Riverside Drive is a scenic north-south thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The boulevard runs generally parallel to the Hudson River from 72nd Street to near the George Washington Bridge at 181st Street on the west side of Manhattan. At points Riverside Drive is a wide avenue; at other points it narrows to a serpentine neighborhood street. Some of the most coveted addresses in New York are located along its route.

Riverside Drive was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead as part of his concept for Riverside Park. It passes through the Manhattan neighborhoods of the upper west side, Morningside Heights, over Manhattanville in West Harlem by way of the Riverside Drive Viaduct and Washington Heights. Among the monuments, sights and institutions along its route are the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the statue of Joan of Arc, Grants Tomb, The Riverside Church, Riverbank State Park, Trinity church cemetary, Colombia-Presbtarian hospital and Fort Washington Park.

Most of Riverside Drive was built along an older road. Due to the hilly terrain, Riverside Drive passes over 96th St, 125th St and 158th Street viaducts; at 125th St, an old alignment is present, also named Riverside Drive. At its north end, Riverside Drive used to merge with the northbound lanes of the Henry Hudson Pkwy, which were originally part of the road. However, in 2005, a retaining wall collpased onto the roadway and on the Northbound Henry Hudson Parkway. To this day, the right lane of the HHP remains closed & Riverside Dr is closed at 181st Street. A detour takes you to Haven Ave to Fort Washington Avenue.

The section exiting the parkway are the Dyckman exit and ending at Broadway is still known as Riverside Drive.

Excerpt from Wikipedia.org