A simple marble urn memorializing a child stands atop a square pedestal on an overgrown path in Riverside Park, overlooking the Hudson River. The small monument to four year-old St. Claire Pollack, though not widely known, has been a cherished spot for writers, artists, and residents of the surrounding Morningside Heights neighborhood. One block north of the quiet private grave looms the grandiose, neoclassical hulk of Grant's Tomb, an imposing monument to a famous public figure. The contrast between the two memorials, one so intimate and the other so grand, is poignant.
Who Was St. Claire Pollack?
The story of little St. Claire is shrouded in legend. The pedestal inscription tells us that the memorial was "Erected to the Memory of an Amiable Child, St. Claire Pollock, Died 15 July 1797 in the Fifth Year of His Age." According to the placard put up by the NYC Parks Department, he was killed by a fall from the high cliffs onto the rocks below. Other sources indicate that he drowned in the Hudson River while fishing with his father. It is also possible that he died, as so many children did, from the yellow fever epidemic that swept through the city every summer.
St. Claire's Family at Home in Upper Manhattan's Strawberry Hill
Little is known of St. Claire's family. George Pollack, who was either the boy's father or his uncle, erected the memorial. Pollack owned a house and farm across from the grave site, with land extending into what is now Riverside Park. In 1797, northern Manhattan was still countryside, miles removed from the bustle of the growing city in the southern portion of the island. Known as Strawberry Hill for its abundance of wild strawberries, the area of Pollack's farm was Manhattan's highest point, offering sweeping views of the Hudson. Just twenty years earlier, in 1776, it had been the site of the Revolutionary War Battle of Harlem Heights.
Perpetual Care of the Monument
Pollack buried the child in land that he intended for a family cemetery. Yet only a few years after St. Claire's death, he sold the property and moved away. In a letter to the woman to whom he had sold the property, he wrote, "There is a small enclosure . . . within which lie the remains of a favorite child, covered by a marble monument. You will confer a peculiar and interesting favor upon me by allowing me to convey the enclosure to you so that you will consider it a part of your own estate, keeping it, however, always enclosed and sacred." Since the creation of Riverside Park in 1875, the monument has been cared for by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
The Amiable Child Today
The amiable child is also memorialized by two other noteworthy sites. Northwest of the monument is a small street called St. Claire's Place. It begins across from the Hudson and runs east at an angle for two blocks until meeting West 125th Street. On the south side of St. Claire's Place, under the huge railroad bridge, is a thriving garden, the St. Claire Rose Garden, maintained by neighborhood volunteers.
Remarkably, the big city has cherished and protected the small memorial to a child through more than two centuries. Visitors and neighbors reach through the surrounding iron fence to lay flowers, particularly in summer as July 15th draws near.
The Amiable Child Monument is located in Riverside Park, just off Riverside Drive and 123rd Street, one block north of Grant's Tomb.
Melissa Cooper - Melissa Cooper is a freelance writer who specializes in articles about the history and natural history of Manhattan, urban wildlife and ...
