<< I'm almost certain that Riverside Drive was never known as "Boulevard
Lafayette." >>
I've forgotten the original request, but Riverside Drive from c. 153rd to its
termination at Dyckman and Broadway was known as Boulevard Lafayette from
1894 to 1905. It was renamed when it was improved and joined to the lower
Riverside Drive in a massive road construction project, but the name
persisted for many years.
Examine I N P Stokes' Iconography of Manhattan Island for an outline history
and more sources. NY Times & NY Tribune have numerous cites for the
construction work - don't know about the original naming.
Christopher Gray
Office for Metropolitan History
246 West 80th Street, #8, NYC 10024
212-799-0520 fax -0542
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