USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume II > Part 28
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On July 1, 1781, the French army arrived at Bedford from Newport. There were several chaplains with it, the best known being the Abbé Robin, who has left some interesting records of his impressions of the people and of the country in letters sent to France and afterwards pub-
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lished there. On July 3, 1781, the French took part in the attack upon Kingsbridge, and between that date and August 25th, the Abbé Robin and the other chaplains officiated at services at several places within the county, and perhaps within the territory of The Bronx. If so, these would have been the first open exercises on record within the borough.
As to the subsequent history of Catholicism in the county up to the year 1840 the matter would appear to be traditional, and Father D. P. O'Neil, who made a thorough study of the whole matter could find very few facts previous to that date. The English laws, as has been stated, prevailed here and were rigorous against Catholics in later colonial days, and there was a fomented suspicion and prejudice among the English colonists-this is illustrated in the case of the Acadians. The only Catholics likely to come to the colony would be Irish, most of them talk- ing English as well as Gaelic; and they appear to have found employ- ment for the most part amongst Quakers, whose doctrines taught more liberality of thought than did those of the Established Church.
In 1784 the first Catholic church in New York, St. Peter's, in Barclay Street, was established. In 1817 St. Patrick's Church was built in Mul- berry Street. It is known that Catholics living at the upper end of Man- hattan made trips, frequently on foot, to attend services at one of these churches ; and it is more than likely that the few and scattered Catholics living in what is now The Bronx did likewise as late as 1833. In 1834 the Church of St. Paul was established in Harlem and the Catholics of the vicinity looked upon it as a great convenience, saving a long jour- ney to the churches of lower Manhattan. In 1839 the priests of St. Paul's were making monthly trips to the section above the Harlem River, which was considered an out-mission of their church. The first authenticated performance of the services of the church was at Clason's Point, where the last rites were administered to Dominick Lynch by Bishop Connolly in 1825. In many cases the desire of Catholics to lie in consecrated ground led to the establishment of graveyards in which, or near which, a church would afterwards be established. This may have been the case with some of the churches in Westchester County.
In 1840, St. John's College was established at Fordham, and, though the chapel there was for the use of priests and students, worship was permitted to the Catholics of the vicinity as a chapel of convenience. In 1843 the college came under control of the Society of Jesus, whose priests engaged in missionary work throughout the county. The same year the first church within The Bronx, that of St. Raymond, was established at Westchester by an Italian priest named Father Villanis. The first burial in the adjoining graveyard had taken place the year previous. The old church remained for more than half a century, when a fine new church on the site of the original St. Raymond's was dedicated on Octo- ber 23, 1898. In 1844 the first mass was celebrated at Kingsbridge by
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Father O'Reilly; and in 1848 Father McGuire officiated there. There is an interesting fact in regard to early worship at Kingsbridge and that is that owing to the lack of proper rooms for the use of the different de- nominations the services were all held in the schoolhouse. Mass would be celebrated in the morning, and the Catholic altar would be removed. In the afternoon the Episcopalians would hold their services, and in evening, the Methodists.
Before 1840 Catholics in the territory of The Bronx were few, but about 1837 there began the construction of the great public works-the Harlem Railroad, the Hudson River Railroad, and the Croton Aque- duct. This brought in great numbers of Irish, and thus the Catholic population increased very rapidly in the decade between 1838 and 1848. In this latter year occurred the revolutions in the German States of Europe, followed by the immigration of thousands of Germans, who generally settled as farmers. Many of these were Catholics; and in 1852 the Church of the Immaculate Conception was established at Melrose Avenue and East 150th Street with a German pastor.
Early Methodists-Despite that fact that George Whitefield, the fa- mous evangelist, preached to the assembled tenants of the Van Cort- landts at the manor-house on the Croton River before the Revolution, and though the manor-house often entertained the eminent Methodist preachers, such as Asbury and Garretson, it does not appear that the new doctrines made much progress in the localities of what is now The Bronx. It is more than likely that Methodist itinerant preachers, the "circuit-riders" of a later day, visited and preached within the borough.
