Grand
Concourse
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WALKING TOURS
From start to nish, the tour
lasts approximately 90 minutes.
Start on north side of East 161st
Street, between the Grand
Concourse and Walton Avenue
1118 Grand Concourse. Image courtesy of the
Landmarks Preservation Commission
Cover Image| Bronx County - Mario Merola Building. Image courtesy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission
Grand Concourse 1
The celebrated Grand Concourse is a limited access 11-lane boulevard,
stretching more than four miles through the Bronx, from East 138th Street to
Mosholu Parkway, near East 206th Street. The historic district, which covers the
blocks between East 151st Street and 167th Street, as well as sections of Gerard
and Walton Avenues, was designated in 2011. Construction of the “Grand
Boulevard and Concourse” began in 1897 and was completed in 1909. The
Grand Concourse, as it became known, was extended south to East 138th
Street in the mid-1920s. Consisting of a broad central roadway, service roads
and landscaped malls, the concourse also incorporates submerged transverse
roads. Designed by Louis Aloys Risse, a French-born immigrant who worked for
the short-lived Department of Street Improvements, his innovative street plan
drew inspiration from various sources. Often compared to the Champs Elysees
in Paris, it also seems to have taken ideas from Olmsted & Vaux’s design for
Central Park, which introduced underpasses and sunken roadways to separate
pedestrians and vehicular users, as well as Eastern and Ocean Parkways in
Brooklyn, which feature a similar division of lanes and service roads.
Grand Concourse
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River Avenue
East 165 Street
Walton Avenue
Gerard Avenue
Grant Avenue
Morris Avenue
Sheridan Avenue
Sherman Avenue
Jerome Avenue
East 163 Street
East 164 Street
College Avenue
East 158 Street
Carroll Place
McClellan Street
Park Avenue
East 157 Street
East 168 Street
Grand Concourse
East 159 Street
Tudor Place
Cromwell Avenue
East 166 Street
East 162 Street
East 162 Street
East 162 Street
East 164 Street
East 167 Street
Joyce Kilmer
Park
Franz Sigel
Park
Mullaly Park
Yankee Stadium
Mott
Playground
East 161 Street
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275
Feet
Tour Stops
Suggested Route
Subway Entrance
16
Grand Concourse Walking Tour
Joyce Kilmer Park
Bronx County - Mario Merola Building
West Terrace + Walton Avenue Apartments
South Terrace + Franz Sigel Park
Thomas Garden Apartments [840 Grand Concourse]
888 Grand Concourse
900 Grand Concourse
940 + 960 Grand Concourse
1020 Grand Concourse
Bronx Museum of the Arts [1040 Grand Concourse]
Andrew Freedman Home [1125 Grand Concourse]
Bronx Housing Court [1118 Grand Concourse]
Bronx Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Children [1130 Grand Concourse]
1150 Grand Concourse
1166 + 1188 Grand Concourse
Grand Concourse
Historic District
Grand Concourse 2
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Major General Franz Sigel, c. 1863. Image courtesy of Creative Commons
Grand Concourse, c. 1966. Image courtesy of the New York Times
Joyce Kilmer Park
When the Grand Concourse opened in 1909, the south end of what
would become Joyce Kilmer Park was known as Concourse Plaza.
Originally bisected by a diagonal roadway that began on East 161st
Street near Walton Avenue, the park contains two prominent sculptural
features: a white marble fountain dedicated to the romantic German
poet Heinrich Heine (Ernest Herter, 1899) and a bronze statue of Louis
J. Heintz (Pierre Fietu, 1905), who as the borough’s rst commissioner
of street improvements conceived this “grand boulevard” in the early
1890s. Acquired by the parks department in 1924, the nearly seven-
acre park was renamed for the poet and journalist Joyce Kilmer in
1926. Famous for his 1913 poem “Trees,” Kilmer perished while serving
in France during the First World War. The park’s current symmetrical
conguration, which extends to East 164th Street, mostly dates to 1936.
