Bedford Park
Saturday, June 8, 2019
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Join Angel Hernandez, Bronx history enthusiast, on a historic stroll through Bedford Park. The Bedford Park community, just north of the Fordham Road shopping district and south of Mosholu Parkway, does not often get the recognition it deserves. Although it hugs the northernmost portion of the Grand Concourse, one of The Bronx’s busiest thoroughfares, Bedford Park hardly gets a look for the cultural gems it holds therein. For starters, some interesting Bronx history can be found in Bedford Park. At one point the original Boston Post Road, our nation’s first highway, ran across its northern limits, seeing the hoofs of horses ridden by notable characters such as George Washington, Paul Revere, and John Adams. During the American Revolution, a fort operated by ex-slaves from Virginia sat at what is now St. George Crescent near Van Cortlandt Avenue East, preventing colonists from using Boston Post Road. In the 19th century, names like Leonard J. Jerome began to appear in the neighborhood, whose racetrack occupied what is now the reservoir that sits behind Lehman College – which by the way, was home to the very first congregation of the United Nations in 1946. Thomas Edison ran his movie studio on Decatur Avenue, just south of Bedford Park Boulevard. It was there in 1910 that the first adaption of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein was filmed. There continue to be remnants of the past that can be marveled at today. A stroll through Bedford Park reveals blocks of precious Art Deco tenement specimens, mixed in with mid to late 19th century architectural structures that hark back to bucolic times. The marvelous 52nd Precinct on Webster Avenue also offers a spectacular example of an old Tuscan Villa, with its original horse stable still attached in the rear. An even further stroll through the neighborhood will give you more architectural gems such as the Bedford Park Congregational and Presbyterian churches, both late 19th to early 20th century structures with hints of Queen Anne, Richardsonian, and Romanesque revival styles. One cannot miss the striking cones atop of the Queen Anne style residential houses along Bedford Park Boulevard, near the Grand Concourse. Yet, there is a lot more to discover in Bedford Park, and only a guided walking tour can capture such beauty and magnificence of a Bronx neighborhood.
General – $20
Friends / Seniors – $15