Among the businesses located at the corner of
Willis Avenue and 138th street back in 1907 when this photo was taken were J.S. Diehl's book exchange who traded and sold
old and new books. At 231 Willis Avenue was Paul F. Schnizler, a plumber and gas fitter. Right passed the
narrow door which leads to the upstairs apartments, is 233 Willis Avenue and was the grocery store of Andrew Davey.
A pound of butter was 27 cents, three large cans of tomatoes were 25 cents, a large bag of rice was 12 cents and one can of
corn sold for six cents. Mr. Davey's delivery horse and wagon await at the curb for the next domestic trip.
- Photo courtesy of the Bronx County Historical Society
This is Morris Park Avenue between Mathews and Barnes Avenues as seen in this 1922 photo.
This was the site of Ed Dittmar's Service Station. The frame houses in the area form part of the Morris Park Neighborhood
and most are still standing today. - Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society.
This is Pelham Parkway east of White Plains Road in 1928. New apartment buildings
on the right overlook the broad expanse of trees. Notice one of the buildings still missing its windows as construction
continues. - Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
Acme Beer Distributors on Webster Avenue and 170th Street, was one of the large number of
firms that operated out of a single story, street level establishment. This beer giant sold beer by the bottle,
case, by the can and keg as seen advertised in this photo from the 1930s.
- Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
This is the Concourse Plaza Hotel located on Grand Concourse and 161st Street as seen in
this photo from 1939. This place was the social center of The Bronx back then. Its cafe and bar on
the corner was a favorite meeting place for lawyers and public officials who worked in the nearby Bronx County Building.
Two ladies are crossing the wide street and were perhaps going to sit on the benches of Joyce Kilmer Park, which is across
the street. - Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
This is the statue of the Bronx River Soldier in the Bronx River south of Gun Hill Road
in 1945. It was a local landmark. Everyone would wonder who he was and how he ever got there.
- Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society.
BLASTFROMTHEPAST
It seems like the years between 1935 and 1965 in The Bronx, were only yesterday.
During this period, The Bronx was in a construction frenzy. Not all construction was prompted by the federal government.
New, elegant six story apartment buildings were built by private landlords.
They concentrated on the beautiful Art-Deco design. They had cream colored bricks and casement windows.
These new apartments were eagerly and aggressively being sought by the borough's up and coming people, who knew that a Grand
Concourse address was a badge of social status. If you lived in Grand Concourse, you were doing well. Actually...very
well!
In the Eastchester section of The Bronx, Governor Herbert H. Lehman opened the new
Hillside Homes. Their ground level apartments became the most desireable for those who wanted access to pretty
gardens within their living complex.
More spectacular were the works promoted by Robert Moses, the popular New York City
Parks Commissioner and chairman of the Triborough Bridge Authority. Under Mr. Moses, St. Mary's Park in Mott Haven
and Crotona Park were reconstructed. Mr. Moses is also responsible for building the swimming pool at Crotona
Park.
Also under the leadership of Mr. Robert Moses, the Triborough Bridge was built.
He also built the Whitestone Bridge, the Throgs Neck Bridge, The Major Deegan Expressway, the Cross Bronx Expressway, the
Bronx River Parkway, the Henry Hudson Parkway, the Van Cortlandt Park and also the Saw Mill River Parkway. At one time
Robert Moses held 12 positions simultaneously in New York. He in a sense, hated people but loved cars!
People who had gone through the hardships of the Great Depression, were not only willing
but eager to agree with government that it should provide adequate shelter for the less well off.
From the late 1940s through the 1950s and into the 1960s, clusters of housing projects
rose high over neighboring apartment buildings. Wheather it was the MITCHELL HOUSES, in Mott Haven, the HIGHBRIDGE HOUSES,
in Highbridge, the CLAREMONT NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSES, in Morrisania, the CASTLE HILL HOUSES, in Castle Hill, the SEDGWICK HOUSES,
in Morris Heights, the MONROE HOUSES, in Soundview or others scattered throughout the borough, the projects eased the housing
shortage and provided an affordable place to live for those who needed it at very low rents.
By the end of the 1950s, Black Americans dominated Morrisania, while Puerto Ricans
were concentrated in Hunts Point and Mott Haven.
In 1960, presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, campaigned in The Bronx at a huge
rally on the Grand Concourse, just south of Fordham Road. Kennedy revealed that he too was a Bronxite because
he had lived in Riverdale some years before. After this rally, the future president's motorcade headed towards
the Concourse Plaza Hotel on Grand Concourse and 161st Street for another speech there.
By 1948, all Bronx based trolley routes were discontinued and replaced by buses.
Their tracks were either torn up or simply coverd with asphalt.
In 1955, the Third Avenue EL was discontinued in Manhattan and torn down.
Its structure in The Bronx, from the Harlem River to the 149th Street Station was destroyed as well.
Yet, so much of the past still remains in The Bronx. In a way, it seems
that the years between 1935 and 1965 were only yesterday.
The people of The Bronx are still today ethnically diverse and still center their
lives in their neighborhoods. They still value their religious traditions. They still shop at Fordham
Road and at Third Avenue. They still travel by subway and by buses. Still strive for the best education
for their children. They still cheer the New York Yankees. They still enjoy visiting the Bronx Zoo.
And they still enjoy relaxing under a shady tree in various parks.
In many ways, The Bronx of yesterday still persists in The Bronx of today!
AMAZING!
On the corner of Fordham Road and University Avenue stands the St. Nicholas of Tolentine
Church. It is still standing proudly in this exact location today and serves many local worshippers.
This is an undated photo but believed to be from 1946. - Photo courtesy
of The Bronx County Historical Society
A huge crowd has gathered on Grand Concourse south of Fordham Road in front of the Wagner
Building to hear presidential candidate John F. Kennedy speak as seen in this photo from 1960. The entire area
was cleared of traffic. It was while giving this speach that Kennedy told the crowd that he was a Bronxite too
because he had lived in Riverdale around 1927. The Loew's Paradise Theater can be seen in the top left side of the photo.
- Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
Here's presidential candidate John F. Kennedy shaking the hand of a Bronx police officer
as seen in this photo from 1960. The motorcade stops on Grand Concourse and 162nd Street to greet the crowd.
Also seated in the car is New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner. - Photo courtesy of The Bronx County
Historical Society
At Bainbridge Avenue and Van Cortlandt Avenue East, the historic Valentine-Varian House which
was built in 1758, is being moved across Bainbridge Avenue from its original location on June 30, 1965 as seen in this photo.
Residents from the Norwood neighborhood have gathered in the street to watch as the stone house trussed with steel wires and
placed on wheels, is being dragged by cables pulled by trucks which are partially hidden on the right side of the photo.
Today the house is the second oldest house in The Bronx and is used by The Bronx County Historical Society as the building
which houses the Museum of Bronx History. - Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society.
