USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume II > Part 29
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To the Commissioners of Public Parks and their engineers should be credited the large amount of preliminary and construction work accom- plished during this important decade anterior to 1891. Those commis- sioners and engineers were James R. Croes, Edgar B. Van Winkle, who were engineers in chief, and Josiah A. Briggs, who was engineer in charge of construction.
The commissioner of street improvements in the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth wards was required under the act establishing that de- partment to complete a final map of the streets and a sewerage district plan for the territory by January 12, 1895. The commissioner, Louis J. Heintz, on assuming office and organizing his department, immediately proceeded to prepare the final maps which were compiled for the most part from the tentative street system prepared by his predecssors in authority establishing lines and grades by meets and rounds and eleva- tions. These maps were only partially drawn by Mr. Heintz when his death occurred. He was succeeded by his Deputy Commissioner, J. H. J. Romer, and after an interval by Louis F. Haffen as commissioner for the unexpired term. Mr. Haffen was elected at the next election and held the office until December 31, 1897, having been elected as President of the Borough of The Bronx under the Greater New York Charter in that year, effective January 1, 1898.
Under the Greater New York Charter the Borough Presidents had
THIRD AVENUE BRIDGE, PHOTOGRAPHED IN 1894
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certain local legislative powers and duties, but had no administrative powers, the local and other improvements being under the control of department heads-Highways, Sewers, Bridges, etc. The amended charter took effect on January 1, 1902, and gave the Borough Presidents the control over all local improvements in their respective boroughs and also gave them seats on the Board of Estimate and Apportionment and the Board of Aldermen. There was some delay in local improvements, owing to the changes in methods under the new charter, and the fact that all local improvements had to be initialed by petition to the local boards and approved by those boards, and then finally authorized by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. It was in 1902 that the con- struction of the Grand Boulevard and Concourse was authorized, and the work on that magnificent parkway was begun in October of that year.
Of the 26,800 acres which are included in the Borough of The Bronx, approximately 4,350 acres, or in the neighborhood of sixteen per cent, is devoted to park purposes, a park area several hundred acres in excess of the combined park areas of the four other boroughs of the Greater City. The park area of The Bronx also far exceeds the park area of Boston, Cleveland, Detroit or Cincinnati. All the big parks and many of the small parks are connected with each other by a splendid system of parkways.
Beginning at the easterly extension of McComb's Dam Park, and the northerly end of Franz Sigel Park, the Grand Boulevard and Concourse leads northward in an unbroken course to the Mosholu Parkway. Tech- nically, the Grand Boulevard and Concourse is not a parkway, as it is under the jurisdiction of the President of the Borough of The Bronx, and not under that of the Park Commissioner, but for all general pur- poses, the imposing avenue, with its breadth of 182 feet, and its four rows of trees, is a link in the park system of The Bronx. As it runs northward the Grand Boulevard and Concourse passes Claremont Park, three blocks to the eastward; Echo Park, two blocks to the eastward; St. James Park, one block to the westward; and it skirts the west bound- ary of Poe Park.
Mosholu Parkway links Van Cortlandt Park with Bronx Park, and has a total length of 6,035 feet and an average width of 480 feet. Crotona Parkway links Bronx Park and Crotona Park, and has a length of 3,815 feet and an average width of a hundred feet. The Bronx and Pelham Parkway links Bronx Park and Pelham Bay Park, and has a length of 11,861 feet and an average width of four hun- dred feet. Spuyten Duyvil Parkway has a length of 12,000 feet and a width that varies from sixty to a hundred and eight feet. It runs from the southwest boundary of Van Cortlandt Park, to, approximately, the point where the Harlem River unites with the Hudson River. On the
Bronx-44
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THE BRONX AND ITS PEOPLE
completion of the proposed Hudson-Fulton Bridge, over the Harlem River Ship Canal at Spuyten Duyvil, connection will be had with the Riverside Drive at Inwood, Manhattan Borough linking up the parks of that borough with the park system in The Bronx. In a bird's eye view of The Bronx park system and its general utility, The Bronx River Parkway is also important. It is now a part of the park system of The Bronx, having been transferred to the city of New York by the Park- way Commission. It is a beautiful park-bordered boulevard, that be- gins at the northerly boundary of The Bronx Park and runs thence northerly, for over fifteen miles, through the beautiful valley of The Bronx River to the 4,500-acre New Kensico Lake Reservation in West- chester County.
