Irish Beach Improvement Club: Fill & Download for Free

I've been A2A this...and I'll admit I'm hesitant...because I generally don't personally think about this much.On one hand, I may come across as hypocritical (because I walk around at about 8-10% bodyfat, and have probably as far back as I can remember...I've been tested as low as 7% in my early 20's...), on the other hand I don't think many people are in or have experienced my situation.They just chalk it up to things like:Oh you're a personal trainer...Oh you're an athlete...Oh you're just really active...Oh you probably watch everything you eat...Oh you eat rabbit food, or protein and veggies all day every day...Oh you're just naturally 'skinny...'Oh you've just got good genes...All of the above certainly contribute, but it was also lots of deliberate effort and intent at one point that now allows me to have a relaxed view on "is getting ripped worth it." I started my journey as early, if not earlier than, five. If you're 30 and trying to start this journey, it's no doubt in my work with people in that situation: harder...However, the real answer to this like so many others is...It depends...What is the definition of ripped?The absolute minimum body fat percentage a person can live with ala bodybuilding show or fitness magazine shoot?8-10% (15-18% for women) enough for visible abs and some veins?10-12% (18-20% for women) a faint 6 pack?*Keeping in mind that those really aren't very specific numbers, more based on observation typically...I'd think that for most people walking around at 10-12% or 18-20% would be perfectly acceptable and significantly more easy to manage for most people overall in the long term, but the reality is that I believe most people have a more unrealistic interpretation of 'ripped' in the sense of Brad Pitt in Fight Club (which is probably closer to or less than 8-10%)."I've always assumed that the utility of fitness is marginally diminishing; obviously worth a few hours a week and a decent diet to be in good/reasonably athletic shape..."I'd say that to me, this hits the nail on the head. There is definitely a point of diminishing returns in terms of value add to health and performance/fitness, to a point where being or getting too ripped and trying to stay there for too long is literally detrimental to your health and performance/fitness.Female bodybuilders for instance that push their body below ideal fat ranges for women will often experience false anorexia, a condition that basically means they lose their menstruation cycle, which can have devastating effects to a woman's health if done in the long term. Bodybuilders are actually at their weakest the moment they hit the stage, extremely dehydrated and mentally fuzzy.There have been some studies that suggest, being too skinny or too lean actually increases your mortality rate (perhaps even more so than being obese).Overall there is a gross and incorrect assumption that your level of 'rippedness' is in direct correlation to your level of 'health' and often times your level of 'fitness.' I've met some pretty ripped, but relatively unfit people. Likewise I've met many people in fantastic shape and apparent health that have a healthy layer of fat preventing a lot of muscle definition from showing it's pretty head. They are not directly proportionate.In many cases I think the perception that marketing in the fitness business has created, has actually prevented a lot of people from being happy with a perfectly fit and useful body fat percentage (15% or lower is well below average for men, 22% or lower is well below average for women...and none of them look like fitness models...). Getting to a healthy place, is relatively easy and easy to maintain for the majority of people, but the more ripped you want to get, the harder and harder it is, especially for some people.All in all, our expectations end up way off the mark. What is actually good enough for most people with relatively little opportunity cost, has become 'not good enough.'Maintaining extreme levels of leanness is hard in the first place, and potentially bad to try to maintain in terms of your health. I don't think many people out there should expect to maintain the levels of body fat that they will see in some fitness marketing material (which is a snapshot in time, often after dehydration and some other tricks...).In many respects I think deliberately trying to 'get ripped' in this respect isn't worth it unless you are A) being paid very well to compensate for the potential health problems you might cause and B) understand the risks and are willing to accept them for the sake of your profession or C) have a very easy time maintaining it after years and years of hard work.Ultimately it really comes down to what you as an individual value and how low you want to go.Some people get a lot of value out of how others perceive them, or how they look, while others might not.There is a big mindset component to this and my answer. It's been my experience that a big reason most people attempt this objective and fail, is due to mindset and expectations compared to what they are prepared to give up or change.I think focusing on getting 'ripped' often distracts people from what I consider to be better focal points like improved strength, improved nutritional profile, improved movement, more energy, less pain, etc...However, if all of that is in order, I think getting down to a respectable 10-12% (for men) otherwise feels worth it, if you can effectively manage the process mentally and successfully incorporate it into your lifestyle.Being at that level is achievable for many people and maintainable in the long-term. It may however, still be quite difficult for some endomorphs.For me it was definitely was more of a by-product of other things that became important to me. For me to be as explosive as possible as an athlete, being too heavy doesn't work. The leaner you are, the stronger you are per pound, the more force you can generate and in theory, the faster, more agile, and more free to move I would be.If I wanted to be an NFL lineman though, then my expectations wouldn't match.The leaner you are, the easier it is to express the athletic skills I wanted to express. Being strong; Moving Well; Being Fast; Being Explosive; Being Skilled; These were the objectives. I wanted to perform well.Therefore I think overall, I went about it in a very different way from the way most dudes in their late teens and 20's pursue it. I didn't really care about having a six pack or seeing my veins as long as I felt like I was the best player or athlete I could be out there.It was and remains a byproduct of my objectives, not the objective itself. In this respect, I think that reduces the cognitive load on my end because I'm not (like many people attempt) focusing on too much at one time (like trying to get ripped, while getting to a six-figure salary at work, putting on a wedding or having kids...).The thing is also that I also don't perceive it as being anything special. Maybe that's because I've looked the same way (mostly...) for so long or the fact that I'm Irish and don't really tan much to a point where I'd want to 'show it off' at the beach or anything anyway. It certainly helps that I have a mesomorph body-type with ectomorph-like tendencies. I certainly helps that I'm mindful of what I eat. It certainly helps that I'm not sedentary.In some respects though, being ripped is less exciting or worth it than you'd think. Just because you value it, doesn't mean that others will or do. I've definitely dated some women over the years that have expressed to me that they think the veins are disgusting, or unappealing (not that I can really help it). Probably missed some second or third dates as a result. I'd say that probably happened more than I received compliments for them... Also over the years, I've definitely heard just as many spiteful comments from other people as I have compliments (probably more).See some of them at the top of my answer but some others might include, "don't you eat?" "we need to fatten you up." etc...etc...In a different vein, I've definitely also dated some relatively shallow women who were mostly only concerned with my physical appearance. In either case, the long-term implications weren't as great as many people might imagine. Physical appearance can certainly help you attract a mate, but keeping one around long-term (almost 10 years now for me) is a completely different circumstance. Maybe if I wanted to remain single/dating for a long period of time, it would make sense?What is it they say, "the grass is always greener on the other side."

