Well before the Palisades Parkway was completed in the 1950s, a stretch of land atop the cliffside was formerly known as Millionaires’ Row. Many big names from the late-19th and early-20th Centuries settled here, yet nearly all of them cashed out during the Great Depression as the world economy collapsed and a dramatic shift in wealth began to materialize. With the George Washington Bridge nearing completion and talks of development beginning to spread, John D Rockefeller Jr. quietly purchased many of these properties for preservation. In 1933, Rockefeller then donated 723 acres to the Palisades Interstate Commission, to be used for a scenic parkway with the remaining land returned to its native state. Although it's difficult to imagine what all of this might have been like while traveling down the Palisades Parkway today, this Adventure Lab will take you back in time to visit a few of those old estates - some of which can still be experienced, albeit in ruins, while hiking the Long Path.
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