There are ten important parks in The Bronx. These are Bronx Park, Van Cortlandt Park, Pelham Bay Park, Crotona Park, Claremont Park, St. Mary's Park, McComb's Dam Park, Poe Park, Joseph Rodman Drake Park, and Old Fort Number Four Park. Other parks are: Franz Sigel Park, St. James Park, Washington Bridge Park, Devoe Park, Echo Park, Fort Independence Park, University Park, Fulton Park, Melrose Park, Rose Hill Park, and St. Augustine Park. These latter are "Neighborhood Parks." They are nearly all in a high state of culti- vation, with lawns, flowers, shrubs and trees.
The following plots, either triangles or squares, are also under the jurisdiction of the Park Department, and in most instances have been beautified by planting of flower beds and shrubs :
Area in Acres
Third Avenue and 137th Street
0.04
Hall Place and 165th Street
0.38
Hunt's Point Road and Faile Street
0.07
Randall Avenue
0.12
Grand Concourse, 158th to 164th
11.00
Whitlock Avenue and Aldus Street
1.25
Washington Avenue and 163rd Street
0.26
Washington Avenue and 161st Street
0.36
Brook Avenue and 161st Street
0.06
Morris Avenue and 142nd Street 0.08
University Avenue and Boscobel Avenue
0.62
Waldo Avenue, Fieldstone Road and 242nd Street
4.31
Boston Road and Third Avenue
0.06
Webster Avenue, Claremont Park, Clay Avenue
0.28
Jerome Avenue and 170th Street
0.50
Willis Avenue and Southern Boulevard
0.60
Spuyten Duyvil Parkway and Broadway
0.20
Fordham Road and Southern Boulevard
0.54
Quarry Road and 183rd Street
0.05
Morris Avenue and 144th Street
0.06
Pelham Parkway, Crotona Avenue, Southern Boulevard
0.60
Mosholu Avenue and Broadway
0.06
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PARKS, PARKWAYS AND BRIDGES
Washington Avenue and 188th Street
0.15
Hunt's Point Road, Whitlock Avenue and 163rd Street 0.32
Third Avenue, Quarry Road and 181st Street 0.05
Waldo Avenue and 242nd Street
0.31
Boston Road and 169th Street
0.16
Franklin Avenue and 163rd Street
0.15
Austin Place and 149th Street
0.04
Shakespeare Avenue and 168th Street
0.06
Loring Place and 183rd Street 0.01
Ewen Park (West 232nd Street and Riverdale Avenue) 7.80
The New Parks-During the period of the early eighties the city of New York, as it was then constituted, ranked as sixth in the country in the matter of area of land for public parks. But in the year 1883 a num- ber of public-spirited men petitioned the State Legislature for a com- mission to select sites for new parks. In accordance with the act passed in answer to the petition, a committee of seven citizens was appointed by Mayor Franklin Edson, which worked so expeditiously that their report was ready for the Legislature of 1884, which authorized the pur- chase of the various sites selected. The "new" parks, as they were called, comprised 3,757 acres, now included in Van Cortlandt, Bronx, Pelham Bay, Crotona, St. Mary's, and Claremont parks. The condemnation pro- ceedings took some time, so that title did not vest in the city until De- cember 12, 1888. Cedar Park, of 1747 acres, had been purchased by the city on June 4, 1885, before the New Parks Act became operative by the completion of the condemnation proceedings. Pelham Bay Park, which lies in the Chester district of the borough, was secured to the city seven years before the section in which it lies became a part of the city of New York.
Franz Sigel Park-Cedar Park, as Franz Sigel Park was originally called, was already a public park in 1880, though, as already noted, it was not fully vested in the city until 1885. It lies between East 153rd Street and East 158th Street, and between Walton Avenue and Mott Avenue, overlooking the Harlem River and the great freight yards at Melrose. Its original name was derived from the number of cedar trees which occupied the ridge between the valleys of Cromwell's Creek and Mill Brook, upon which the park is located. When Washington and Ro- chambeau made their grand reconnoissance in August, 1781, it is stated that they came as far south as the commanding outlook of Cedar Park, from which they could readily examine through their glasses the town of Harlem on the other bank of the river and the British fortifications there. The park comprises 17.47 acres. General Franz Sigel, a con- spicuous leader in the political disturbances in Germany in 1848, came to this country in consequence of the failure of the movement for pop- ular rights and settled in the West. During the Civil War he did good
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THE BRONX AND ITS PEOPLE
service for the Union. During the latter part of his life he lived in The Bronx, not far from Cedar Park. He died in 1902; and, in order to pre- serve his memory the Board of Aldermen, in December, 1902, changed the name of the park from Cedar to Franz Sigel.
