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"OLD STREET SCENES"
No matter how hard we try, we could never go back in time! However take
a look at how The Bronx used to look back in the good old days! Thanks to these old photos which seem to keep those
good old days frozen in time!
Here we see Fordham Road and the intersection of Kingsbridge Road around 1932.
The small park on the right has a little grass and a lonely bench. Notice how fast the car on the left seems to
be going right over the trolley tracks. That's because back then, not all cameras were equipped with fast shutter
speeds. - Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
This is Fordham Road just west of third Avenue. This 1936 photo shows
us some activities on the sidewalks and in the street with people, perhaps many doing their shopping, with cars, trolleys
and buses passing by. We can see the white building straight ahead which is the Korn Exchange Bank and the building
of Roger's Department Store, which later became the Sears building, on the left. - Photo courtesy
of The Bronx County Historical Society
Let's look at this 1939 photo of University Heights from the air. We can
see apartment buildings and single family homes. In the center, we can see the campus of New York University,
which later became Bronx Community College. The Hall of Fame is on the left. Sedgwick Avenue is the
street that is going up diagonally in front of the two big buildings a little to the left of the photo. At the
end of the campus grounds is University Avenue. The private houses in the center are between 179th and 180th
Streets. - Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
Here we can see a Williamsbridge Road trolley at West Farms Square. This
area was a major connecting place for many trolleys. Passengers would get off and hop on another trolley that
would eventually take them to their destination. This trolley is moving into Boston Road under the West Farms
Square station of the IRT number 2 and 5 elevated train line as seen in this photo from 1945. Today, the
two houses we see here straight ahead, no longer exist and in its place is a parking lot for NYCHA. E. Tremont
Avenue can be partially seen to the left of the first house. - Photo courtesy
of The Bronx County Historical Society
This is Bruckner Boulevard near Edison Avenue looking toward Logan and Hollywood Avenues
back in 1945. There were mostly framed houses in the area. The vacant land we see here in the front
of the photograph has been cleared and is being prepared for the widening of Bruckner Boulevard.
- Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
This is Kingsbridge Heights back in 1949. We can see the elevated train
tracks of the IRT number 1 Broadway line on the left side of the photo. Work has begun as we see machines excavating
the ground for what is to become the Marble Hill Houses (Projects). - Photo courtesy of The
Bronx County Historical Society
This is Baychester Avenue near Boston Road in 1950. The road is getting
a new surface as workers apply a fresh coat of asphalt. They are actually covering the cobblestones or Belgian
blocks as they are also called. We can see some single family houses to the right as well as empty lots.
- Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
Locust Avenue south of 138th street in the heavily industrialized Port Morris neighborhood
back in 1950. Here a worker removes old trolley tracks. The large brick building on the left side
is the R. Hoe Company which was world-famous manufacturers of printing presses. - Photo
courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
Here's Fordham Road near Webster Avenue in 1952. Notice steamrollers are
smoothing out the new asphalt that was previously applied to the road. In the center of the photo is the entrance
to the Fordham Station serving the Harlem Division of the New York Central Railroad. A bus has stopped right
in front of the station to pick up and drop passengers. The elevated train tracks straight ahead belong to
the Third Avenue El. - Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
At the corner of Concourse Village West and 156th Street around 1964, local citizens
watch as a new stop sign is cemented into place. The Concouse Village apartments can be seen across the street.
- Photo courtesy of The Bronx County Historical Society
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