Excavation crew on East 165th Street, just west of Grand Concourse; November, 1928. The IND Concourse Line, which runs under Grand Concourse, was completed in 1933. The buildings visible in the background are all east of Grand Concourse. At right is the Ursuline Academy, described in 1915 as "a small boarding and day school" with an enrollment of "about eighty-five girls." The school occupied this site from 1910-1959, when it was razed and replaced with the high rise Executive Towers apartment complex. The apartment building furthest in the background is 1050 Carroll Place. The buildings at left, on the north side of East 165th Street, were razed by the 1950s. The Young Israel of the Concourse synagogue was completed on the site in 1961. In 1982, the synagogue, by then abandoned, was purchased by the city, and converted for use by the Bronx Museum of the Arts.

Andrew J. Freedman Home Designated June 2, 1992 1125 Grand Concourse (Joseph H. Freedlander & Harry Allan Jacobs, 1922-24; wings by David Levy, 1928-31) – NYCHD, NYCIL Sitting prominently on the Grand Concourse, the four-story Andrew Freedman home was designed by Joseph Freedlander and Harry Jacobs in the tradition of the Italian Renaissance palazzo. This monumental building is defined by its symmetrical massing and architectural details, including a balustraded terrace and beautiful ironwork. After his death in 1915, Andrew Freedman, who was involved with the construction of New York City’s first subway and had close ties to Tammany Hall, left his fortune for the establishment of a home for the “care and maintenance of aged and indigent persons of both sexes…who have been in good circumstances but by reason of adverse fortune, have become poor and dependent.” This home for the once-wealthy was expanded between 1928 and 1931 and remained in its original use until 1983. Purchased by the Mid-Bronx Senior Citizens Council, the rechristened Andrew Freedman Complex now serves as a lodging facility, cultural center and event space.

Aquarium mosaic at the entrance of 1150 Grand Concourse, ca. 1980-2000. 1150 Grand Concourse is a well-known Art Deco apartment house, locally referred to as the 'Fish Building' for its colorful entrance mosaic of tropical fish. Built in 1936-7, and designed by architects Horace Ginsbern and Marvin Fine, the building includes fantastic interior and exterior architectural details. The lobby has a red, green, and gold terrazzo floor and aquatic themed murals by Rene and CP Graves. The Art Moderne facade includes a horizontal metal canopy over the entrance and round corner windows that look out onto the Grand Concourse.

Where do the rich go when they lose all their money? To a mansion in the Bronx of course. This was the brainchild of millionaire Andrew J. Freedman.

Jerome Avenue commercial strip, north of East 167th Street, 1940. In the background, a train is visible on the IRT Jerome Avenue Line elevated tracks. At right is Oxford Hardware, with a flurry of related advertisements. At center are signs for the Midway Bar & Grill and Beefsteak Daly’s, which may be the same establishment. A 1955 posting in the Irish-American advocate announces the transfer of a liquor license for 1212 Jerome Avenue from the estate of William A. Daly to Irene C. Daly, doing business as “Midway Cafe.” The photo is dated 1940, but the Beefsteak Daly’s awning carries an advertisement reading “television here,” possibly indicating a later date.

All Hallows Institute, 1933. All Hallows was founded in 1909 as a Catholic boys elementary and high school by the Congregation of Christian Brothers. The institution moved from 124th Street in Manhattan to this Bronx structure in 1929 and in 1977 became solely a high school. Famous alumni of the school include former NBS players Olden Polynice and Shawnelle Scott, and James Donovan, the lawyer and military officer who negotiated the release of a captured American pilot from the USSR in 1962.

Andrew J. Freedman Home, October 1, 1924. Opening its doors in 1924, the Andrew J. Freedman Home's mission was a rather peculiar one: to serve as a retirement home for wealthy individuals who had lost their money. Having almost lost his entire fortune in the Panic of 1907, Andrew Freeman, a self-made millionaire, came up with this peculiar charity and, upon his death in 1915, left some of his substantial fortune to create the eponymous home. The four-story building in French and Italian Renaissance style cost a million dollars to build and was only to serve individuals who been in "good circumstances" financially. The recently impoverished were supposed to adhere to a set of manners and formal dress. In exchange, these residents were allowed to live rent free in the plush palazzo and were attended to by servants. Two wings were added in 1928 and 1931 just in time to accommodate the suddenly destitute stockbrokers of the Great Depression. Eventually during the 1960s, the trust that supported the home, much like the denizens of the Home, ran out of money and the Home's residents were forced to pay rent. It was eventually bought by the mid Bronx Senior Citizen's Council and turned into a retirement home for the destitute. The Andrew J. Freedman Home was named a New York City Landmark in 1992 and now serves as an event and art space as well as a day care center.

Archived at NYC’s Department of Records, these never-before-seen images taken by photographers at the Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) dramatically capture the disinvestment and physical decay that afflicted the Bronx from the 1970s into the 1990s. During this period, many buildings were abandoned, others destroyed by fire, and yet others demolished for the sake of public safety. Melrose, where the majority of the tour takes place, suffered particularly acute devastation. Returning to these same sites today reveals a stunning transformation: vacant buildings have been restored and made habitable again, and empty lots have given rise to new affordable housing. Melrose has experienced a particularly remarkable renaissance, with thousands of affordable homes created by HPD under the rubric of the Melrose Commons revitalization plan, from the low-rise row houses of Melrose Court (1994) to larger-scale apartment buildings like Elton Crossing (2018). The tour also goes north along Boston Road to Morrisania before terminating further west in Hunt's Point. It's here that some of the most striking examples of affordable housing preservation can be found, like on Fox Street where turn-of-the-century row houses photographed on the brink of demolition have since been carefully restored and saved for future generations to inhabit. As you walk from site to site, use the Urban Archive recreate tool to see these transformations for yourself! They’re the result of tireless work by community organizations and government agencies, and the forerunners of the affordable housing that HPD is producing at a record pace under the Housing New York plan, ensuring that our neighborhoods are stronger and more equitable for future generations. All photos by Paul Rice, Leonard Boykin, and Larry Racioppo.

My Archive Spring 2019 "Family photo of future singing star Eydie Gorme (born Edith Gormezano) as a very stylish child on her rooftop in The Bronx. Eydie would go on to star on Broadway, in Las Vegas, at Carnegie Hall, The London Palladium, etc. and was frequently on TV's Tonight Show and Carol Burnett Show, with hit records and albums that topped both the pop and Latin charts." —Neil Cohen

1150 Grand Concourse, ca. 1980-2000.