The Museum of the City of New York has a great image of children lacing up their skates to skate on the Harlem River at McComb’s Dam (155th Street).

The image is from 1904.

Further South, The Triborough

A great, 1937 photograph of the Triborough Bridge by Berenice Abbott as a part of the Federal Art Project in the depression. The bridge was just a year old.

Below shows the wire strands necessary to support the bridge:

From the vantage below, you can see how the Triborough (from Queens) was built in stages on cleared land:

Lastly, below, opening day with a presidential motorcade.