Van Cortlandt Park-Van Cortlandt Park has an area of 1,132.35 acres. It is a big stretch of forest land inviting the rambler, with a lake for the canoeist and the oarsman, extensive grounds laid out for all kinds of sports, particularly golf, elaborate formal gardens, historical build- ings, and relics. The Van Cortlandt House, contained within the park, is one of the famous old houses within the area of Greater New York. It is still in excellent condition. The Colonial Dames of the State of New York, who have custody of the house, have gathered a very inter- esting collection of Dutch and Colonial household furniture and uten- sils, arms and documents, an ensemble which by providing an authentic historic environment, gives the visitor a good idea of the conditions of life in the average well-to-do home during the earlier generations of American history.
Van Cortlandt Park is the second in size and the first in point of his- toric interest of The Bronx parks. It extends from the city line on the north to West 240th Street-Van Cortlandt Park South-on the south. Its western boundary is Broadway, and its eastern Jerome Avenue and Mt. Vernon Avenue. Both the old and the new Croton aqueducts tra- verse it from north to south; and it is crossed by the main line and the Yonkers branch of the Putnam Railroad. The aqueduct bringing water from the Catskills also traverses the park. Jerome Avenue cuts through its northeastern part, and Mosholu Avenue and Gun Hill Road cross it from east to west, while Grand Avenue crosses on the eastern side as far as the lake. The park lies in the valley of Tippett's Brook, which cuts it approximately in half from north to south, between the Fordham ridge on the east and the Spuyten Duyvil ridge on the west. The greater part of the park is still in a state of nature, with swamps, woods and rocky precipitous ridges, or cleared spaces only where former occupants cul- tivated their land. The park occupies a portion of the Betts and Tip- pett tract of 1668, almost all of the John Hadden, or Heddy, tract of the same date, and portions of the farms acquired from the Commissioners of Forfeiture of the Philipseburgh Manor in 1785 by John Warner and George Hadley.
In 1699 Jacobus Van Cortlandt, who had married Eva, the adopted daughter of Frederick Philipse, bought from his father-in-law fifty acres of land on George's Point, and added to it about one hundred acres more that he purchased from the neighboring landowners. These constituted the nucleus of the Van Cortlandt estate. Later proprietors added more land, until the estate became almost manorial in size. The property was
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PARKS, PARKWAYS AND BRIDGES
entailed until 1823, when entail was prohibited by the Revised Statutes of the State. Jacobus Van Cortlandt was a distinguished member of the community and was mayor of the city of New York from 1710 to 1719. About 1700 he dammed Tippett's Brook and erected a grist-mill and a sawmill, which stood until the early spring of 1903. His house stood on George's Point, a bend of Tippett's Brook, just north of the dam, on the same site as that selected by Van Der Donck. The damming of the brook makes a lake about a mile long, known as Van Cortlandt Lake. The house disappeared before the Revolution.
Frederick Van Cortlandt succeeded to the estate of his father, Jaco- bus. In 1748 he erected the stone mansion at the lower end of the park, frequently referred to as the manor-house, but this is a mistake, as the only Van Cortlandt manor-house is that near the mouth of the Croton River. Among the noted relics preserved in the mansion is an old four- post bedstead with steps to reach the mattress, authenticated as having been slept in by Washington. To the east of the mansion is a barred window with its stone framing, taken from the Cuyler-Rhinelander sugar-house, which formerly stood at the corner of Rose and Duane streets, in which, it is alleged, many of the imprisoned Americans met sickness and death during the Revolution. The window was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on May 26, 1903. On each side of the en- trance to the mansion lies an old gun in the grass; these were among those dug up at the site of Fort Independence when Mr. Giles built his house there; they were probably used by both Americans and English. Frederick Van Cortlandt died in 1749 and was succeeded by his son, Jacobus, or, as he is better known, Colonel James Van Cortlandt, who died childless in 1781, the property passing to his brother Augustus, who died in 1823, without male issue. The estate then went into the female line, who married Beebe, and the name Van Cortlandt was legally as- sumed by their descendants.
The Van Cortlandt mills stood during the troublous times of the Rev- olution, and after the return of peace they continued to be operated by the Van Tassels to within the present generation. During a heavy thun- derstorm in June, 1900, the larger of the two mills, the grist-mill, was struck by lightning and was destroyed by fire, the lightning at the same time passing over the wires to the mansion, where but slight damage was done. The saw-mill stood in a dilapidated condition, being used as a store-house for the tools of the workmen and for the "stanes" of the curlers, until the spring of 1903, when it was removed by the park au- thorities, as it was in a tumble-down and dangerous condition. At- tempts were made to repair it, but the under beams were so decayed that the whole building threatened to fall upon the workmen. The old mill-stone from the grist-mill was mounted as a sun-dial and has been preserved in this way.
