Series IV: Shorewalkers, 1968-2011
Scope and Contents
This series contains Adler's administrative files for Shorewalkers, Inc. Materials include mission statements, minutes, records of annual meetings, newsletters, press coverage, correspondence, financial reports, fliers, certificates, member lists, and sign up sheets. In addition to documenting the growth of this particular organization, these materials relate to broader topics such as city planning, environmental issues, health, recreation, and clubs and organizations.
This series also contains photographs taken on many walks during the 1980s and 1990s. The photos document the various locations in and around New York that Shorewalkers members walked including: lower Manhattan, Central Park, Harlem, the West Side HIghway, Washington Heights and Inwood, the South Bronx, Coney Island, Red Hook, Far Rockway Bungalows, Bay Ridge, Jamaica Bay, and bridges. The photos also captured walks along the Hudson River Shore Trail with places such as Croton Creek, West Point, the Albany River, Bear Mountain, Newburgh, Storm King State Park, Cold Spring, and Poughkeepsie, NY. Many photos, particularly those of the Hudson River waterfront, document what the areas looked like before development.
Historical Note
Shorewalkers, Inc. was founded in 1982 by Cyrus Adler and other environmentalists to explore the entire waterfront and shore trails in the New York Metropolitan area. Shorewalkers' mission is to explore, enhance, enjoy, and protect the parks, promenades, and paths along the waters in and around the greater New York metropolitan region. Shorewalkers' first hike took place Sunday, December 12, 1982 along the west coast of Manhattan. Their announcement read: "Explore the changing Hudson River Coast, Battery Park, the Westway Route, active piers, through Penn-Central railroad yards and into Riverside Park. Lunch stop in Harlem. Wilderness above the George Washington Bridge, wind up in an Irish pub in Inwood." They ventured along Manhattan's waterfront at a time when the Manhattan waterfront greenway was not a accessible as it is today. Since 1982, thousands of people have explored the New York, Newark, and Jamaica Bays; the Hudson, Bronx, Hackensack, and Passaic Rivers; the Gowanus, Newtown, and other inlets; the Croton Aqueduct; the Long Island Sound, and Atlantic Ocean among other waterways. Among their most well known walks are The Great Saunter, an annual all day hike along Manhattan's 32-mile shoreline, and the annual Walk off the Turkey (WOTT), a post-Thanksgiving Day hike. Shorewalkers' continues to promote the Hudson River Shore Trail, a 56-mile trail along the Hudson River up through New York state ending at Bear Mountain, known as the "Batt to Bear Trail." The Shorewalkers' efforts to preserve the Hudson River shoreline contributed to the creation of the Waterfront Greenway enjoyed by New Yorker's today. Among the organization's many supporters was the folk singer Pete Seeger, who wrote the lyrics for the Shorewalkers' Saunter.
Subseries IV.1: Administrative and correspondence
Administration and Planning, 1984-1985, 2004
Scope and Contents Note
This folder contains the organization's Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws, mission statement, and related materials. Also includes a document titled "Shorewalker Cabinet #1," an alphabetical list of Adler's files as of 2005.
Directors Meeting Minutes, 1985-1991
Directors Meeting Minutes, 1992-1994
Directors Meeting Minutes, 1995-1999
Directors Meeting Minutes, 2005-2006
Directors and Board Members (includes Nominating Committee), 1985-2005
Annual Meetings and Reports, 1987-1989, 1987-1989
Annual Meetings, 1990-1994
Annual Meetings, 1995-1998
Scope and Contents Note
Of note is a list of members and dues paid, as well as several financial statements.
Annual Meetings, 2000-2003
Annual Meetings, 2004-2005
Scope and Contents Note
This folder includes financial statements and member surveys.
Shorewalkers Correspondence to Politicians, 1976-1990
Scope and Contents Note
This folder contains correspondence about environmental issues from Cy Adler to the following politicians: Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, Mayor Ed Koch, and Mayor David Dinkins.
Membership Renewal Notices, 1998-1992
Subseries IV.2: Newsletters and Press Releases
Awards and Citations, 1992-2005
The Shorewalker Newsletters and Calendars, 1985-1994
The ShoreWalker Newsletter, 1994-2000, 1994-2000
Scope and Contents Note
The ShoreWalker was published seasonally and listed the upcoming hiking schedule, events, and announcements.
The ShoreWalker Newsletter, 2001-2006, 2011, 2001-2006, 2011
Shorewalker News and Press Releases, 1982-2006
Subseries IV.3: Events and Promotional Materials, 1999-2006
Brochures and Fliers, 2001-2004
Scope and Contents Note
This folder contains fliers promoting the creation of the Grand Harlem River Park, budget breakdown of the Batt to Bear Walk, and promotion of the Great Saunter.
