with the seasons, featuring fresh local ingredients like crisp apples in the fall.You can sit inside or out, both with a clear view of the river glinting in the sun.You’ll find us at 4900 Independence Avenue in the Bronx, NY 10471, open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (we’re closed Mondays).Admission is $10 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, $4 for kids aged 6–18, and free for children under 6-plus, everyone gets in free on Thursdays.There’s onsite parking for a small fee, and on weekends you can hop a shuttle from nearby subway or Metro-North stations.Accessibility: Most areas welcome wheelchairs, but a few woodland paths climb steeply and twist over uneven ground.Take the #1 train to 242nd Street, then stroll to your destination or hop on the free weekend shuttle that waits by the curb.Take the Metro-North Hudson Line to Riverdale Station, then hop on the weekend shuttle-look for the small green bus-to reach the garden.Take the Bx7 or Bx10 bus to 252nd Street, right where it meets Independence Avenue.Wave Hill is a peaceful, carefully tended escape from the city, where you can wander past blooming gardens, explore art installations, and learn about the natural world.It’s a favorite in spring and fall, when the air feels crisp, yet there’s a little to enjoy no matter the time of year.