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THE BRONX AND ITS PEOPLE
The Dutch garden, which the park gardener laid out during 1902 and 1903, below the bluff on which the house stands, was opened to the pub- lic on Memorial Day of the latter year. It has Dutch trees, and Dutch walks, and Dutch flowers, and Dutch canals, which are supplied by the water from Tippett's Brook. The shady lane of locust trees leads to the station of the Putnam Railroad. Just north of the station is Van Cortlandt Lake and the dam and site of the ancient mills. In the winter time this end of the lake near the dam is given over to the sport of hurl- ing, the rest of the lake being reserved for skaters. To the east of the station and the lake is an eighteen-hole golf course free to the public. A commodious shelter-house has been erected for the use of the golfers and skaters, and in the summer time boats may be procured for use on the lake. There are also several tennis courts to the west of the man- sion, and the parade ground is open to those who play baseball.
Behind the mansion is the statue of General Josiah Porter, for many years adjutant-general of the State. The statue was unveiled with ap- propriate ceremonies in September, 1902. It faces the great level plain of the parade ground, comprising one hundred and fifty acres, a part of which was Van Der Donck's "planting field." There are also three polo fields, opened after 1901, which have become very popular and have at- tracted thousands of visitors to watch the games. There is also a prac- tice ground for beginners at golf, who can plow up "divits" and fuzzle to their hearts' content without delaying or interfering with the more experienced players on the regular links.
In the southeast corner of the field, not far from the lake, is a group of several locust trees. The spot is supposed to have been the site of Van Der Donck's farmhouse, and was the site of the house of the origi- nal Van Cortlandt. In grading the surface of the field here in the spring of 1903, the foundations of the old house were uncovered and also num- erous pieces of broken Dutch pottery-jugs, wine bottles, and the like. The site is between the dam and the group of trees, about one hundred and fifty feet from the former. The spot has been used as a graveyard for many years, and here are buried several members of the Ackerman and Berrien families, connections of the Van Cortlandts. Some of the stones have dates before 1800. The spot has been fenced in for protec- tion from vandalism. At the northern end of the parade ground is Vault Hill, which rises 149 feet above sea-level. It gets its name from the an- cient burial vaults of the Van Cortlandt family, which are situated near its summit. Within the walled enclosure are two grass-covered mounds within which are the stone vaults containing the remains of various members and connections of the family. The views from the top of the hill are fine, and one would think that the mansion would have been here instead of on the plain, but perhaps it was more in keeping with Dutch taste to be on the low level. During the Revolutionary War the city
NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS-THE CONCOURSE, WITH ADMINISTRATION BUILDING ON THE LEFT, THE ITALIAN GARDEN, AND LARGE BIRD HOUSE ON THE RIGHT. ROCKEFELLER FOUNTAIN IN THE FOREGROUND
695
PARKS, PARKWAYS AND BRIDGES
records of New York were carried from Harlem and hidden in the fam- ily vault upon this hill. Washington caused deceptive fires to be kept burning on Vault Hill for several days in order that he might have time to cross the Hudson and be well on his way before the British generals should find out that they had been fooled. The elevation is enclosed by a high wire fence and is called the "wild animal enclosure." About 1895 a number of bison were furnished to the park authorities by Austin Corbin, and placed within the enclosure; but the land was not adapted to their maintenance, as it was too wet and boggy near the brook. Sev- eral of the animals died and the rest became so ill that the remnant of the herd was returned to the wild animal park of Mr. Corbin near Clare- mont, New Hampshire.
The park roads from the Fordham ridge are very steep. There are several natural springs along the ridge and guide-posts direct to them. The woods in the upper part of the park are open to all visitors, and par- ties of botanists and children go there for wild flowers. In the north- eastern part of the park is "Indian Field," where Simroe defeated the Stockbridge Indians, and where eighteen of them are buried, almost where they fell. At the suggestion of Stephen Jenkins, historian of The Bronx, a cairn of rough boulders, somewhat similar to that at Stock- bridge, Massachusetts, was erected in 1906, through the cooperation of George W. Walgrove, at that time Commissioner of Parks for The Bronx. It bears the following inscription on a bronze tablet :
August 31, 1778, Upon this field CHIEF NINHAN And seventeen Stockbridge Indians, as Allies of the Patriots, Gave their lives for Liberty. Erected by Bronx Chapter,
Daughters of the American Revolution, Mount Vernon, New York, June 14, 1906.
Shortly after the dedication of the monument a flag-pole was erected, the rough ground cleared, and several park benches placed by the park authorities ; and the spot became a popular meeting place for the people of the neighborhood, for patriotic celebrations.
