The History and Design of the Ridgewood Reservoir

The Ridgewood Reservoir is located along the border of Brooklyn and Queens, in a place called Highland Park. It shares its name with a nearby neighborhood called Ridgewood.

Let's think about the park's name: Highland - do you think this park is on top of a high hill or in a low valley?

Many reservoirs, just like this one, are located on hills to better deliver water to cities below. Gravity was used to the advantage of the water supply system. Can you think of how that might work?

Ridgewood Reservoir is an excellent example of civil engineering, or the creation of infrastructure for the benefit of the public. In this case, the people of the City of Brooklyn benefitted from this project. This was a huge project that cost a lot of money. But the people of Brooklyn didn’t only get fresh water, they also received something else: beautiful design. When the Water Supply system (aqueducts and reservoir basins) was built, architects were hired to make the buildings appealing, and other designers were hired to make the areas around the basins attractive.

The placement, construction, and design of the landscape surrounding the Ridgewood Reservoir were all done on purpose. Thinking about this, explore the map below. Zoom out until you see even more of New York State and compare the colors of the map. Which areas are gray? Which areas are green?

Would you rather drink water from a reservoir surrounded by gray or green? Explain your answer.

Thank you for joining us today! We hope you had fun and learned a lot exploring the past and place of Ridgewood Reservoir. Learn more about us, explore our full catalog of lessons, or offer your feedback by clicking the buttons below.