NO, such a warning would be illegal, and open the Commission to legal action.This is yet another slander spun by the master fantasist of online imagination, Bob Garrett - where did he get it from? He made it up out of thin air, just like he made up the fantasy that Liston had his license revoked after the second Ali fight, which, like this, never happened except in the inventive writing of Bob Garrett.Jute like he made up his imaginary boxing club, his imaginary coaching career, and his made up quotes that no one ever said…and so many more lies…CREDIT PICTURE FIGHT CITYThis is Bob Garrett’s latest fantasy:“Liston had a bad shoulder injury prior into to his first Ali fight and was forced to take several days off training. The Florida boxing commission denied Liston a postponement of the fight. “We have important people who already bought their flight tickets and hotel accommodations. 500 reporters coming from other countries would have to cancel their flights. You should be able to beat Clay with one arm” and things to that effect. They also warned Liston his license would be suspended if he told the press about his injury because it could hurt the gate. Liston was the fall guy in both Ali fiasco’s.”https://www.quora.com/log/revision/1376665447The truth: NONE of that happened, the Florida Boxing Commission never ever told Sonny Liston he couldn’t talk about his injuries.Contrary to Bob Garrett fantasy, Sonny was suffering from at least two major injuries. He had hurt his knee prior to the second Patterson fight, which was postponed because of that injury, and he had hurt it again prior to Liston-Ali One. He also had a shoulder injury.But contrary to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which allowed Sonny 2 postponements for the knee months earlier, the Florida Boxing Commission would not grant a postponement. But no one never, ever, threatened Sonny if he released injury information that he would be suspended. That is yet another Garrett fantasy.Garrett never, ever, produces any proof of his fantasy claims. He just makes them all up. Anyone who was really around back then knows the Senate held hearings on the first fight, and it is absolutely a lie to claim Sonny got any sort of suspension warning from the Commission for talking. Complete lie. Just like he lied about Liston’s license being revoked, and a hundred other things (probably thousands!).What really happened at Liston-Ali One?Sonny Liston, who did not know when he was born, was at least 36 for the first Ali fight. But age and injury were not all that weighed against Liston in 1964 against Ali.Sonny Liston, who had intimidated every person who had opposed him since he left childhood, did not know what to make out of Cassius Clay. Clay (Ali) had followed Liston around hurling insults at him. He bought a bus and had "Sonny Liston Will Go In Eight" painted on the side. He and his entourage actually drove the bus to Liston's home in the middle of the night, laid on the horn and shouted insults until the outraged Sonny came out. He began calling Liston a "big, ugly bear."The weigh-in was a circus, with Ali working himself into such a frenzy the doctors almost cancelled the fight due to his spiking blood pressure. Ali later said, "Liston's not afraid of me, but he's afraid of a nut."Sonny was simply not ready for a lightning fast fighter like Ali. Such was his power, Sonny had fought only 13 minutes and seven seconds in the previous 4 years, and 4 minutes and 15 seconds in the past 19 months, and he expected Ali to wither like the others. He did not train properly, sparred intermittently and consumed hot dogs, popcorn and beer. He had badly underestimated Ali and his speed, and the injury added to age and lack of conditioning doomed the Big Bear.Worse than age, Sonny was operating on a gimpy knee. His last fight before meeting Ali had to be postponed twice due to a left knee injury. It was still bothering him 8 months later when he faced Ali.Liston had tried to postpone the fight to rehab the shoulder or have it surgically repaired.Liston had sought a postponement after the injury in training camp, of the fight for several months to let the injury heal, which the Florida Commission denied. He evidently worsened it dramatically during the fight. (Liston said it was partially torn before the fight, and tore completely in the first round - nonetheless by force of will he fought on until after the sixth, when he literally could not lift the arm at all)In addition, he was operating on a sore knee, which had caused his last fight, eight months before Ali, to be postponed twice!Nonetheless the commission mandated he fight on.Jack Nilon, Liston's adviser, had said that Sonny injured the arm during training. The injury had not been disclosed, although Liston took time off from training prior to the fight. Nilon never, ever, said the reason for non-disclosure was the Commission threatening Sonny, according to Liston and Ali: The Ugly Bear and the Boy Who Would Be King by Bob Mees was:“We didn’t want to give Clay any edge - if he had known Sonny was hurt, it would let him tee off on the bad shoulder and he was already too confident.”According to Boxrec, Nilon also said “Liston hurt his shoulder during training, but they decided against postponing the fight:“because we thought we could get away with it."https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Sonny_Liston_vs._Cassius_Clay_(1st_meeting)That was not inconsistent with other statements out of Liston’s camp that he believed injured or not he could win, but it is a matter of commission record that LIston formally asked for a medical postponement, which was denied without comment.Medical evidence that he was badly hurt during the fightIt is certain that Sonny had suffered a torn biceps muscle and tendon in his left shoulder, and a severe rotator cuff tear. His purse had been ordered seized following the loss to Ali in the first fight, and the Miami Beach Boxing Commission did not officially release it until it had accepted medical verification of the injury.The Commission, confident it could steal Sonny’s purse, refused to accept his doctors, or even neutral doctor’s evaluation and verification of the seriousness of his injuries. No, they insisted on selecting their own doctors.And those commission Doctors determined that because of the injury, Liston was unable to answer the bell for the seventh round in the fight at Convention Hall.Those were commission doctors, hired to justify the seizure of Sonny’s purse - but the injuries were so severe they could not ignore the extent of them, and ruled he could not possibly have gone on.Dr. Alexander Robbins, chief physician for the Miami Beach Boxing Commission, diagnosed Liston’s injury as:“a torn tendon in his left shoulder.Tex Maule, writing for Sports Illustrated said that Liston's shoulder injury was serious, citing first Liston's inability to lift his arm:“There is no doubt that Liston's arm was damaged. In the sixth round, he carried it at belt level so that it was of no help in warding off the right crosses with which Clay probed at the cut under his left eye."Maule also got access to medical records:“A team of eight doctors inspected Liston's arm at St. Francis Hospital in Miami Beach and agreed that it was too badly damaged for Liston to continue fighting. The torn tendon had bled down into the mass of the biceps, swelling and numbing the arm.”Liston went to his Denver home after the fight, then went to Philadelphia for consultation with an orthopedic surgeon. The full extent of his incapacitation, and any treatment he received for it, surgery, or otherwise, will never be known.Dr. Richard C. Bennett of Detroit, who was been the personal physician of Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson, said that:“the injury, caused by a sudden overstrain, was akin to tennis elbow.The pain alone would have been disabling.”And yet the cards were dead even when Liston could no longer raise his arm after the 6th, and had to throw in the towel. (One 58–56 Sonny, one 58–56 Ali, one even)So this, like his made up Sonny had his license suspended, is one more Bob Garrett lie.But they aren’t Bob Garrett ‘s only lies - he makes up quotes that people never said all the time, starting with Joe Frazier…A few months ago Bob Garrett lied and made up something Joe Frazier never said concerning Ali’s fight with Antonio Inoki: Joe Frazier never said, ever:“not me. If it were for real, I wouldn’t fight a wrestler for 12 million dollars”Joe Frazier never, ever, said that. Bob Garrett made that up out of thin air, like he made up his stories about his imaginary boxing career, his imaginary coaching credentials, his imaginary boxing club, his coaching 6 national champions….Poor Joe Frazier, not only did Garrett make up a quote Joe never said about turning down 12 million dollars to wrestle, he made up how he died and where!Bob Garrett claimed Joe Frazier died alone, homeless, sleeping on the floor of a gym, of a heart attack.The truth? His family announced he died of complications from cancer, and he certainly did not die