Bronx County - Mario Merola
Building
Commonly called the Bronx County Courthouse, this nine-story building
is one of the most impressive in the historic district. Set on a raised
ballustraded terrace, reached from broad stairs, it contains various
court rooms, as well as the ofce of the Borough President and other
public agencies. Constructed during the early years of the Great
Depression, the architects were Max L. Hausle, who designed several
courthouses in the Bronx, and Joseph H. Freedlander. Dedicated in
1934, the understated elevations are enlivened by gilded spandrels and
sculptural reliefs. While the rusticated base features an elegant frieze by
sculptor Charles Keck depicting labor, the spacious terrace displays pink
Georgia marble gurative groups symbolizing the virtues of government.
The monumental sculptures that ank the stairs on East 161st Street,
“Civic Government” and “The Majesty of Law,” are credited to George
Snowden, a student of the noted sculptor Adolph A. Weinman who
supervised the building’s sculptural program. Designated a landmark
in 1973, it was renamed for Bronx District Attorney Mario Merola in 1988.
Cross to the opposite side of East 161st Street and ascend the stairs. Turn right and
continue onto the west terrace, stopping to view Walton Avenue
Gerard, Walton and Morris Avenues are named for various members of
the Morris family, who were major land owners in the Bronx prior to the
20th century. On Walton Avenue, many six-story apartment buildings
were erected in the late 1920s, following the start of subway service to
161st Street in 1917 and the opening of Yankee Stadium in 1923. Designed
in variants of the Renaissance Revival style, these mainly beige brick
buildings have H- and U-shaped plans with recessed entrances. The
Bronx County Building’s west terrace displays two sculptures by Joseph
Kiselewski: “Victory and Peace” and “Loyalty Valor and Sacrice.”
Continue onto the south terrace, overlooking the park on East 158th Street
Directly to the south of the Bronx County Building stretches verdant
Franz Sigel Park. The land for this 16-acre park was acquired from the
Walton family in 1885. Briey known as Cedar Park, it was renamed
for Sigel, who immigrated to the United States in the early 1850s and
served in the American Civil War, in 1902. Sigel, who died that year, is
likewise honored by an equestrian statue in Manhattan’s Riverside Park,
at West 106th Street. The park’s rugged stonework and picturesque
layout mostly date from the rst years of the 20th century when Samuel
Parsons, Jr. headed the parks department. The Bronx County Building’s
south terrace features two sculptures by Edward F. Sanford, Jr., “Triumph
of Government” and “Genius of Administration.”
Descend the left (east) stairs and proceed towards the Grand Concourse, pausing
at the northwest corner of East 158th Street
Grand Concourse 3
West Terrace + Walton Avenue
South Terrace + Franz Sigel
Park
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Front entrance, 888 Grand Concourse. Image courtesy of Landmarks Preservation Commission
900 Grand Concourse. Image courtesy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission
940 + 960 Grand Concourse
This block contains two nearly-identical six-story apartment houses:
Concourse Gardens South and Concourse Gardens North. Designed by
Springsteen & Goldhammer, both date to 1927. As with much of the
rm’s work, residents enter through modestly-landscaped courtyards.
In the case of 960 Grand Concourse, at left, the raised common area
contains a simple stone monument. Designed in the Mediterranean
Revival style with simple neo-classical details, these buildings are typical
of the kinds of historicist structures erected along the Concourse (and
throughout the Bronx) before the Art Deco style gained popularity.
Walk one block north, stopping between 164th and 165th Streets.
888 Grand Concourse
The Grand Concourse is justly famous for its Art Deco-style buildings.
Following construction of the IND subway, which opened in 1933, many
new apartment houses were constructed in the area. Distinguished
by streamlined forms and industrial materials, these new residential
buildings were promoted as stylishly modern. 888 Grand Concourse was
designed by the noted Hungarian-born architect Emery Roth. This is his
only commission in the historic district and features an eye-catching
corner entrance with a projecting circular canopy and curved walls
embellished with delicate mosaics. The following year, Roth would
design a similar entry for the Normandy Apartments, a New York City
Landmark, at 140 Riverside Drive in Manhattan.
Cross the Grand Concourse to the northwest corner of East 161st Street and look
back towards 900 Grand Concourse, between East 161st and 162nd Street.