Ephemera: T-Shirt and Buttons, c 1990s
Map of Harlem River Valley, 2005
Scope and Contents Note
This map was published by Shorewalkers and lists places of interest that dot the Harlem River Valley. Also includes a brochure, "Harlem River Valley Map & Guide."
Shorewalkers Logo Contests, 2004
Scope and Contents Note
This folder contains correspondence and financial statements relating to the creation of the logo for the Batt to Bear and Great Saunter trails. Of note is a list of New York schools considered for the logo contest. Winners were awarded $250, print samples, and credit in the Shorewalkers' website and newsletter.
Shorewalkers Beach Clean-Up, 2000
Shorewalkers "Festooning Manhattan's Rim: The Great New York Island 32-Mile Necklace", 1999, 2006
Scope and Contents Note
This folder contains posters, subway maps, and other literature promoting a community project to celebrate Manhattan's shore parks and promenades.
Topographic Maps Order Forms, 1987
The Great Saunter Program Guide, 2006
Scope and Contents Note
This folder contains literature and program guides for The Great Saunter of 2006--the 21st Annual exploration around Manhattan's rim.
The Great Saunter: A 32-Mile Walk Around Manhattan, 1996
Scope and Contents Note
This folder contains a small photo journal created by Graeme Birchall, a member of Shorewalkers, Inc. It provides an account of the 1996 Great Saunter from its starting point on Fulton Street in Lower Manhattan, several of of the markers along the Manhattan shore, until its final stop at the South Street Seaport. Photographs taken by Birchall complement the description provided.
The Great Saunter Banner, 2006
Scope and Contents Note
This rolled banner is large and somewhat fragile.
Subseries IV.4: Publications, 19xx-19xx
Extent
Scope and Contents
This subseries includes Cyrus Adler's 1997 guide to walking the Hudson River Shore Trail, along with various environmental studies and impact statements for walkways in the tri-state area.
Walking the Hudson, Batt to Bear: From the Battery to Bear Mountain, by Cyrus Adler, 1997
Scope and Contents Note
This book was written by Cyrus Adler and is the first complete guide to walking the Hudson River Shore Trail north to Bear Mountain from Battery Park in lower Manhattan. This trail was scouted by Cy Adler and fellow Shorewalkers in the 1980s and 1990s.
Where the Pavement Ends: The Open Space Imperative, 1987
Scope and Contents Note
This report on land use in the tri-state region between 1964 and 1985 was published by Regional Plan Association.
Building Greenways in the Hudson River Valley, 1989-1990
Scope and Contents Note
This folder also contains A Cross Jersey Trail and Greenway prepared for Columbia Gas Transmission Company.
Hudson River Estuary Management Plan and Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement-Executive Summary, 1990
Scope and Contents Note
This Executive Summary represented the initial efforts of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to identify principal Hudson River Estuary management needs. Also included is an annoucement of a Public Hearing Notice for the Draft Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the Hudson River Estuary.
Patriots' Path: A Red, White and Blue Greenway, 1975
Scope and Contents Note
In addition to the article, Patriots' Path: A Red, White and Blue Greenway, the folder contains a river corridor study of Morris County, New Jersey published in 1975, which mapped out the Partriots' Path Trail.
Cross Jersey Trail and Greenway, 1990
Scope and Contents Note
This booklet provides historical background and photos for the 16 historic houses maintained by the New York Department of Parks and Recreation and the Historic House Trust.
Subseries IV.5.: Photographs
Arrangement
These photographic materials were originally housed in brown envelopes that included photographic prints, negatives, and in some cases, handwritten notes. Each envelope is numbered; Adler used a numbering system that appears to be based on the year and month the photos were taken. Photographs are arranged chronologically using Adler's numbering system, rather than by subject.
For preservation purposes, photos and negatives have been removed from their orginal envelopes and are housed separately in acid-free envelopes. Photographs are boxed separately from negatives. Some of the negatives in the collection were not printed, so researchers should consult both photograph and negative boxes for a complete set of images.
There are also two folders of negatives from the 1990's that are separately housed in Box 10 because of their size. Box 10 also includes one folder of contact sheets from the 1990's. Each of these retains Adler's original number so that they can be correlated with any related photographic prints and the original enevelopes in which they were housed.
The original envelopes have also been retained, and are housed in boxes 15-17. These envelopes contain handwritten notes and should be consulted for additional contextual information about the images.
Photographs, 1982-1989
Photographs, 1990-2001
Photographic Negatives, 1982-1986
Photographic Negatives, 1987-1997
Photographic Negatives, 1992-1997
Scope and Contents Note
These negatives are housed in negative sheets, and not individual envelopes.