homeless, or alone sleeping on the floor of a gym.https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/joe-frazier-boxing-champion-who-battled-ali-dies-at-67/2011/11/08/gIQAA3xf3M_story.html?utm_term=.3f31ea5fcb5aThere was Bob Garrett ‘s completely phony and fake claim that he knocked out Rodney Bobick.Rodney Bobick was never knocked out in a 44 fight pro careerOnly Larry Holmes succeeded in stopping him on a technical knockout in which Rodney was still on his feet fighting. Larry teed off on Rodney and though he rocked him, he could NOT put him down. NO ONE ever put him down like Garrett claims. Bobick was only knocked down ONCE as a pro in 44 fights, and got right back up and kept fighting for 9 more rounds to finish the fight!Yet Garrett claimed on December 11, 2020::“I came out for the 2nd round and attacked Bobick with a couple of quick combos that lit him up. I finished the 2nd combo with a short left hook that dropped Bobick flat on his back. It surprised me he went over so easy. He wasn’t out, but he was badly hurt. They stopped the exhibition. His trainer bitterly accused me of trying to blast him out.Bob Garrett's answer to How would Teofilo Stevenson be likely to have fared against Foreman, Holmes, Tyson, Lewis, etc.?The Bobick family is on Facebook, as is Duane Bobick, Rodney’s brother.I asked them if any of the story Garrett told was true, and they said:“call him a liar”It was a particularly stupid lie, since he claimed it took place when Rodney was 22–0, which mean this imaginary fight had to take place in a 9 day period in between Rodney’s 22nd and 23rd fight, which it never did.Bob Garrett made up a quote he claimed Larry Holmes made saying Larry went on TV and demanded Ali fight him or retire - it never happened of courseLet me put this as plainly as I can. Bob Garrett made this up out of thin air. This never happened, period, Bob Garrett is lying yet again. This was never said:“Holmes addressed Ali directly on national television and said “Fight me or get out of the game.”Garrett claims that: Holmes addressed Ali directly on national television and said:“Fight me or get out of the game.”That is another vile, despicable, Bob Garrett lie. Larry Holmes never did that, Larry Holmes never said that, ever, it isn’t how he feels, or felt, about Ali or fighting him.Faced with being called on that slanderous lie, Garrett then claimed that Leon Spinks and Alfredo Evangelista told him that Ali was ducking Holmes!Of course, that was a big lie too.Finally Garrett searched the entire internet and found a statement by Holmes after Muhammad Ali’s last fight while Ali was still holding on to the title that Ali should either retire or fight - and tried to claim that was the fake quote - but it wasn’t. Yet another fantasy by the fantasizer in chief.And then he made up quotes from Wilt Chamberlain, lying so he could make up a personal attack on Muhammad AliThis one is simple: Bob claims Wilt said things in the only book he wrote, and he did not. Anyone believing Garrett, just go look.Garrett first, in that particular vile attack. despicably said:“Ali didn’t qualify for admission to the armed services. He was too dumb.”That is another outrageous slander of course. Ali didn’t qualify in his first test for the draft because he had severe dyslexia, which in those days, was not treated in Black schools in the south.AliWhen challenged on that lie, Garrett said:“If you fail to get a basic education, whether it’s because of learning disabilities or bad schools, you could remain dumbNo decent person would write that kind of disgusting slander about people with learning disabilities. NO decent person.Bob Garrett then claimed that Wilt Chamberlain said:“Ali, who scored only 78 on his Army IQ test. That didn’t surprise Wilt Chamberlain, who remarked, “Ali can’t string 3 intelligent sentences together.”Bob Garrett's answer to Could 1967 Muhammad Ali last past the 6th round against 2020 Tyson fury since modern training (boxing evolution) has improved a lot since 1967? Also since tyson fury is so big, tall, strong, skilled, good and fast in both hands and feetWilt never said that, ever. Period. When challenged on it, Garrett simply lied again, saying:“Wilt Chamberlain made that comment in his book “Wilt.”THAT ALSO IS A FLAT LIE. WILT NEVER WROTE A BOOK NAMED “WILT”I have the only book Wilt wrote “Wilt: just like any other 7-foot Black millionaire who lives next door,” Bob Garrett can’t even get the title right - and that quote is nowhere in it. Garrett simply makes up the vilest of slanders and lies out of thin air.Garrett was asked for an explanation of why the supposed quote did not exist in a book he didn’t know the title of, but of course, could not provide it, because it didn’t exist.Then just 9 days ago, he made up a quote Jerry Quarry never said - and when confronted, claimed he didn’t need a source because he heard it, even if no one else did!Our favorite fanboy wrote an answer for this question quoting Jerry Quarry as saying:“I’ve had a big problem with endurance. I run out of gas, but I promise you, that is not going to be any problem when I fight Spencer.”He goes on to say:“That’s not something you generally heard from Jerry.”Bob Garrett's answer to What would have happened if Leon Spinks had challenged Mike Weaver in June of 1981 instead of Larry Holmes?That is because he made it up out of thin air - Jerry Quarry never, ever, said anything remotely resembling that.What did Jerry say in real life, not Garrett-verse?“I just fought a smart fight and it paid off. I told everybody I'd prove I was faster than he was. I knocked him down with the right, which they said I didn't have."https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Jerry_Quarry_vs._Thad_SpencerJerry never had a problem gassing. The subject before the media before the fight was whether Jerry was as fast as Thad, and whether he had power enough to stop him. Endurance was never mentioned. In Hard Luck: The Triumph And Tragedy Of "Irish" Jerry Quarry by Steve Springer and Blake Chavez, it says:“Jerry was determined to prove that the much talked up Spencer wasn’t as fast as he was, nor as good a boxer - and not as good a puncher either. And prove it he did.”The Spencer fight, in 1968, was way before Jerry became a shell of himself. He was ALWAYS in top condition in that period of his career. Jerry never, ever, in any interview, said anything resembling what Garrett claims he alone in the universe heard!Then there are Garrett’s never ending lies about Muhammad Ali.His favorite is his fantasy that Ali ducked Larry Holmes, even though Larry Holmes says its a lie. Garrett has peddled that particular lie at least 20 separate times, including this morning.Of course Ali did fight Holmes, sadly, but Garrett conveniently rewrites history to say he should have fought him ealier.What is the truth in the real world, not Garrett-verse? As Larry Holmes points out in his book Larry Holmes: Against the Odds a promoter must offer the fight, put up purses, and do the actual legwork to arrange such a defense.Larry Holmes was never, ever, at any point the mandatory or #1 contender for Ali’s title.And no one ever offered him as a discretionary defense. NO ONE. Asked repeatedly for proof what Larry himself says happened, Garrett says he knows better because he saw it on TV, even though there is no record of it anywhere.Seriously,Larry Holmes himself says in his autobiography:“You have to get to number one to get that title shot. Otherwise it is a popularity contest. Spinks got a shot over me because promoters thought a Gold Medal sold seats. Unless you are number one, you are entitled to nothing.”Further, as Larry pointed out In his autobiography, Larry Holmes: Against the Odds, no promoter offered a Holmes - Ali fight until after the old champion had retired:“No one offered me a contract to fight Muhammad until after he had retired, and Don King offered us both more money than either of us had ever made to fight. That was the first time anyone had offered me a fight with Muhammad, and I didn’t want it, he was old and sick. But neither of us could refuse the money.”Does the truth stop Bob Garrett from peddling lies? Of course not.And these are only a few of his lies about great fighters…Why does Bob Garrett make up these easily disproven and outrageous lies?There are literally hundreds of other completely made up lies by Bob Garrett, on Quora, but few so easily checkable as his imaginary North County Boxing Club.Garrett claims:“Somebody asked me if I would train boxers at North County Boxing Club in Vista CA around 2000. I trained all the new boxers in the fundamentals. That’s my strength. I developed systems for strength training and conditioning and for developing balance and footspeed. Not everyone listened to my ideas, but we became the regional powerhouse. I found us a new location and kept the program going