There were acts of the Legislature of the State in regard to the incor- poration of churches. Under the act of March 27, 1801, the Methodists of Westchester organized a church on March 8, 1808, under the name of Zion Methodist Episcopal Church of the town of Westchester. There had, however, been a congregation for some time before. The church edifice was erected about 1818. The church was re-incorporated on Oc- tober 26, 1826; but it does not seem to have flourished, as the church corporation was dissolved by reason of non-user. A second re-incorpor- ation was effected on February 7, 1833, when the congregation assem- bled in the edifice used by them for worship and resolved that the so- ciety in future should be called the Methodist Episcopal Church of Zion, in the town of Westchester. The church edifice is situated on the road leading to West Farms (Walker Avenue), and like so many of the older churches has a small graveyard adjoining.
Round the year 1826 there was a small congregation of Methodists in Kingsbridge who met in a small schoolhouse on the westerly side of the Albany Post Road (Broadway) at Mosholu, which lies west of the parade-ground at Van Cortlandt Park. On February 14, 1835, the so-
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ciety was incorporated as the Methodist Episcopal Church Bethel, of the town of Yonkers. The same year the congregation erected a church edifice, the first to be built within what subsequently became the town of Kingsbridge. Since 1875 the congregation has worshipped at St. Stephen's Church on the Kingsbridge Road, Manhattan. Other Metho- dist societies were formed at City Island in 1848; at Morrisania in 1850; at Tremont in 1853; a German congregation at Morrisania in the same year; and at West Farms, in 1858.
The First Baptists-The first Baptist church to be organized within the borough was the First Church of Morrisania in 1850. Previous to 1858 the Pilgrim Baptist Church of New York opened a mission in what was called West Farms Hall, where services were held on Sundays by the Rev. Theodore Gessler and by a business man of the name of Halsey Knapp. Success crowned their efforts and a number of converts were made who were baptized in the Bronx River. In January, 1858, the Baptists of West Farms, to the number of twenty-one, formed them- selves into a distinct church and adopted the name of the Pilgrim Bap- tist Church of West Farms. In November of the same year a lot was pur- chased on the Boston Road at Bryant Street, and the erection of a small church edifice was begun shortly afterwards. A later edifice occupies the same site, though long unused, having been vacated on account of the passing trolleys and elevated trains. In June, 1859, Mr. Halsey Knapp was ordained as pastor of the church.
This concludes the list of what may be called the "historic" churches of The Bronx-those that existed in colonial times or which were estab- lished in the first half century after we became a nation.
Churches of Christ-The Fourth Church of Christian Science was or- ganized under the name of "West Side Church of Christ, Scientists," in November, 1898. Its location is at Fort Washington Avenue, and West 178th Street. Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist, was organized on June 2, 1913. Building plans were started in 1920 for a permanent church home to be situated on the corner of Anthony Avenue and Echo Place. Temporary quarters are established in the Mckinley Building, 166th Street and Boston Road. Eleventh Church of Christ, Scientist, was in- corporated on February 11, 1920. It was organized as the "Christian Science Society of Bedford Park." It now holds services at No. 2382 Grand Concourse.
Churches in The Bronx-A list of the churches in The Bronx for the year 1925 is here given :
Baptist-Alexander Avenue. Alexander Avenue corner 141st Street ; Ascension, No. 291 East 160th Street; Creston Avenue, 188th Street and Creston Avenue; Ebenezer (Primitive), No. 1216 Intervale Avenue ; Emmanuel, 216th Street, near White Plains Avenue; First Swedish-
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Finnish, No. 673 East 137th Street; First Union, No. 595 Courtlandt Avenue; Fordham Italian Congregation, Lorillard Place and 187th Street; Grace, Prospect Avenue and Boston Road; Third German, No. 1127 Fulton Avenue; Tremont, Tremont and Webster avenues; Trinity (Colored), No. 820 East 224th Street.
Congregational-Bedford Park, Bainbridge Avenue and 201st Street; Bethlehem, No. 612 East 135th Street; Forest Avenue, 166th Street and Forest Avenue; North New York, 143rd Street, near Willis Avenue ; Pilgrim, Grand Concourse and 175th Street.
Disciples of Christ-Second, 169th Street and Franklin Avenue.
Evangelical-Christ, East 187th Street, between Tiebout and Valen- tine avenues; St. Paul's, No. 2136 Newbold Avenue.
