FOR as long as New York has been New York, its inhabitants have looked for ways to escape the city’s frenzy. They have sought out breathable air, fresh vistas or a simple patch of greenery.

In 1880, Harper’s Weekly offered its readers a helpful tip. “Nothing can be pleasanter, for those who have a short time at their disposal, than an afternoon trip to High Bridge, where the scenery is delightful, and where one can enjoy the sight of the great structure over which rushes the supply of water for New York, take a walk over the high banks, or sit on shaded benches to watch the rowers on Harlem River,” it wrote. “The end comes all too soon.”

The scenery has changed. The Major Deegan and Cross Bronx Expressways crisscross former farmland. Huge apartment buildings occupy the commanding heights along the river. Highbridgeville, an Irish settlement on the Bronx side, no longer exists. The Speedway, where trotting horses and souped-up carriages once raced on the Manhattan side, is now the Harlem River Drive. Instead of rowers, two Jet Ski riders sent up walls of spray as they cut high-speed figure eights on a recent afternoon.