when it was going to disappear.At one point we won 48 of 52 fights. They used to send the marines down from Camp Pendleton to train at NCBC because our boxers won so often..https://www.quora.com/log/revision/1326876988Garrett claimed in another post:“I coached North County Boxing Club in Vista CA 2000 to 2005. We became the regional power. I had to quit because of changes to my day job after I found us a new location in the Vista Boys and Girls Club. “We got started at that location really well, but something happened to the program after I left. I’m not sure. I heard conflicting stories.https://www.quora.com/log/revision/1327014993This is a lie anyone can check and debunk. NO North County Boxing Club ever existedThe City of Vista keeps records of all fitness clubs, gyms, boxing clubs, et al, since 1963, and no North County Boxing Club ever existed*.City of Vista, CAThe Better Business Bureau of Vista, California, says no North County Boxing Club ever existed.BBB: Start with Trust® | Vista, CA | Better Business Bureau®The Vista Boys and Girls Club, where Garrett claimed the North County Boxing Club moved after it lost its lease, says he is lying, no such club ever existed, and they never heard of Bob Garrett.Boys and Girls Club Vista CAThe real Vista Boxing Club, in Vista for 116 years, says no North County Boxing Club ever existed, Garrett is lying, and no Bob Garrett ever coached boxing in Vista California.Vista Boxing ClubThe Community Affairs Unit of Camp Pendleton says the Marine Corps never sent Marines to be trained in a boxing club in Vista, California as Garrett lies and claims.Marine Corps Base Camp PendletonBob Garrett never, ever, was a sparring partner for Fred HoupeToday Garrett again claimed that he was Fred Houpe’s sparring partner. Fred is, thankfully, alive and well and living in Chicago.ttps://www.quora.com/log/revision/1313670068He never sparred with, or heard of, Bob Garrett.It is all a lie.When asked for some proof of his various fantasies, Bob Garrett just lies more.Then there are Bob Garrett claims he lifted at Gold’s with ArnoldThen he claimed he he lifted weights at Gold’s with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and advised the owner of Gold’s during that time, Ken Sprague, on boxing.Garrett must have thought Ken was dead like the rest of the people he makes things up about. Only trouble is, Ken Sprague is still alive and online, and said none of what Bob said was true, saying:“None of that stuff was true. He’s a poser, a wanna be, a fake.Bottom Line: I could go on all night, Bob Garrett lied and made up every part of his supposed life story, and has no boxing experience or knowledge at all. He simply is a fanboy hater who lies about every fighter he writes about, makes up quotes they never said, things they never did, interspersing fantasy with slander. If he is not hating fighters, he hates Quoran’s…

Which area? I am from the Williamsbridge area of the Bronx near the Edenwald area. It depends on the area. That community is mixed middle income home owners with a high concentration of people of Caribbean ancestry but it was not like that during the 1970s and has evolved to a recent increase in mid high rise apartment developments so you would have to provide the neighborhood and then, although I was not in NYC during the seventies, I have lived enough in the Bronx to have a historical frame of reference for that period given that I have lived in different areas of NYC for over 35 years.So please provide the name of the neighborhood the film will focus on and I will give you a history and photos from that period.There are over 50 neighborhoods in the Bronx:This is the first of a series of five in which I try to explicate as best I can the names of the neighborhoods of each borough. Some of them are easily inferrable, while some of them have to be ferreted out, Holmes-like. Tackling the Bronx first, the only mainland borough…The Riverdale Memorial Tower, Riverdale Avenue and Henry Hudson ParkwayRIVERDALE, NORTH RIVERDALE, SOUTH RIVERDALEIn the mid-19th Century the Spaulding, Dodge, Goodrich and other families (whose names ended up on area street maps) embarked on a real estate venture, calling it Riverdale because of the numerous brooks, streams and meadows in the hilly region.Fieldston Road north of Manhattan College ParkwayFIELDSTONThe community, many of whose streets are private (I was discouraged from running a tour there by the neighborhood watch) , is north of Manhattan College, east and south of the Henry Hudson Parkway and west of Broadway. The area was purchased and subsequently developed by Major Joseph Delafield in 1829; he named it for his estate in England.Edgehill Church, Independence Avenue near Kappock StreetSPUYTEN DUYVILThis neighborhood tucked at the confluence of the Harlem and Hudson Rivers under the Henry Hudson Bridge has been known as Speight den Duyvil, Spike & Devil, Spitting Devil, Spilling Devil, Spiten Debill and Spouting Devil, among other spellings. In Dutch, “spuyten duyvil,” the mostly-accepted spelling these days, can be pronounced two ways; one pronunciation means “devil’s whirlpool” and the other means “spite the devil.”In Washington Irving’s Knickerbocker History, a Dutch bugler vows to swim the turbulent waters of (then) Spuyten Duyvil Creek where it meets the Hudson during the British attack on New Amsterdam in the 1660s “en spijt den Duyvil,” or in “spite of the devil.” The Lenape Indians inhabited the land for hundreds of years before Europeans arrived; they called the banks of the creek “shorakapok” or “sitting-down place”. After a few hundred years, the name has been pared down and exists as a street name: Kappock (pronounced kay’ pock).In the early 20th Century Spuyten Duyvil Creek was dredged and made deeper in order to allow commercial vessels to access the Hudson River via the Harlem River, which took over the creek’s route. This process first made the Manhattan neighborhood of Marble Hill and island, and later part of the mainland — the only bit of Manhattan found there.The former 50th Precinct building, looking down Summit Place at Kingsbridge TerraceKINGSBRIDGE and KINGSBRIDGE HEIGHTSThese neighborhoods take their names from a vanished bridge that spanned a rerouted creek. The story of the King’s Bridge can be found on a grime-encrusted plaque on one of the Marble Hill Houses, on Broadway just south of West 230thStreet. The plaque is devilishly hard to read, since it’s out of range of sight from the street; you have to climb the short fence or walk around it. The plaque reads:“Northwest of this tablet within a distance of 100 feet stood the original Kings Bridge and its successors from 1693 until 1913 when Spuyten Duyvil Creek was filled up.“Over it marched the troops of both armies during the American Revolution and its possession controlled the land approach to New York City.“General George Washington rested at Kings Bridge the night of June 26, 1776 while en route from Philadelphia to Cambridge to assume command of the Continental Army.“This tablet was erected by the Empire State Society Sons of the American Revolution, June 27, 1914.”Frederick Philipse built the first King’s Bridge, a tolled span over Spuyten Duyvil Creek, in 1693. Benjamin Palmer and Jacob Dyckman built a second bridge in 1759 to avoid paying the high tolls charged by Philipse. During his retreat from the Battle of Harlem Heights in 1776, General George Washington used both the King’s Bridge and Palmer and Dyckman’s free bridge to escape to White Plains. The original King’s Bridge has inspired a network of roads in Manhattan and the Bronx, some surviving, some not, named for it. The span survived till the excavations for the Harlem Ship Canal between 1913 and 1916.The Rambling House, one of the many bars on Katonah AvenueWOODLAWN HEIGHTSThis neighborhood is tucked neatly into a wedge of territory between Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Cortlandt Park, the Yonkers city line and the Metro-North Railroad/Bronx river/Bronx River Parkway. Its namesake cemetery was initiated in 1863 from an idea bu Reverend Absalom Peters, a theologian, poet and proponent of the Rural Cemetery movement in which burial grounds became ‘memorial parks,’ places to go and quietly contemplate, away from the clatter of the city. Woodlawn’s name evokes such serenity. The cemetery’s first interment was in 1865.Mundy Lane, on the Bronx-Mount Vernon city line in Wakefield. The blacktopped section is in the Bronx, while the concrete surface is in Mount Vernon.WAKEFIELDThis Bronx neighborhood at the city line, bordered by White Plains Road, East 233rd Street and Mundy Lane/Seton Avenue was surveyed in 1855 and given the name of the estate in Virginia where George Washington was born in 1732. His brother William inherited the house after their gather Augustine’s death, naming it “Wakefield.” The house