Lutheran-Bethany, No. 582 Teasdale Place; Calvary, Eastchester Road, near Pelham Parkway; Clason Point Mission, Sound View and Gildersleeve avenues; Concordia (German), Brook Avenue and 142nd Street; Emmanuel, Brown Place and 137th Street; First (Throggs Neck), Barkley and Revere avenues; Fordham (Evangelical), No. 2430 Walton Avenue; Grace, Valentine Avenue, near 139th Street; Holy Comforter, No. 1060 Woodycrest Avenue; Holy Trinity, Intervale Ave- nue and Home Street; Immanuel (Scandinavian and Norwegian), No. 1410 Vyse Avenue; Messiah (Swedish), Fairmount Place, near Southern Boulevard; St. John's (German), No. 1343 Fulton Avenue; St. Luke's (German), No. 1724 Adams Street; St. Mark's, 242nd Street, near Mar- tha Avenue; St. Matthew's, No. 376 East 156th Street; St. Paul's (Evan- gelical), Crotona Avenue and East 178th Street; St. Paulus, No. 794 East 156th Street; St. Peter's, 219th Street, near White Plains Avenue ; St. Peter's (Evangelical), No. 437 East 140th Street; St. Stephen's, No. 1001 Union Avenue; St. Thomas' (English), 175th Street and Topping Avenue; Trinity (Danish), No. 1179 Hoe Avenue; Trinity (Evangeli- cal), Powell Avenue, near East 177th Street; Trinity (Swedish) (pro- posed), 166th Street and Grand Concourse.
Methodist Episcopal-Bethel, Grand Concourse and 117th Street ; Bos- ton Road, Boston Road and 172nd Street; Butler Memorial (Colored), No. 719 East 233rd Street; Calvary, University and Burnside avenues ; Centenary, Washington Avenue and 166th Street; City Island, City Is- land Avenue and Bay Street; Crawford Memorial, White Plains Avenue and 218th Street; Elton Avenue (German), Elton Avenue, corner 158th Street; Epworth (Colored), Morris Avenue and 160th Street; Fordham, No. 2539 Marion Avenue; Grace, White Plains Avenue, near 242nd Street ; Morris Heights, No. 1788 Sedgwick Avenue; Mott Avenue, Mott Avenue and 150th Street ; St. Stephen's, No. 146 West 228th Street ; Tre- mont, Washington Avenue and 178th Street; Tremont (German), No. 1841 Bathgate Avenue; Van Nest, Morris Park and Hunt avenues ; Westchester, No. 2547 East Tremont Avenue; Willis Avenue, Willis
THE CONCOURSE CENTER OF ISRAEL
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Avenue, corner 141st Street; Woodhaven Heights, 241st Street, near Katonah Avenue; Woodycrest, 166th Street, near Nelson Avenue.
Moravian-Tremont Terrace, No. 1620 Mayflower Avenue, Throgg's Neck.
Presbyterian-Beck Memorial, No. 980 East 180th Street; Bedford Park, 200th Street and Bainbridge Avenue; Bethany, No. 420 East 137th Street; Edgehill, Spuyten Duyvil; Featherbed Lane, Featherbed Lane and University Avenue; First (Williamsbridge), No. 734 East 225th Street ; Holy Trinity (Italian), 153rd Street, near Morris Avenue ; Home Street, Home Street and West Farms Road; Hunt's Point, Spofford Ave- nue, corner Coster Street; Morrisania, Washington Avenue and 168th Street; Olmstead Avenue, Olmstead and Newbold avenues; Riverdale, Riverdale Avenue and West 248th Street; Sound View, Sound View Avenue, near O'Brien Avenue; Throgg's Neck (First), East Tremont Avenue, Throgg's Neck; Tremont, Grand Concourse and 178th Street ; University Heights, University Avenue and Hall of Fame Terrace; Van Nest, Barnes and Morris Park avenues; Woodlawn Heights, 240th Street and Martha Avenue; Woodstock, Prospect Avenue and 165th Street.
Presbyterian-United, East 187th Street, Tiebout Avenue and 187th Street.
