Seaman-Drake Arch, Marble arch entrance in Inwood, Manhattan, United States
The Seaman-Drake Arch is a freestanding marble gateway on West 216th Street in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. It stands between newer commercial buildings, and part of it is currently used for storage by a nearby business.
The arch was built in 1855 as the entrance to a large hilltop estate owned by the Seaman family in Inwood. The mansion was eventually torn down, but the gateway was left standing.
The arch's name joins the Seaman family, who built the estate, and the Drake family through Ann Drake Seaman, who willed the marble house and grounds to her nephew Lawrence Drake; 145 relatives contested the will until about 1893. Since the 1960s the arch has been part of an auto-body shop, and its south side is used for storage by a transmission repair business.
The arch stands at 5065 Broadway at West 216th Street, behind a transmission repair shop and auto body shop. The south side is used for storage, so access is limited, but the structure is visible from the sidewalk. The interior, open to the sky since a 1970 fire, can be seen from higher buildings on either side.
The arch's two niches were meant for statues, but they have stood empty for decades. The pivots of its original iron gates also survive. The south side now serves as storage for the transmission repair shop behind it.
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