burned down in 1779. Nearby, of course, is the town of Mount Vernon, named for the Washington family residence in Virginia.PS 15, Dyre AvenueEASTCHESTERThe further northeast in the Bronx you get to Westchester County, the further into Eastchester you penetrate … Eastchester is a neighborhood in the northeast Bronx that actually used to belong to Westchester County (the Bronx was formed from New York and Westchester Counties and became a county in 1914) and didn’t become a part of New York City until 1895.It’s not to be confused with the current town of Eastchester which is actually northwest of here, in Westchester County. The Bronx neighborhood of Eastchester, along with Mount Vernon, used to be a part of the town of Eastchester in Westchester, but was annexed by the Bronx in 1895. Who’s on first?The neighborhood includes Seton Falls Park, where rattlesnakes prowled as late as the 19th Century.Co-Op City BoulevardCO-OP CITYThe present-day housing project (really a complete neighborhood) is called Co-Op City because it consists of cooperative apartments:A housing cooperative, or co-op, is a legal entity, usually a corporation, which owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings; it is one type of housing tenure. Housing cooperatives are a distinctive form of home ownership that have many characteristics that differ from other residential arrangements such as single family ownership, condominiums and renting.The corporation is membership-based, with membership granted by way of a share purchase in the cooperative. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit. A primary advantage of the housing cooperative is the pooling of the members’ resources so that their buying power is leveraged, thus lowering the cost per member in all the services and products associated with home ownership.Another key element is that the members, through their elected representatives, screen and select who may live in the cooperative, unlike any other form of home ownership. wikipediaThe project was built along the Hutchinson River on what was known as Pinckney’s Meadows in the colonial era. It remained mostly empty in the 19th and early 20th Centuries, but it burst forth briefly in the early 1960s asFreedomland, a frontier-themed amusement park that ultimately was a financial failure. Co-Op City was built shortly after its demise.Belden House, Belden StreetCITY ISLANDFrom the ForgottenBook: Located on a spit of an island in Eastchester Bay in the extreme northeast Bronx, City Island is a transplanted New England fishing village seemingly beamed into the New York Metropolitan area. City Island was privately owned, first by the Pell family and then by the Palmer family, from 1654 until it became a part of the town of Pelham, in Westchester County, in 1819. The island became a part of New York City in 1895 when parts of the town of Pelham were annexed by NYC, and found itself in the Bronx in 1898 after consolidation, though it was still in New York County (the Bronx received a separate designation as a county only in 1914).Benjamin Palmer, who owned the island in 1761, thought of it as a potential commercial rival to New York City, and so it picked up a new nickname (it previously had been called Great Minnefords Island). Of course it never rivaled New York City as a seaport but it did develop thriving seaside industries. Palmer’s group laid out streets and established two ferries to the mainland. Palmer, a staunch supporter of the Revolution, engaged the ire of the British, who plundered the island in 1776. Three years later, Palmer and his family were captured and forced to leave the island for Manhattan; he never returned to City Island.The two World Wars saw City Island become a busy shipbuilding and sailmaking center, adding to its fishing and oyster industries. City Island was an important armament manufacturing center during World War II with the construction of submarine chasers, minesweepers and landing craft. In the postwar era, City Island began to develop as a resort, while island yachtyards Nevins and Minneford produced five America’s Cup winners: theColumbia (1958), the Constellation (1964), the Intrepid (1970), the Courageous (1974 & 1977; media mogul Ted Turner skippered the Courageous in ‘77) and the Freedom (1980). The USA won 24 consecutive America’s Cup yacht race championships between 1851 and 1983.FNY has done two tours in City Island, in 2002 and 2012. In 2009 a film called City Island was set on and filmed there, featuring Andy Garcia and Julianna Margulies. Parts of Long Day’s Journey Into Night and The Royal Tenenbaums were filmed in a house on Tier Street that now belongs to the director of the City Island Nautical Museum (who graciously admitted both tours onto her lawn). The island community has been the setting for many other feature films and TV shows.Dyre Avenue Line #5 train overpass at Boston Road and Needham AvenueBAYCHESTERNamed for its proximity to the town, then neighborhood, of Eastchester and Eastchester Bay and Pelham Bay Park, Baychester remained suburban and even semirural until after World War II when streets were finally paved and homes built. Even today, some of the streets are sans sidewalks. The neighborhood id bisected by the old New York, Westchester and Boston Railroad, which was purchased by NYC in 1940 and made into first a shuttle elevated, then connected to the White Plains Road el at the 180th Street station (see below).Pelham Bay Park War MemorialPELHAM GARDENS, PELHAM PARKWAYEnglishman Thomas Pell, a physician, purchased a vast tract of over 9000 acres of land (most of what is now eastern Bronx) from the local Siwanoy Indians in 1654. Descendants of the Pells occupied the tract for nearly 150 years. By 1813 the acreage was sold out of the Pell-Bartow family (Ann Pell had married John Bartow), but in 1836 John’s grandson Robert reacquired the property and in 1842 built the mansion that still stands in Pelham Bay Park today. A small cemetery is also on the property in which is interred Pell family members going back well into the 18th Century.NYC bought the house from the Bartows in 1888; in 1915 the Pell Mansion underwent a complete restoration by the International Garden Club organization, which continues to maintain the grounds, now numbering nine acres, as a public garden to this day. In 1946 the Mansion opened as a museum exhibiting furniture and painting from the 19th Century.The town of Pelham in Westchester County, the Bronx and Pelham Parkway (usually abbreviated to Pelham Parkway), Pelham Bay Park, and even Pelham Cemetery in City Island are all named for Thomas Pell.Gun Hill Road bridge crossing the Bronx River, the site of John Williams’ bridgeWILLIAMSBRIDGEThe name of this site comes from a bridge across the Bronx River that was named for John Williams. In the 18th century, Williams had a farm on the east bank of the Bronx River in the vicinity of Gun Hill Road and White Plains Road. Some credit him with building the first Bronx River crossing. Though the story remains unproven, his farm was closest to the earliest span, and by the 19th century the bridge and surrounding community became known as Williamsbridge. NYC ParksThe Williams Bridge Metro-North station (spelled with two words) and Williamsbridge Road were also named for John Williams’ bridge.Catania Shoes, Westchester Avenue near Hobart AvenueMIDDLETOWNMiddletown, south of Westchester Avenue and between the Hutchinson River Parkway and the Bruckner Expressway, is a bit puzzling because in the modern era, there are no clear two places it’s in the middle of. Perhaps it was so named because it was midway from the village of Westchester to the Pelham Bridge. The adjoining Stinardtown, just to Middletown’s northeast, was wiped out when Pelham Bay Park was created in the mid-1800s.Stadium AvenueCOUNTRY CLUBThis neighborhood east of the Bruckner Expressway where it meets the Throgs Neck Expressway recalls the turn-of-the-20th Century Westchester Country Club that faced Eastchester Bay, on the old Layton estate (for which Layton Avenue is named). That club had disappeared by the 1920s, and has nothing to do with the modern Westchester Country Club.