Protestant Episcopal-Chapel of the Atonement, Beach Avenue, near Westchester Avenue; Christ, Riverdale Avenue and West 252nd Street ; Church of the Advocate, Washington Avenue and 181st Street; Church of the Good Shepherd, 238th Street and Matilda Avenue; Church of the Mediator, Kingsbridge Avenue and 231st Street; Emmanuel, No. 770 Courtlandt Avenue; Grace (City Island), City Island Avenue and Pilot Street; Grace (West Farms), Vyse Avenue, near Tremont Avenue; Holy Nativity, Bainbridge Avenue and 204th Street; St. Alban's, Og- den Avenue and 163rd Street; St. Andrew's, No. 258 Sound View Ave- nue; St. Ann's, St. Ann's Avenue, near 140th Street; St. David's (Col- ored) Chapel, No. 384 East 160th Street; St. Edmund's, 177th Street, near Morris Avenue; St. George's Chapel, No. 661 East 219th Street ; St. James', Jerome Avenue, corner 190th Street ; St. Margaret's, No. 940 East 156th Street; St. Margaret's Chapel, No. 1858 Cruger Avenue ; St. Mary's, Alexander Avenue, corner 142nd Street; St. Mary's (Italian) Chapel, No. 4628 White Plains Avenue; St. Paul's, Washington Avenue and St. Paul's Place ; St. Peter's, Westchester and St. Peter's avenues; St. Simeon's, 164th Street and Sheridan Avenue; St. Stephen's Chapel, East 258th Street and Vireo Avenue; Trinity (of Morrisania), Trinity Avenue and 166th Street.
Reformed Church in America-Anderson Memorial, No. 675 East 183rd Street; Church of the Comforter, No. 279 East 162nd Street; Ford- ham Manor, Kingsbridge Road and Claflin Terrace; Melrose, Elton Avenue, corner 156th Street; Mott Haven, 146th Street, near Third Ave-
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nue; Throgg's Neck, No. 2988 Eastern Boulevard ; Union (High Bridge), Ogden Avenue and 169th Street; West Farms, Fairmount Place, near Prospect Avenue; Zion Evangelical, Stebbins Avenue and Chisholm Street.
Reformed Church in the United States-St. Paul's Evangelical, No. 606-612 East 141st Street.
Roman Catholic-Holy Cross, Sound View and Taylor avenues; Holy Family, Castle Hill and Watson avenues ; Holy Rosary, Eastchester and Gun Hill roads; Holy Spirit, Burnside and University avenues; Im- maculate Conception (German), No. 389 East 150th Street ; Immaculate Conception (Italian), Gun Hill Road and Holland Avenue; Our Lady of Angels, No. 2860 Sedgwick Avenue; Our Lady of Good Grace, No. 4025 White Plains Road ; Our Lady of Mercy, No. 2502 Marion Avenue ; Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 187th Street and Belmont Avenue; Our Lady of Pity, 151st Street, near Morris Avenue; Our Lady of Refuge, 196th Street and Briggs Avenue; Our Lady of Solace, White Plains and Van Nest avenues; Our Lady of the Assumption, Roberts and Park View avenues ; Our Lady of Victory, 171st Street and Webster Avenue ; Our Saviour, 183rd Street and Washington Avenue; Sacred Heart, Shakespeare Avenue, Highbridge; St. Adalbert's, No. 420 East 156th Street; St. Angela Merici, Morris Avenue and 143rd Street; St. An- selm's, No. 677 Tinton Avenue; St. Anthony, Commonwealth Avenue and Mansion Street; St. Anthony of Padua, No. 826 East 166th Street ; St. Anthony's, No. 4531 Richardson Avenue, Wakefield; St. Athana- sius's, No. 880 Tiffany Street ; St. Augustine's, 167th Street and Fulton Avenue ; St. Barnabas's, No. 321 East 241st Street ; St. Benedict's, Otis and Edison avenues; St. Brendan's, Perry Avenue and 207th Street ; St. Dominic's, Unionport Road, near Morris Park Avenue; St. Francis of Rome, Richardson Avenue, Wakefield; St. Jerome's, Alexander Avenue and 138th Street; St. John's, Kingsbridge Avenue, near West 231st Street; St. John Chrysostom's, 167th Street and Hoe Avenue; St. Jo- seph's, No. 1943 Bathgate Avenue ; St. Luke's, 138th Street, near Cypress Avenue; St. Margaret Mary, Tremont and Morris avenues; St. Mar- garet's, Riverdale Avenue and 206th Street; St. Martin of Tours, 182nd and Grote streets; St. Mary's, 215th Street and White Plains Avenue; St. Mary, Star of the Sea, No. 596 City Island Avenue; St. Nicholas of Tolentine, Andrews Avenue and Fordham Road; St. Peter's and Paul's, 159th Street and St. Ann's Avenue; St. Philip Neri's, Grand Concourse and 202nd Street; St. Pius's, No. 416 East 145th Street ; St. Raymond's, East Tremont and Castle Hill avenues; St. Rita of Cascia, College Ave- nue and 145th Street; St. Roch's, No. 734 East 150th Street; St. Simon Stock, Grand Concourse and 183rd Street ; St. Thomas Aquinas, Crotona Parkway, near East 176th Street; St. Valentine's (Polish), 221st Street, Williamsbridge.
