Historic Bronx Parks –Tour 1 Tour 1

A GUIDE TO HISTORIC NEW YORK CITY NEIGHBORHOODS HI STORIC BRONX PARKS BRONX The Historic Districts Council is New York’s citywide advocate for historic buildings and neighborhoods. The Six to Celebrate program annually identifies six historic New York City neighborhoods that merit preservation as priorities for HDC’s advocacy and consultation over a yearlong period. The six, chosen from applications submitted by community organizations, are selected on the basis of the architectural and historic merit of the area, the level of threat to the neighborhood, the strength and willingness of the local advocates, and the potential for HDC’s preservation support to be meaningful. HDC works with these neighborhood partners to set and reach preservation goals through strategic planning, advocacy, outreach, programs and publicity. The core belief of the Historic Districts Council is that preservation and enhancement of New York City’s historic resources—its neighborhoods, buildings, parks and public spaces—are central to the continued success of the city. The Historic Districts Council works to ensure the preservation of these resources and uphold the New York City Landmarks Law and to further the preservation ethic. This mission is accomplished through ongoing programs of assistance to more than 500 community and neighborhood groups and through public-policy initiatives, publications, educational outreach and sponsorship of community events. Six to Celebrate is generously supported by The New York Community Trust. Additional support for Six to Celebrate is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and by public funds from the New York City Depart- ment of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and New York City Councilmembers Margaret Chin, Inez Dickens, Daniel Garodnick, Vincent Gentile, Sara Gonzalez, Stephen Levin and Rosie Mendez. 232 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003 tel 212-614-9107 fax 212-614-9127 e-mail [email protected] www.hdc.org Copyright © 2014 by Historic Districts Council Cover: Bronx River from Burke Bridge (Tour 2, site #8) Guide design: Lost In Brooklyn Studio Guide design: Lost In Brooklyn A BRIEF HISTORY hen the western Bronx was annexed by New York City in 1874, it was only a mat- ter of time until this rural area would experience widespread urban expansion and Wa surge in population. John Mullaly (1835–1915), regarded as the “father of the Bronx Park system,” was a newspaper reporter and editor who looked upon this future growth with concern for the well-being of city residents and for the intelligent development of the city itself. To this end, he convened a group of men he hoped would help, presenting facts and figures to make his crucial point about the dire need for more open spaces. His argument was that DeWitt Clinton, New York City’s mayor from 1803 to 1807, had planned the city’s parks in 1807 with one acre of parkland to every 160 inhabitants. The reality by 1881, however, was that there was just one acre for every 1,500 inhabitants. By contrast, Paris had one acre for every 13 inhabitants at that time. Mullaly proposed that 4,000 acres be set aside for park land in The Bronx. He succeeded in convincing these men and eventually many others, who became known as the New York Park Association (NYPA), founded in 1881. Regarding what would someday become Pelham Bay Park, Mullaly was notably quoted in the New York Herald: “If we make a park out of this land, it will be the favorite suburban resort of the mass of the population, the toilers of the city: it will be their Newport.” The NYPA’s effort culminated in the 1884 New Parks Act and the City’s 1888–90 purchase of lands for Clare- mont, Crotona, Van Cortlandt, Bronx, St. Mary’s and Pelham Bay Parks, as well as the Mosholu, Bronx, Pelham, and Crotona Parkways that connect the parks to one another. In 1932, 18 years after his death, Mullaly Park in the south Bronx was dedicated in his honor. 2013–2015 marks the 125th anniversary of the consolidation of the Bronx Park system. To celebrate this occasion and raise awareness of these vital resources, the Bronx Parks 125 An- niversary Committee launched a series of programs and symposia. This brochure includes two walking tours, each covering a number of the parks that were part of the original acquisition of 1888–90 and sites in between. Each one takes roughly two hours by foot. With a bike or other mode of transport, these may be covered in much less time. Those who wish may also venture farther to see some of the borough’s other great parks that are not mentioned in this brochure, including two parks and two parkways acquired in 1888–90: Pelham Bay Park, St. Mary’s Park, Bronx River Parkway (completed in 1925) and Pelham Parkway (originally called the Bronx and Pelham