A rare sight in Riverdale

We've now entered Fieldston proper.

(If you'd like a peek inside the castle, check out this photo gallery.)

Not far from this modest abode (whose length exceeds that of the photo) in Villanova Heights is the pinnacle of the highest peak in the Bronx, with an altitude exceeding 280 feet above sea level (the construction of this development looks to have altered the terrain somewhat, so the 284.5-foot elevation cited in the linked article may not be accurate anymore).

Adjacent to Fieldston in the Bronx, this new development of gargantuan houses, built on spec, has not seen a lot of interest from buyers.

This is the house where the humble and beloved Lou Gehrig died in 1941 at the age of 37. The Yankees' legendary first baseman was a man of prodigious talent, one of the greatest hitters the game has ever seen. He became a regular in the Yankees' lineup in 1925, two years into his career, and never took a day off from that point forward. Playing through injury and illness, he had appeared in 2,130 consecutive games when he took his final swing, an unheard-of accomplishment that stood as a record for 56 years.

His unmatched toughness and reliability earned him the nickname "The Iron Horse", but even he was no match for the disease that now bears his name, which began ravaging his body in the prime of his life and knocked him out of baseball less than a year after he first began to notice its effects. Despite his extraordinary athletic achievements, Lou is best remembered for his moving retirement speech, telling the teary-eyed crowd packed into Yankee Stadium: "Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth."

Built from the top down by the Soviets in 1974, this fortress is home to Russian UN diplomats and their families, and during the Cold War it "bristled with antennas for listening to American conversations". In 1997, the Russians drew up plans to renovate and expand the complex, but they seem to have abandoned them in the face of strident community opposition.

As seen from high atop the cliffs of Van Cortlandt Park

with another old NY&P bridge off in the distance

That's an old New York and Putnam Railroad bridge, now used as part of a hiking trail, in the background.