“American Boy,” Pelham Bay ParkSPENCER ESTATESThe neighborhoods immediately south of Pelham Bay Park along Eastchester Bay are called Spencer Estates and further south, Country Club. In the 19th Century prominent merchant William Spencer married first one, then another woman from the tobacco-growing Lorillard family. William Spencer was a benefactor of the NY Public Library and son Lorillard Spencer was the publisher ofThe Illustrated American magazine.East Tremont Avenue and Lamport PlaceSCHUYLERVILLEFort Schuyler, located on a peninsula that juts into the East River near the Throgs Neck Bridge, and its namesake neighborhood bisected by East Tremont Avenue a couple of miles to the northwest, were named for Revolutionary War general and later US Senator from New York Philip Schuyler (1733-1804; pronounced SKY-ler).As department commanding General, he was active in preparing a defense against the Saratoga Campaign, part of the “Three Pronged Attack” strategy of the British to cut the American Colonies in two by invading and occupying New York State in 1777. In the summer of that year General John Burgoyne marched his British army south from Quebec over the valleys of Lakes Champlain and George. On the way he invested the small Colonial garrison occupying Fort Ticonderoga at the nexus of the two lakes. When General St. Clair surrendered Fort Ticonderoga in July, the Congress replaced Schuyler with General Horatio Gates, who had accused Schuyler of dereliction of duty.In 1789, he was elected a U.S. Senator from New York to the First United States Congress, serving from July 27, 1789, to March 4, 1791. After losing his bid for re-election in 1791, he returned to the State Senate from 1792 to 1797. In 1797, he was elected again to the U.S. Senate and served in the 5th United States Congress from March 4, 1797 until his resignation because of ill health on January 3, 1798. wikipediaThe former Charlie’s Inn, Harding AvenueTHROG(G)S NECKThrogs Neck, mainland Bronx’ most southeastern redoubt, was named for a very early British settler, John Throckmorton, who arrived in the peninsula now capped by Fort Schuyler in 1642. Throckmorton, like Anne Hutchinson, had had religious differences with the rigid Puritans of New England, moved to Rhode Island with its founder, Roger Williams in 1636, and later decamped to the Bronx because he may have feared that Massachusetts would invade the tiny colony. Both the aforementioned Thomas Pell and Throckmorton had to pledge allegiance to the Dutch crown before being granted permission to settle. Throckmorton later fled Indian aggression and wound up in Rhode Island again and later, New Jersey.The peninsula, or “neck” (cf. Little Neck in Queens) was bestowed an abbreviation of his lengthy name and Throgmorton Avenue, also a tribute, is a variant spelling. Throgs Neck is also occasionally spelled with a double g, especially by area residents. The explanation for all this may lie in the fact that in the early days of printing (which in Throckmorton’s day had been an industry for only about a century and a half) spellings were hardly standardized, and wouldn’t be until the days of Samuel Johnson and Noah Webster. However Throgs Neck is spelled, it is a peaceful, tranquil area with a couple of private communities that enjoy terrific views of the water-filled surroundings.SILVER BEACHWhen Silver Beach was initiated as a bungalow colony in the 1920s, just west of Fort Schuyler, it was named for the supposed color of the sand along its East River shoreline. Today the semiprivate community, whose residents formed a co-op arrangement in 1972, enjoy spectacular views of the Bronx-Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges and the distant Manhattan skyline.Volunteer firehouse, Edgewater ParkEDGEWATER PARKEdgewater Park is a second private community in the eastern Bronx, this one facing Eastchester Bay east of the Throgs Neck Expressway.What really sets both communities apart from the nearby streets of Throgs Neck is that they are cooperatives — Edgewater Park has 675 single-family homes, Silver Beach Gardens 451 — whose residents own their homes but lease the land from owners’ collectives. Each owner pays a monthly maintenance fee for the upkeep of the streets,beaches and common areas and the signs that proclaim: “Private Property, No Trespassing, No Soliciting, No Loitering.” NY TimesBoth Edgewater Park and Silver Beach have unique street lighting and street sign designs different from the rest of NYC.Pelham Parkway station at White Plains RoadBRONXDALEI’m unsure just when the name of Bronxdale was first applied to the neighborhood on either side of Pelham Parkway east of Bronx Park. The mane is straightforward and indicates a dale, or valley. Interestingly, Bronxdale Avenue begins south of the neighborhood and runs southeast to East Tremont Avenue, originally running through swampy territory called Bear Swamp, and Bronxdale Avenue was called Bear Swamp Road until the early 20th Century.Lourdes recreation, Church of St.Lucy, Bronxville and Mace AvenuesALLERTONThe Allerton neighborhood, bordering on Bronxdale, is named for east-west Allerton Avenue, the main shopping drag, that honors 19th-Century landowner Daniel Allerton, whose ancestors arrived on the Mayflowerin 1620. Allertons are interred in Woodlawn Cemetery.Morris Park AvenueMORRIS PARKIn 1888, John P. Morris opened the Morris Park Racetrack where this neighborhood eventually wound up, naming it for himself.From FNY’s Morris Park page:The name Morris turns up a number of times in the Bronx, primarily from two different families: the Revolution-era Morrises: Richard, who arrived in the 1660s and first settled the South Bronx; Declaration signer Lewis, US Senator Gouverneur, and Robert, who was a 3-term NYC mayor in the 1850s.The Morris of Morris Park was John A. Morris, whose Westchester Racing Association acquired 152 acres in 1888 on the outskirts of the old Bear Swamp (which was quite literally named) and built a huge racetrack and clubhouse there. As opulent as the racetrack was, though, it was in operation only from 1890 to 1904 (though a vestige of horse racing in the area, the Track Restaurant and Tavern, held down a corner at Eastchester and Williamsbridge Roads some distance from the old track until 1957). The track itself burned to the ground in 1910.In 1908 the abandoned racetrack became the world’s first formal airfield and the American Eagle, the largest dirigible in history to that time at a full 105 feet in length, was built there, and one of the first gliders, piloted by 17-year-old Lawrence Lesh, was launched from the former track that year. And, in the early 1900s, the old racetrack was also used for speed and endurance races for the newfangled automobile, and a young Swiss driver named Louis once won a gold watch for driving a Fiat a the-record 52.8 MPH there. The driver along with his brother Gaston competed in many road races at the Morris Park track and Gaston won at Indianapolis in 1920. Of course, it was Louis Chevrolet (1878-1941), who ironically sold his share in the Chevrolet Motor Car Company he founded in 1911 to original partner William Durant in 1915, and returned to the racing business, as well as aeronautics. (The gold watch he won had been donated by Walter Chrysler.)It was not until the 1920s that streets were cut through and houses constructed; the neighborhood was not “completed” until the 1970s!St. Peter’s ChurchWESTCHESTER SQUAREWhat is now the Bronx used to be part of Westchester County and was ceded to the City of New York over time. West of the Bronx River (which bisects the borough) was annexed by NYC in 1874 while everything east of the river joined New York County by 1895. Until 1898, when NYC became an agglomeration of five boroughs, Manhattan and the Bronx were the same county: New York County. Finally, the Bronx became a county on its own in 1914. Today, the boroughs are coterminous as Manhattan occupies New York County, Brooklyn, Kings County, and so forth.Westchester Square, even to the present day, appears to be a small town hub, clustering around the triangle formed by Westchester, East Tremont and Lane Avenues. The “town” has recently celebrated its 350thanniversary, having been settled here, as Oostdorp (‘east village’) by the Dutch in 1654 and taken over by the British with the rest of New Amsterdam in 1664. It became a busy port along Westchester Creek, which hastened its development; by 1693 St. Peter’s Episcopal Church was founded. The parish is still in existence. During the Revolution, patriots dismantled a bridge over the creek, delaying British advancement (the present-day bridge carries East Tremont Avenue).World War I memorial, Castle Hill Avenue and Cross-Bronx ExpresswayCASTLE HILLCastle Hill was named for a slight elevation at what is now Lacombe and Castle Hill Avenues noticed by 17th-Century Dutch explorer Adrian Block, who thought it resembled a castle.Westchester and Glebe AvenuesUNIONPORTUnionport was a mecca for German and Irish immigrants in the mid-to-late 1890s. After the eastern Bronx was annexed to NYC in 1895 the streets were renamed for local luminaries and settlers, and Unionport was absorbed into what’s now Castle Hill. Unionport Road still runs as a main route from Castle Hill through Parkchester to Bronx Park. Its name seems to have something to do with the navigability of the adjoining Westchester Creek, and at one time it was hoped that a major port could be built here.Hula girl terra cotta, ParkchesterPARKCHESTERParkchester, a large apartment complex (large enough to