Parkway). LEGEND OF DESIGNATIONS National Historic Landmark: F National Register of Historic Places—District: H National Register of Historic Places —Property: J New York City Historic District: Q New York City Individual Landmark: X New York City Interior Landmark: D HISTORIC BRONX PARKS –TOUR 1 TOUR 1: 1. FORMER NEW YORK, WESTCHESTER AND BOSTON RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION BUILDING J X East 180th Street at Morris Park Avenue Fellheimer & Long with Allen H. Stem, 1912 Located at the southern tip of Bronx Park, this Italian Renais- sance style building was originally the administration office for the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway system. After the system went out of business in 1937, the City tied the Bronx portion of the line into the subway system. Since then, the building has served as the East 180th Street station for the 2 and 5 subway lines. Of note in the center of the façade is the ornate clock surround, which features a winged head of Mercury, the Roman god of travel. Architect Allen H. Stem si- multaneously worked with Charles Reed to design Grand Central Terminal, whose grand Beaux- Arts style contrasts this Italian villa, just as midtown Manhattan’s urban environment contrasted The Bronx’s bucolic setting at that time. In 2011, the City undertook a major restoration of the building. 2. FORMER DELANCEY MILL DAM Inside River Park at East 180th Street and Boston Road River Park is within the southern tip of Bronx Park, and features this beautiful 13-foot waterfall. The falls were first modified into a dam to power mills along the river by William Richardson shortly after 1680. Later, some of the mills were owned and operated by the DeLancey family, Huguenots (French Protestants) who settled in New York in 1686. James DeLancey (1746–1804) was famously known as the “Outlaw of the Bronx” for his loyalist stance during the Revolutionary War, during which he led the “Westches- ter Chasseurs,” a group of Tory troops. After the war, his land was confiscated and he moved to Nova Scotia, where he became a prominent politician. 3 — HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL — Historic Bronx Parks 3. BRONX ZOO 1899 In 1884, Fordham University sold a large parcel of its campus to the City for use as a zoo and garden, known as Bronx Park. The property had histori- cally been part of the Lorillard estate, whose snuff mill is still extant within the New York Botanical Garden. In 1888, the City allotted 250 of its acres to the New York Zoological Society, and in 1891, another 250 to the New York Botanical Society. The largest of the city’s five zoos, The Bronx Zoo is divided into northern and southern sections. The north is characterized by its formal layout, with Astor Court in the center, surrounded by Beaux Arts buildings, some of which are designated city landmarks. The landscape in the south is more naturalistic, with buildings ranging in style from Modern to Brutalist. This entry is the Asia Gate, which leads into a forest surrounding the Bronx River, with Asian wildlife displays. 4. WEST FARMS SOLDIERS CEMETERY X East 180th Street and Bryant Avenue, Ca. 1815 Walk back down Boston Road and turn right onto East 180th Street. One block down on the right is a nearly 200-year-old cemetery. The oldest public veteran’s burial ground in The Bronx, this roughly 2/3-acre plot contains 40 graves of soldiers who fought in four American wars: the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and World War I. Founded by John Butler for a private burial, the Butler family owned it until the City took possession in 1954. The bronze statue of a Union Army soldier was erected in 1909. The plot is named after its location in what was then called West Farms Village, established in 1663. 4 — HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL — Historic Bronx Parks 5. BECK MEMORIAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 980 East 180th Street 1905 The congregation of this church dates back to 1815, when some of the roughly 300 inhabitants of West Farms Village formed the First Presbyterian Church. This is the church’s sec- ond building, funded by trustee Charles Bathgate Beck in mem- ory of his mother. The Gothic Revival stone building features rectangular arrowslit openings that evoke a medieval castle. Its large, imposing terra-cotta-clad tower features a mansard roof with dormer windows and an ornate weathervane. 6. CROTONA PARKWAY MALLS, 1910 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 1900 Crotona Parkway Ca. 1925 The Crotona Parkway Malls, between Crotona Parkway and Southern Boulevard, lend a pleasing atmosphere to the parkway. The City acquired the land for Crotona Parkway in 1888 to connect Crotona Park and Bronx Park.

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