Bronx Park-Van Cortlandt Park is connected with Bronx Park, which lies south of it, by a fine parkway six hundred feet wide and one and fourteen hundreths miles long, called the Mosholu Parkway. Bronx Park is about two miles long and contains 719.12 acres, lying between Morris Street in Williamsbridge on the north; the Harlem Railroad, Fordham University, and the Southern Boulevard on the west; East 182nd Street on the south; and the White Plains Road, or Avenue, for a long distance on the east. The Bronx River runs through the park from north to south, and divides the park nearly into halves. Pelham Avenue, a continuation of the Fordham Road, crosses the park from west to east, where it is continued in The Bronx and Pelham Bay Park-
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THE BRONX AND ITS PEOPLE
way. The Boston Post Road passes through the southeastern part of the park and along the western bank of the river, crossing it at the site of Bronxdale. The Bronx River preserves its pristine beauty within the confines of the park. After passing under Williams Bridge, the stream wanders through the meadows in the northern part of the park at a slower pace than in its up-stream course. It enters a narrow gorge in the vicinity of the Lorillard Mansion and rushes through to reach the gentle, placid lakes below. It is in this part of the park that we can un- derstand the reason for the Indian name of the river, the Aquahung, "a high bluff, or bank."
The lower portion of the stream spreads out into two lakes formed by dams, the post road crossing between them where Bolton's bleacheries formerly stood at Bronxdale. About the middle of the lower lake is where the patent and manor lines of Fordham, West Farms, and West- chester formed a corner. Through the heavy masses of woods the pa- triots hid, or found their way for stealthy attacks upon De Lancey's Mills, just below, with the hope of capturing the arch Loyalist and trou- blesome raider, James De Lancey, in his visits to his aged mother, who was brave enough to occupy the mansion in the Neutral Ground during the troublous times of the Revolution. The De Lancey mansion stood on the east bank of the stream on a small plateau. It overlooked the stream and the mills on the opposite bank; just south of the house, the Kingsbridge Road continued east to Westchester, crossing the stream by a ford, and in later times by a bridge; above is the mill-dam, the fall- ing water of which gives out a gentle murmur which must have served as a lullaby to the occupants of the mansion. Between the site of the house and the stream stands an immense pine tree, the girth of which is about twelve feet.
The portion of the park north of Bolton's bleachery formerly be- longed to Pierre Lorillard, who obtained possession of the property in the early part of the last century. In the gorge of the river the stream was dammed, and a snuff-mill was erected about 1840-45. The old mill was said to be haunted. On the high bluff above the dam Mr. Lorillard erected a great stone mansion, which after this became public property, was for a long time used as a police station, but out of which the guard- ians of the park at last succeeded in ousting the guardians of the peace. The bridge, the predecessor of which was built by Mr. Haffen which crosses the stream below the house, is a favorite point with visitors, the view is so charming. Just south of the house is a garden in which old- fashioned flowers run riot-hollyhocks, sweet-williams, marigolds, roses and what not. The Lorillards were careful to preserve the natural beauties of the mansion, and it is to this carefulness that we owe the magnificent trees that are still standing. Under their shade, in the sum- mer time, the band discourses music to the delight of thousands. The
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PARKS, PARKWAYS AND BRIDGES
presence of so many fine trees led to the setting apart of two hundred and fifty acres in the upper part of the park as a botanical garden, under the care of a society formed for the purpose. In this way an arboretum has been preserved, the standing trees have been accurately marked and named for the amateur or scientific arboriculturist, and nurseries have been established for the propagation and rearing of all kinds of trees that will stand the vagaries of the New York climate. In addition there is a fine botanical museum completed in the spring of 1902, at a cost of $400,000, and a great series of conservatories, fifteen in number, in which one will find all kinds of tropical trees and plants. These, also, were completed early in 1902 and are at all times free to the public. The Bo- tanical Garden was established by an Act of the Legislature passed in 1891 and amended in 1894 "for the purpose of establishing and main- taining a Botanical Garden and Museum and Arboretum therein, for the collection and culture of plants, flowers, shrubs and trees, the advance- ment of botanical science and knowledge, and the prosecution of orig- inal researches therein and in kindred subjects, for affording instruction in the same, for the prosecution and exhibition of ornamental and deco- rative horticulture and gardening, and for the entertainment, recreation and instruction of the people." The Botanical Museum has a frontage of 312 feet ; the architecture is Italian Renaissance. The front approach to the building is ornamented by a bronze fountain by Carl E. Tefft, and by terra-cotta fountains, and marble seats designed by the architect of the building, R. W. Gibson. Three floors are devoted to public exhibits.
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