900 Grand Concourse
Built as the Concourse Hotel, this 11-story red brick building was
completed in 1923 – the same year Yankee Stadium opened. Designed
in the Colonial Revival style by Maynicke & Franke, in its heyday this
hotel hosted numerous public events and multiple generations of
legendary Yankee sluggers, from the Bronx Bomber “Babe” Ruth to
center elder Mickey Mantle. Many notable presidential candidates
stopped to campaign here, including Franklin Delano Roosevelt and
John F. Kennedy. In addition, the banqueting rooms have frequently
hosted business luncheons, wedding receptions and bar mitzvahs.
Following a long period of decline during the 1960s and 1970s, the hotel
was purchased by New York City and was converted to senior citizens
housing in 1982.
Continue walking north along the edge of the park, pausing between 163rd and
164th Streets.
Thomas Garden Apartments
840 Grand Concourse
The Thomas Garden Apartments, between East 158th and 159th
Streets, were built in 1926-27. Commissioned by John D. Rockefeller,
Jr. this U-shaped complex is named for its architect Andrew J. Thomas,
who pioneered the development of the “garden apartment.” Like
his Dunbar Apartments in Harlem, a concurrent Rockefeller-Thomas
project, these low-rise buildings were planned as non-prot cooperative
residences and feature generous common areas. The brick elevations
are enlivened by occasional and colorful Mediterranean Revival
details, while the central courtyard features Japanese-style lanterns.
Some entrances contain interesting brickwork, such as a peacock
displaying its tail feathers on 158th Street.
Cross East 158th Street and continue walking until you reach the southeast corner
of East 161st Street.
Grand Concourse 4
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Entrance detail, 1020 Grand Concourse. Image courtesy of Landmarks Preservation Commission
1130 Grand Concourse. Image courtesy of Landmarks Preservation Commission
Andrew Freedman Home. Image courtesy of Landmarks Preservation Commission
Bronx Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Children
At left is the former home of the Bronx Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children. This Classical Revival style building was erected by
the architects Raldris & LaVelle in 1926. It has an elaborate double dog-
leg staircase that provides entry to the lower oors. Sold to the Girls Club
of New York in 1980, it is currently occupied by Bronx Works, a social
service organization.
Cross the Grand Concourse and turn left (north), stopping in front of 1150 Grand
Concourse, at the northeast corner of McClellan Street
Bronx Housing Court
Opposite the Freedman Home stand two dissimilar but nonetheless
monumental institutional structures. On the right is the Bronx Housing
Court, built in the 1990s by the Uruguayan-architect Raphael Vinoly.
Clad with gray sandstone and matching brick, the structure’s lower
volume contains 13 courtrooms, while the glazed upper oors are
marked by a distinctive wedge-like window that illuminates the court’s
law library. Vinoly’s rm also designed the widely-discussed Bronx
County Hall of Justice (2007) on East 161st Street, between Sherman
and Morris Avenues.
1118 Grand Concourse
Bronx Museum of the Arts
Established in 1971, the Bronx Museum of the Arts was originally located
in the rotunda of the Bronx County Building. It moved to 165th Street,
formerly the Young Israel Synagogue (Simon B. Zelnik, 1961), in 1985.
Following construction of a modest corner lobby in 1988, a major
addition by the rm Arquitectonica, featuring an irregular fan-fold
facade of aluminum and glass, opened in 2006. This expansion doubled
the museum’s size. At present, admission is free.
Cross to the west side of the Grand Concourse, go right, stopping at No. 1125.
1040 Grand Concourse
Built for elderly “gentlefolk” who had once been afuent, this palazzo-
like building was nanced with a bequest from businessman Andrew
Freedman, former owner of the New York Giants baseball team. Nearly
four hundred feet long, it was built in two stages during 1922-24 and
1928-30. Designed by Joseph H. Freedlander – who also worked on the
Bronx County Building and the Museum of the City of New York – and
Harry Allan Jacobs, the Freedman Home once housed as many as 130
men and women (including married couples) who lived here at no
charge. The facility closed by 1983 and was designated a New York
City Landmark in 1992. Today, it serves various community functions and
includes a 10-room hotel that operates as a hospitality training center.