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Seventh-Day Adventists-Bronx German, No. 705 Courtlandt Avenue. Jewish Congregations-Adath Israel, Hawkestone Street and Grand Concourse; Adath Israel, No. 1591 Washington Avenue; Ahavas Achim, Parker Street and Globe Avenue; Ahavat Sholem, No. 1996 Bryant Ave- nue; Anshei Ezaras Israel, No. 1414 Webster Avenue; Beth Avrohom, No. 534 East 146th Street; Beth Elohim, No. 812 Faile Street; Beth Hamidrash Hagodol and Talmud Torah Tomchay Torah, No. 827 For- est Avenue; Beth Hamidrash Hagadol Adas Jeshurum, No. 461 East 145th Street; Beth Israel, No. 3884 Park Avenue; Bikur Cholim, No. 635 Prospect Avenue; Brith Scholem, 145th Street, near Willis Avenue ; Bronx Jewish Center, 178th Street and Marion Avenue; Chevra Bech- urin, No. 1039 Prospect Avenue; Chevra Tikvath Zion, No. 1139 Union Avenue; Community Center (Coopersmith), Sheridan Avenue and Marcy Place; East Bronx Hebrew Center, 172nd Street and Common- wealth Avenue; Emanuel Synagogue, Elder Avenue, near East 174th Street; Ezaras Jacob, 175th Street and Washington Avenue; Fordham Talmud Torah, No. 2084 Arthur Avenue; Free Synagogue (Branch), 163rd Street and Southern Boulevard; Hebrew Institute of University Heights, University and Burnside avenues; Hunt's Point Jewish Center and Talmud Torah, No. 926 Simpson Street ; Judah Halevi, 166th Street, corner Morris Avenue; Kehilath Israel, Crotona Park East and Subur- ban Place; Khai Adath Jeshuran, Home Street, corner Hoe Avenue ; Linath Hatzedek, No. 2047 Hughes Avenue; Midgal Zion, No. 1342 Stebbins Avenue ; Montefiore, No. 762 Hewitt Place; Mt. Eden Center, Inc., No. 1541 Selwyn Avenue; New Synagogue, No. 9111/2 East 169th Street; Nusach Hoare, No. 1449 Washington Avenue; Nusach Sfard, 172nd Street, near Park Avenue; Ohave Torah, No. 1488 Hoe Avenue ; Orach Chain, No. 891 Freeman Street; People's Temple, 177th Street and Washington Avenue; Schiff, Jacob H., Center, Fordham Road and Valentine Avenue; Shaarai Zion, No. 935 Southern Boulevard; Shaaron Torah, No. 1243 Washington Avenue; Shearith Israel, Southern Boule- vard and Intervale Avenue; Sinai Congregation of The Bronx, 163rd Street and Stebbins Avenue; Sons of Israel, No. 777 East 178th Street ; Talmud Torah Torath Moses, Prospect Avenue and Macy Place ; Tem- ple Israel of The Bronx, No. 1173 Hoe Avenue; Throgg's Neck Jewish Center, Lafayette and East Tremont avenues; Tifereth Israel, No. 1039 Prospect Avenue; Tiphadreth Israel, No. 2481 Valentine Avenue; Tre- mont Temple, Grand Concourse, near Burnside Avenue; University Heights Hebrew Institute, No. 1837 University Avenue; University Heights Jewish Center, 174th Street and Nelson Avenue; Van Nest, No. 1712 Garfield Street; Williamsbridge Jewish Center, Barnes Avenue, near Williamsbridge Road; Young Israel, 155th Street and Union Ave- nue.