comprise an entire neighborhood) in the mid-Bronx, is bounded by White Plains Road, East Tremont Avenue, McGraw Avenue and (part of the way) by Castle Hill Avenue. The complex was built in 1941 by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company on 110 acres, some of which had been occupied by the New York Catholic Protectorate, a home for poor children. For its time, Parkchester was a pioneer in rental-unit engineering, as it included amenities like gleaming new bathrooms with non-slip bathtub bottoms, double sinks and cabinets in the kitchens — an innovation at the time. The complex boasted a bowling alley, recreation areas, the very first Macy’s branch outlet, and three movie theatres in or near it: The Loew’s American (still there as a multiplex), the Palace and the Circle.Its name seems to be an imitation of place names like Eastchester and Baychester.Mannequins, Westchester and Ward AvenuesBRONX RIVERThe neighborhood is found on the east end of its namesake river (the only true river in NYC) between the Cross Bronx Expressway, Soundview Park on the south and the Bronx River Parkway on the east.Manhattan view from Bronx River and Cornell AvenuesCLASON POINTBronx historian, the late John McNamara: Isaac Clason was a wealthy merchant whose lands were subdivided into smaller estates. He purchased the east end of Cornell’s Neck in 1793-1794 and lived there for many years. A son, Augustus Washington Clason, had a nearby home which was eventually sold to Joseph J. Husson along with 15 acres of land.” Clason’s mansion eventually became an inn but was razed when the area became a beach club and acquired the name Harding Park.Bronx River boating, Harding ParkHARDING PARKThe semiprivate community of Harding Park, located in the southwest end of Clason Point,was named in the Roaring 20s for President Warren G. Harding, who died in office in 1923 during a mostly unsuccessful and scandal-ridden administration. The bungalows are arranged along sidewalk-free streets that aren’t included on official street maps (but do show up on computer maps like Google).Soundview HousesSOUNDVIEWWhen you think about it, “Soundview” as a name doesn’t make sense. Unless, of course, an adjacent body of water is called the Long Island Sound. It’s a matter of debate where theEast River leaves off and the Long Island Sound begins. I’ve always made it the Throgs Neck Bridge. In the 19th Century, the Sound was mapped as beginning somewhat west of where it does now, and when VClason pount Road was renamed Soundview Avenue in 1918, there was no confusion about it whatever.Adams StreetVAN NESTVan Nest is an old name and comes from Dutch colonial settler Pieter Pietersen Van Neste, who arrived in North America from Holland in 1647. However, the family is only honored here because of the Van Nest Land & Improvement Company, which began developing the neighborhood in 1892. Scions of the Van Nests became railroad company directors and developers but according to Bronx historian John McNamara, no Van Nest actually lived in the Bronx.East 180th Street station, #5 IRT, Morris Park AvenueWEST FARMSWest Farms took its name in the colonial era from farms west of the Bronx River, which served as the Bronx’ main geographical dividing line from then on up to the later 1800s. The Bronx became a part of New York City in sections between the years 1874 and 1898: all of the Bronx west of the Bronx River was annexed to the City of New York in 1874, while everything east of the river became part of the City in 1895. Soon after, in 1898, New York City consolidated with the city of Brooklyn and the boroughs of Queens and Staten Island. Though it was already a borough, the Bronx was a part of New York County until 1914 when it became a county in its own right. Today, New York County is coterminous with Manhattan.East Tremont and Park AvenuesTREMONT and EAST TREMONTThe genesis of Tremont’s name is similar to that of Boston’s: while that city’s Tremont was named for three hills on the originally narrow peninsula where Boston grew and prospered, so the Bronx’ Tremont was named by its first postmaster for three hills in mid-Bronx: Mount Eden, Mount Hope and Fairmount. The main difference is that Bostonians pronounce it Treh’ mont, while Bronxites say Tree’ mont.Arthur AvenueBELMONTBelmont, which takes its name from tobacco magnate Jacob Lorillard’s estate, is famous for its Little Italy centered along Arthur Avenue, with its panoply of small mom and pop shops purveying delicacies, and small, intimate restaurants. Lorillard’s imprint is all over the Bronx; the snuff mill employed on his tobacco farm can still be found deep within the NY Botanic Garden. The Lorillards owned nearly all of what would become The Bronx Zoo, the NY Botanical Garden, and the neighborhoods of Belmont, Bronx Park South and Norwood.Poe Cottage, Grand ConcourseFORDHAMThe name Fordham was given by John Archer, a Dutch settler who had anglicized his name, when he established a community at 225th Street near the Harlem River in 1666. Alternatively, Fordham (house by the ford) originated as either as a reference to its location near a shallow crossing of the Bronx River or as a reference to Rev. John Fordham, an Anglican priest. wikipediaUrsuline AcademyBEDFORD PARKBedford, England, inspired the name of the Bedford Park neighborhood when it was conceived and laid out in the 1880s. The British town also inspired the neighborhood’s use of Queen Anne architecture, and some of these grand old homes can still be seen crouching amid the area’s now-predominant multifamily apartment buildings. Norwood was originally part of the Varian family’s dairy farm. The Varians, who produced a New York City mayor, owned the oldest house in the area, which is still standing.52nd Police Precinct, Webster AvenueNORWOODNorwood was originally part of the Varian family’s dairy farm.The name either comes from “North Woods” or from Carlisle Norwood, a friend of Leonard Jerome, the grandfather of Winston Churchill who owned the nearby Jerome Park Race Track in the 1860s. The neighborhood was laid out in 1889 by entrepreneur Josiah Briggs.For a couple of decades in the late 20th Century, Norwood and its immediate neighbor to the south, Bedford Park, were major Irish enclaves, after immigrants from Northern Island during the era of The Troubles fled the auld sod and settled here, in Woodlawn Heights to the north, and in Queens’ Woodside. For a time Norwood became known as “Little Belfast” and was a hotbed for supporters of the Irish Republican Army, which sought to sever Northern Ireland’s ties with the United Kingdom by violent means. Eventually the Irish influence in the area lessened, as many Irish returned home to participate in the homeland’s roaring economy in the 1990s and early 2000s. Traces of Little Belfast, though, can still be found along Bainbridge Avenue. Norwood was where the Irish-American band Black 47 first attracted notice. Today Norwood attracts Hispanics, Indians, Asians, and New Yorkers looking for apartment bargains: some are still available for three figures!Orloff Avenue stepsVAN CORTLANDT VILLAGEThe story of Van Cortlandt Park , ansd the neighborhood on its southwest corner, Van Cortlandt Village, begins in 1699, when future NYC mayor Jacobus Van Cortlandt bought a large tract of the Frederick Philipse holdings in the northern Bronx. The land was originally populated by the local Indians as early as 500-600 years ago.In 1748, Jacobus’ son, Frederick, built Van Cortlandt Mansion, which still stands today. New York City obtained the land in 1888 and committed much of it to parkland.The story goes that as buffalo (properly called bison) were overhunted in western states in the frontier era, putting them in danger of extinction, Dr. William Hornaday of the Bronx Zoo acquired a few buffalo and bred them on the zoo grounds. By 1907 the Bronx herd outstripped the Zoo’s resources, so a few bulls and cows were transferred to Van Cortlandt Park. Later that year, they were sent to Oklahoma, where some of the buffalo are still descended from the Bronx specimens.Van Cortlandt Park is marked by rocky outcroppings made mostly of gneiss, a metamorphic rock with a distinctive banded texture. Streaks of mica can be found in the rocks, as well as quartz. Van Cortlandt Park’s Northwest Forest contains the park’s older-growth trees, featuring red, white and black oak, hickories, beech, cherry birch, sweetgum, red maple and of course, the incredibly tall and straight tulip trees. Fauna fans won’t be disappointed either as owls, bats, chipmunks, woodchucks and large gypsy moths, rabbits, raccoons, opossums and coyotes are all here and accounted for.Van Cortlandt Park is divided by no fewer than three major roadways, the Henry Hudson Parkway, the Mosholu Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway, yet is large enough to accommodate them all without