Continue to the south corner of McClellan Street and look east, facing No. 1188 and
1130 Grand Concourse.
Andrew Freedman Home
1125 Grand Concourse
Grand Concourse 5
Executive Towers
Designed by Philip Birnbaum, who built an estimated 300 apartment
buildings during his career, the Executive Towers complex was
completed in 1963. Not only was it the most recent apartment house
constructed in the historic district but promotional literature described
it as “the rst luxury skyscraper in the Bronx.” More than twenty-stories
tall, this glazed white brick tower features a rather grand entrance
pavilion with a semi-circular driveway and a saw-tooth roof embellished
with gold mosaics and blue eur-de-lys. Flanking the entrance are
monumental gilded gures, one male and the other female, that recall
the work of the American sculptor Paul Manship and the heroic neo-
classicism popularized by the 1939-40 World’s Fair in New York.
Cross to the east side of the Grand Concourse at East 164th Street, stopping in front
of the Bronx Museum of the Arts, between 164th and 165th Streets.
1130 Grand Concourse
1020 Grand Concourse
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1150 Grand Concourse. Image courtesy of Landmarks Preservation Commission
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Mosaic detail, 1150 Grand Concourse. Image courtesy of Landmarks Preservation Commission
Loew’s Paradise Theater interior. Image courtesy of Landmarks Preservation Commission
1166 + 1188 Grand Concourse
Faced with bands of orange and red brick, these beige apartment
buildings are enlivened by multiple corner windows. Viewed from the
side, this vertical arrangement produces an overlapping pleated effect
that may have served as inspiration for the 2006 fan-fold addition to the
Bronx Museum of the Arts, visited at stop #10. Jacob M. Felson, who
was the architect of both buildings, designed eight apartment houses
in the historic district.
Walking tour concludes in the vicinity of the 167th Street subway station.
This walking tour was prepared by Matthew Postal, an architectural
historian at the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The layout
and mapping was designed by Daniel Watts, also of the Landmarks
Preservation Commission. Support was generously provided by the New
York Landmarks Preservation Foundation, which fosters the activities of
the Commission and provides funds for educational outreach programs.
Acknowledgements
Grand Concourse 6
1150 Grand Concourse
Strikingly colorful mosaics ank the entrance to this six-story apartment
building. Featuring oversize representations of Moorish idols, triggersh,
plankton and various marine plants, these curved iridescent murals give
the 1937 structure a somewhat exotic and tropical air, making it one of
the most recognizable on the Grand Concourse. Shaded by a ribbed
aluminum awning, the memorable “sh” artwork is framed by a grid of
pinkish stone in which the individual squares are highlighted by green
glass reectors. Horace Ginsbern, who designed many apartment
houses in the Bronx, including Noonan Plaza on West 168th Street,
collaborated with Marvin Fine on the building’s handsome Art Deco-
style design.
Walk north towards 167th Street, noting the overlapping elevations of 1166 and 1188
Grand Concourse.
Loew’s Paradise Theater
An individual and interior landmark, the Paradise is an Italian Baroque
confection. Designed by John Ebserson in 1928-29, this legendary
“atmospheric” movie theater features an elaborate terra-cotta
frontispiece and seating for nearly 4,000 people. Of particular note
is the lavishly-decorated auditorium, which recalls a Mediterranean
piazza, as well as the wood-paneled grand lobby, with ceiling murals
by Andrew Karoly and Lajos Santos. Though the theater was divided
into a multiscreen cinema in 1973, the interiors were restored in 2005 to
host live performances.
2403 Grand Concourse, west side, near 187th Street
Farther aeld...
Dollar Savings Bank
Constructed in three stages between 1932 and 1952, the former Dollar
Savings Bank is one of the most impressive buildings on the Grand
Concourse. This individual and interior landmark was designed by bank
specialists Halsey, McCormack & Helmer. The impressive, mostly Art
Deco style, banking hall dates from 1932-33 and 1938-38 and features
ve large murals by Angelo Magnanti that depict the early history of the
borough. A ten-story ofce tower, incorporating a prominent four-sided
clock, was added in 1949-52. If you arrive during banking hours, be sure
to take a look inside.
2516 - 2530 Grand Concourse, east side, near Fordham Road
From 167th Street, take the IND subway ve stops
north to Fordham Road
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Municipal Building
1 Centre Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10007
www.nyc.gov/landmarks
Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Meenakshi Srinivasan
Chair
Call 311 to contact the
Landmarks Preservation
Commission by phone
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