Here's the Harlem River, just south of 167th Street as seen in this photo from 1905.
The stone High Bridge arches over the river to bring Croton Reservoir water to Manhattan. Just behind it, we can
see the steel arches of the George Washington Bridge. - Photo courtesy of The
Bronx County Historical Society
The Smith and Haffen Building stood at the intersection of 148th Street and Third and Willis
Avenues. In this photo from 1908, looking south we see Willis Avenue to the left and the 149th Street station
of the Third Avenue El can be seen to the right. This was one of the first office buildings erected in The Bronx.
It housed the Knickerbocker Trust Company also the Home Life Insurance Company and a real estate office. -
Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
Here's the corner of E.180th Street and Boston Road as seen in this photo from 1910.
The entrance to the Bronx Zoo can be seen in the distance to the left. A boathouse on the Bronx River can be seen
to the right in the back. Today, the Lambert Houses occupy the space to the left and 180th Street Park (now called
River Park), is on the right. - Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society.
This is Fordham Road looking east at Tiebout Avenue in this photo from 1914.
Notice the quiet scenery and trees which have been planted recently. A five-story walk-up building can be seen
on the right and frame houses and shops are in the center. - Photo courtesy of
The Bronx County Historical Society.
In the 1600s,The Bronx was just marsh lands. Miles and miles of
open fields of muddy, swampy, insect infested empty lots.
Here's A Brief History of The Bronx in the 17th Century:
1609 - Henry Hudson, exploring for The
Dutch India Company, sails up the Hudson River in his ship "The Half Moon" and becomes the first European to actually
see The Bronx.
1639 - Jonas Bronck, a Swedish sea captain
living in The Netherlands, becomes the first person to actually settle in The Bronx, along with his wife and a handful of
servants.
1642 - John
Throckmorton, comes from Rhode Island with a group of settlers to live in Throg's Neck.
At the same time, Anne Hutchinson arrives from the same
place to live along the banks of the river that was later named for her.
An Indian uprising causes Throckmorton and his settlers
to immediately leave the area but Anne Hutchinson wasn't so lucky. She was brutally killed.
This is the Bronx Borough Hall, which was located on E. Tremont and Third Avenues.
The office of the Bronx Borough President was on the second floor on the right of the main entrance. The bunting
was affixed to the building to celebrate the twin occasions of Flag Day and Bronx Borough Day as seen in this photo taken
in 1925. - Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
This is the grounds of the Bronx Borough Hall Building on E. Tremont and Third Avenues
back in1925. Here we see the water fountain. The place was surrounded by beautiful flowers which adorned
the walkways and paths. This was a lovely place to take walks back in the 1920s. The white building on the
right is on Arthur Avenue and the buildings which are straight ahead towards the left of the photo are on E. Tremont Avenue.
Third Avenue is to the left not seen here. - Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical
Society
This is the hill on Riverdale Avenue at 230th Street back in 1925 when this photo was taken. If
we go up this hill we will be able to see expensive homes and estates as we turn the corner to the right.
An amazing contrast between the Kingsbridge neighborhood, which abounds in single family homes as we look to the center
and right side of this photo. - Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
This is Fordham Road and Webster Avenue back in 1930 when this photo was taken.
The area was full of all kinds of stores even back then but shoppers were never seen in droves. On the right is
the white stone structure of the Korn Exchange Bank. Also, very little traffic can be seen. Since
there were no traffic lights yet to direct what ever little traffic there was, the cop in the middle of the street towards
the left had to do it instead. - Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical
Society
This is Joe McCarthy, manager of the New York Yankees during the 1930s. This
was usually his favorite spot in the dugout at every game as he surveyed the scene and watched his guys play.
- Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
This is West Farms Square back in 1937. Here a trolley from the Tremont Avenue
line is slightly delayed by another trolley ahead of it. We can see a passenger waiting for his eastbound
trolley to the left. A store across the street advertises a Bickford's Cafeteria, which was a very popular coffee
shop chain back then. - Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