losing its distinctive rural character. The 1997 John Muir Nature Trail as well as the Putnam Railroad and Croton Aqueduct Trails run through the park.Hall of Fame for Great AmericansUNIVERSITY HEIGHTSThis neighborhood is set on high bluffs overlooking the Harlem River. The “University” is, or was, New York University, which had a substantial campus in the neighborhood which in turn became home to the Bronx Community College. The Hall of Fame for Great Americans, an outdoor portico featuring 97 busts of notable American men and women, is a fascinating attraction here that most New Yorkers have no idea exists.Shuttleworth Mansion, Anthony Avenue and Mount Hope PlaceMOUNT HOPEThis mid-Bronx neighborhood is named for one of the trio of now-leveled hills from which Tremont and Tremont Avenue also take their names.Mount Eden AvenueMOUNT EDENAnother of the Tremont trio of hills, this one is named for an early 19th-century property owner, Rachel Eden.Lorelei Fountain, Kilmer ParkCONCOURSE and CONCOURSE VILLAGEThese neighborhoods, famed for Art Deco and Moderne high rise apartment buildings, are named for the roadway that vertically bisects them, the Grand Boulevard and Concourse, designed by French-born engineer Louis Risse.The Grand Boulevard and Concourse marches north from the Major Deegan Expressway to Mosholu Parkway through Mott Haven, Concourse Village, Mount Eden, Mount Hope (the Concourse is constructed on a hill), Fordham, and Bedford Park.Eleven lanes wide from 161st Street north to Mosholu, the GB&C (shortened to Grand Concourse for the benefit of sign makers and cabbies) was built, from 161st Street north, in 1909 by engineer Risse. In 1927, it absorbed Mott Avenue, which ran from 138th north to 161st, and the older street was widened. The Grand Concourse became the Bronx’s showpiece as the Bronx County Courthouse, Yankee Stadium, and an array of elegant apartment buildings were constructed along its length. The Concourse and surrounding streets are a wonderworld of Art Deco…spend an afternoon along its length and observe the sumptuous buildings.The Concourse is dominated by two separate architectural trends. The Art Deco style, characterized by highly stylized and colored ornamentation, ironworked doors, colorful terra cotta and mosaics, originated at the 1925 Exposition Internationale in Paris. Art Moderne, noted for its striped block patterns, cantilevered corners, stylized letterforms and generally streamlined appearance, first gained wide notice at the 1937 Exposition.Claremont ParkwayCLAREMONT VILLAGEThe neighborhood, park, and parkway are named for Polish immigrant Martin Zboroski’s 19th Century estate, Clermont.Herman Ridder Junior High School, Boston Road and East 173rd StreetCROTONA PARK EASTCrotona Park is nowhere near the Croton Aqueduct, which runs through the western Bronx; it was named for a colony in ancient Greece famed for Olympic athletes. It was purchased from the estate belonging to Andrew Bathgate in the 1880s; a dispute with the Bathgate family prevented the new Crotona Park from being named for them. Bathgate Avenue today remembers these early Bronx gentry.Dawson StreetLONGWOODLongwood Park was an 1870s estate owned by Samuel B. White, and Hunts Point was formerly a collection of country estates owned by the Casanovas, Barrettos, Spoffords, Failes, and other wealthy families, many of whose names now grace street signs.In the late 19th Century Longwood and the surrounding area was subdivided into residential lots. A group of now-landmarked brownstone buildings was developed by Warren C. Dickerson for landowner George Johnson between 1897 and 1901 consisting of parts of Beck, Kelly and Dawson Streets and Hewitt Place between East 156th Street and Longwood Avenue. Designated a New York City Landmark District, its buildings are marked by their eclectic peaks and roof embellishments.The region’s odd street layout… streets sort of undulate, twist and turn…was, in part, defined by the now-underground Sacrahong Brook, whose route is now nearly exactly copied by Intervale Avenue.Former American Bank Note Building, Lafayette Avenue/Tiffany StreetHUNT’S POINTHunt’s Point had been first settled by Thomas Hunt in 1670; the Hunts joined the Morrises as the Bronx’ foremost landowning families in the colonial era. Hunt’s Point (not to be confused with Hunter’s Point in Queens) has been home to the New York City Terminal Market since 1965; much of the city’s fresh produce is purchased by merchants here. The former Fulton Street Fish Market relocated here from its long-standing facility on South and Fulton Streets in mid-2005.Church of Saint Augustine, East 166th StreetMORRISANIA, MORRIS HEIGHTS, PORT MORRISMuch of the southern Bronx was once owned by the colonial-era Morris family.Gouverneur Morris (1752-1816) half-brother of Lewis Morris, was a political leader, diplomat, U.S. Senator, and American ambassador to France. He was an outspoken opponent to what he termed ‘unchecked popular democracy’. His son, G. Morris II, sold the estate to Jordan Mott.Gouverneur Morris was outspoken and brash – nonetheless, he became ambassador due to his through knowledge of the French language and its nuances. In his youth, he would drive teams of horses without the benefit of reins, yelling and cracking a whip instead, but one day one of his teams ran off and he was dragged, winding up with a crushed leg. For the rest of his life he hobbled along on a wooden leg, like a Dutch predecessor, Peter Stuyvesant.Lewis Morris (1726-1798) was an ardent supporter of American independence and served in the Continental Congress from 1775-1777, and in the NY state legislature between 1777 and 1790. He signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. His great grandfather (Richard, died 1672) had immigrated to New York through Barbados after being part of Oliver Cromwell‘s army in the English Civil War of 1648. He purchased the first tract of land in the Bronx that became the basis for the Morrisania manor. wikipediaAlso interred here is Judge Robert H. Morris (1802-1855), a three-term mayor of New York City from 1841 to 1844.H.W. Wilson publishing company tower on University AvenueHIGHBRIDGE HEIGHTSThe neighborhood arrayed east of where High Bridge ends at University Avenue and West 170th Street is named for the structure that bridged the Croton Aqueduct across the Harlem River. When High Bridge was built between 1837 and 1848 by architect John Jervis it actually connected two separate towns, since that area of the mainland would not become a part of New York County until 1874.Originally, High Bridge featured massive stone arches (like Roman aqueducts had) for its entire length. The arches survive on the Bronx side, but the steel span was constructed in the 20s to allow navigation on the Harlem River. Water was carried in two 33”-diameter pipes, later replaced by a more massive 90” pipe. It was able to conduit as much as 24 million gallons of water per day.High Bridge has featured a walkway since the 1860s, although it never had roads for auto or horse traffic. Edgar Allan Poe, a Bronx resident toward the end of his life, enjoyed frequenting the bridge. The walkway features attractive cast iron hand railings and interlocked red brick paving stones, along with views of High Bridge’s neighboring spans across the Harlem, the Alexander Hamilton and Washington Bridges. In 1960, the walkway was closed, never to again reopen, because of vandals throwing objects from the bridge onto boats plying the Harlem River. Plans call rehabilitating and reopening High Bridge in the mid-2010s.Original Bronx Borough Courthouse, Third Avenue and East 161st StreetMELROSE19th-century surveyor Andrew Findlay was Scottish-born and was a fan of the fiction of Sir Walter Scott, so this small neighborhood adjoining the first Bronx Borough Courthouse was named for one of Scott’s novels, Melrose Abbey.Third Avenue and East 150th StreetTHE HUBOne of the Bronx’ busiest shopping districts is at the confluence of Third, Willis and Melrose Avenues, as well as East 149th Street. In addition the IRT subway joined several trolley lines as well as the 3rd Avenue El once upon a time.Estey Piano factory, Bruckner Boulevard and Lincoln AvenueMOTT HAVENJordan Mott built a tremendously successful iron works beginning in 1828 (the iron works continued to 1906), centered along the Harlem River from about Third Avenue to East 138thStreet. His handiwork can be still seen all over town on airshaft and manhole covers built by the Mott Iron Works. Mott had bought the original property from Gouverneur Morris II in 1849; Morris was asked if he minded if the area was called Mott Haven, a name it had quickly acquired. “I don’t care…while [Mott] is about it, he might as well change the Harlem River to the Jordan.” The iron works produced practical and ornamental metalwork used worldwide.PART TWO: BROOKLYN2/23/14