Miscellaneous-Bread Enough and To Spare Mission, No. 647 East
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Tremont Avenue; Bronx Gospel Hall, 154th Street and Elton Avenue ; Church of God, No. 2134 Grand Avenue and No. 774 East 223rd Street ; Grace Gospel Hall, No. 589 East 164th Street; Salvation Army, No. 777 Courtlandt Avenue and No. 1872 Webster Avenue; Tremont Gospel Hall, No. 4243 Park Avenue; Union Pilgrim Rescue Holy Church of New Covenant, No. 477 East 232nd Street; United Christian Workers, No. 2429 East Tremont Avenue and No. 675 East 238th Street; West Farms Mission, No. 1833 West Farms Road; 146th Street Mission, 146th Street, west of Third Avenue.
CHAPTER XIX PARKS, PARKWAYS AND BRIDGES
The parks of The Bronx form so large an element in its make-up that it is impossible to deal with any important part of it without bringing in some description of those charming open spaces, combinations of wood, and greensward, and flowers and streams, that splash the map of The Bronx with oases of green. Consequently here and there in this history, as in other histories of The Bronx, will be found interspersed some de- scription and history of individual parks, in chapters dealing with topics cognate with them. But the parks of The Bronx are so important that justice can only be done to them as a system by a chapter, however brief, devoted directly to them. And let us right at the beginning pay a tri- bute to the men who in our own day had a chief hand in providing these playgrounds and gardens of beauty for the people of The Bronx to enjoy perpetually. Perhaps first among them all ought to appear the name of John Mullally, the late editor of the "New York Herald," who was con- nected with the Park Commission, and who appears to have been the first to conceive of the idea of The Bronx parks as a system, and who used his great energy and ability, employing as his instrument the met- ropolitan daily under his command, to make that idea a reality. Then there was Luther R. Marsh, chairman of the Park Commission, to whom a great deal of credit must be given for the preservation of these vast breathing spaces. It was James L. Wells, who was active in its devel- opment for half a century, who made the appraisement of land for all the new parks. Louis F. Haffen, one of the makers of the modern Bronx, was sent up in 1889 to take charge of the newly-acquired parks and make the surveys, having charge of the parks from that year to 1893. These men and others to whom credit is given in this chapter and else- where, have in these parks raised a monument to themselves which will keep their names green perpetually. The sudden incoming of new peo- ple which has been so striking a feature of Bronx growth in recent dec- ades has raised a fear that the men who paved the way and made the land a habitation fit to live in would be carelessly forgotten. But a time will come when the people of The Bronx will have leisure to lie back and think of the days and the men who preceded theirs and them in the valley they have made their home; and in that time proper tribute, we believe, will be paid to the men who were the architects of The Bronx and who were inspired by a vision of the great civic centre that was to arise on their native heath.
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The most notable work of these men centered largely in that period of widespread activity and inspired vision between the annexation of the towns of Kingsbridge and West Farms to the city of New York as Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth wards under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Parks and the establishment of The Bronx, when the major amount of preliminary work was done in the way of surveys, laying out of a tentative system of streets, and monumenting them, when they were acquired by the city. In that period also were undertaken the designing of a sewage system for the territory and the construction of a great number of street improvements where building operations were in progress. It was then that the Webster Avenue and Brook Ave- nue, or the Mill Brook, trunk sewer, at that time one of the largest sew- ers in the country, was constructed. It was during this period that the depressing of the tracks of the New York and Harlem Railroad and the Port Morris Branch Railroad was completed, thus eliminating numer- ous dangerous highway crossings at grade. Then also were undertaken and completed the construction of Madison Avenue Bridge and the construction of McCombs Dam or Seventh Avenue Bridge over the Harlem River. These improvements were carried out in the period be- tiveen 1880 and 1891, and they laid a valuable foundation for the new Department of Street Improvements of the Twenty-third and Twenty- fourth wards which assumed control on January 1, 1891.
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