Schnorer Club Parade near 148th Street and Third Avenue, 1893. The Schnorer Club was a German social club in the Bronx, founded in 1881. Its headquarters building was located north of the location of this parade at 163 Street and Third Avenue. Many members of the club were active in local politics and the club was well known for its entertainment and activities. Each year at the end of the summer, the club paraded from 164th Street to the Harlem River with music and fireworks. As legend has it, Dr. Thomas Curtin, an Irish immigrant and a New York City coroner, invented green beer for St. Patrick's Day at the Schnorer Club in 1914.

East 149th Street, west from Bergen Avenue, as seen across the trestle of the Third Avenue Elevated Line. In the right back is visible the Immaculate Conception Church at the northwest corner of Melrose Avenue and East 150th Street, 1926.

Bronx Theatre, 1909. Opened in 1909 the Bronx Theatre was not only a live performance venue. The wide corner building included the auditorium, two large storefronts on Melrose, a large assembly hall, and office spaces on the third floor. Designed by W.F. McElfatrick, the theatre presented a classic but restrained facade, while the interiors were elaborately paneled and highly decorated with ornamental plaster, murals, and imitation marble. The technology installed was said to be "especially adapted to the needs of modern vaudeville." When opened it was lauded for its excellent sight lines; supposedly any seat in the house provided a complete view of the stage. The theatre was sold to the RKO circuit in 1912, became the Miner’s in the Bronx Theatre in 1917, and finally closed in 1947 under the name the Central Theatre. Today the Cookies children's clothing store that occupies this corner looks to have the same shape as the theatre and likely includes the the original exterior walls, with the windows either filled in or covered over.

"147th Street and Willis Avenue. Dollar Savings Bank, circa 1918." The Dollar Savings Bank was founded in the Bronx in 1887 by John Haffen, a member of a prominent local family. The original location was housed at 2808 Third Avenue, but the space quickly became insufficient for the thriving business. This 1918/1919 Classical Revival building sits on a trapezoidal corner lot and fronts three different streets. The distinguished building remained the headquarters of the bank until the 1950s when the headquarters was moved to the Fordham branch. This building was sold in 1974 to a Seventh Day Adventist Church.

St. Rita's Roman Catholic Church was founded in 1904.

Bronx Post Office ca. 1954 In the 1930's most Federal buildings were classical in a derivation of Colonial Revival. A few of the best buildings, such as the Folger Library in Washington and the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia have a blending of classical proportions with original details which can be called a classical essence and which Paul Cret tried to teach his students. The post office lobby is on the front of the ground floor, but remains rather simple, except for murals created by Ben Shahn. The exterior is of great beauty, however. The gray brick with the white marble trim gives an elegance to the simple rhythmic facade with the seven high arched openings, four windows and three with doors in the lower parts and glass above. The ornamentation, lettering, and sculpture relieve the walls of monotony.

The Grand Concourse is one of the most important avenues in the Bronx. Designed by Louis Aloys Risse, an immigrant from Lorraine, France, who had previously worked for the New York Central Railroad. Risse was appointed chief topographical engineer for the city in the 1890s. Many of the buildings along the Concourse were designed in the Art Deco style, creating a semi-consistent visual along the broad boulevard. Visit the past via the Grand Concourse. Discover the stunning architecture from civic monuments to Art Deco apartment houses to grand municipal structures.

Mott Haven Dutch Reformed Church, April 28, 1941. In 1850 Mott Haven founder, Jordan L. Mott, donated land and funds for the establishment of a new Dutch Reformed church. Services were first performed in a nearby schoolhouse, but in 1854 the new brick church was completed. Dedicated in March of the next year, the bell tower was finished seven years later. The Mott Haven Dutch Reformed Church bells rung out in celebration on January 1, 1874 when this area, once part of Westchester Country, was annexed by New York City. (These new city residents were certainly happier with their annexation than the disgruntled Brooklynites 24 years later when they became part of the Greater New York City.) With this municipal relationship also came further development, both positive and negative. The erection of the Third Avenue El caused quite a bit of problems for the congregation. The pastors were forced to pause when the trains rumbled by and the vibrations from the train passing caused instability in the old brick church. In the 1910s the church sued the city related to these issues, and following a win, used the reward funds to shore up the church and move it around the corner to a new foundation on 146th Street. The 19th century structure remained until 1971 when it was replaced with a low-rise, bland, and windowless structure.

"370 and 376 E. 154th Street, south side, between Courtlandt and Melrose Avenues. No 370 is the 2 story frame house set back from the sidewalk. No. 376 is the 1 story Miller's Machine Shop building."

John M. Toucey Memorial Building, 1928. Constructed for use by the railroad men of New York Central, this stately stone structure was operated by the Railroad Department of the Y.M.C.A. The building was named as a memorial to John M. Toucey, who begun his career as a conductor at New York Central in 1855, before rising in the ranks to General Manager of the company in 1890. Dedicated in 1902, and situated near the rail lines in the south Bronx near the Harlem River, the brick building has been lost in the ensuing century.

My Archive Summer 2019