Coogan's Bluff

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For the Clint Eastwood movie see Coogan's Bluff (film)

Coogan's Bluff is the name of a promontory located in upper Manhattan in New York City. Rising abruptly from the Harlem River, it is colloquially regarded as the boundary between the neighborhoods of Harlem and Washington Heights.

The bluff overlooks the former site of the Polo Grounds, where Major League Baseball's New York Giants played their home games prior to their move to San Francisco after the end of the 1957 season; as a result, the name "Coogan's Bluff" was often used, particularly by journalists, to denote the Polo Grounds itself, much the same way "Chavez Ravine" is frequently used today to refer to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, the latter being located therein. However, the ballpark sat in Coogan's Hollow, the bottomland beneath the bluff.

The Morris-Jumel Mansion, the oldest house in Manhattan still standing (built in 1765 and now a museum) is located nearby, and immediately to the west is Sugar Hill, the locality immortalized by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn in their 1941 classic song Take the 'A' Train.

Coogan's Bluff is named for a former borough president of Manhattan, James J. Coogan (1845-1915), who was elected to the post in 1898 and served one two-year term in the office.

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