Van Cortlandt Vault, ca. 1891. When the Van Cortlandt estate was acquired for city parkland in 1888, one of the features of the estate was the family burial place. The first burial in the stone-walled vault was Frederick Van Cortlandt in 1749. The family continued to use the vault until 1888 when they purchased a plot in Woodlawn Cemetery. The remains once sealed in the vault were removed to the new plot. Frequently vandalized in the mid to late 20th century when all of the headstones were removed, today all that remains are the stone walls and iron gate.

Van Cortlandt Park Lake, ca. 1906 Van Cortlandt Park contains the Bronx's largest freshwater lake. This lake was originally created in the 1690s, when nearby Tibbetts Brook was dammed to power a gristmill. The lake and the surrounding 76 acres of land were owned by Jacobus Van Cortlandt, who served two terms as the mayor of New York City in 1710 and 1719. The city came into possession of the lake and the land that became the park in 1888. In the late 1890s, the lake was used for boating in the summer, and, while frozen over the winter, for curling and ice skating. By 1935, it is estimated that the lake was used by over 20,000 ice skaters per day during the winter months. The lake is still used for fishing today.

Van Cortlandt House Museum, ca. 1900. The three-story Van Cortlandt House was built in 1748 by Jacobus Van Cortlandt's son, Frederick (1699-1749), at the south side of the park. The oldest existing building in the Bronx, it is now a National Historic Landmark. The Georgian mansion played an important role during the American Revolution: In 1776 Augustus Van Cortlandt (1728-1823), Frederick's son, who had been appointed by the British as city clerk, took the city records out of Manhattan, fearing that they might be destroyed during an evacuation. He first hid them in the mansion and later placed them in one of the family's burial vaults on Vault Hill. When the war ended, Augustus turned the records over to the new government. During 1874, the same year the area west of the Bronx River was annexed by New York City, talks began about turning the land into a park. The city of New York finally acquired the title to the Van Cortlandt property on December 12, 1888. The house comprises a number of attractive historic rooms, including a "Dutch chamber" created in 1918 by the Colonial Dames of New York (which runs the museum) to represent what was considered a "typical" 17th-century New Amsterdam room. This room includes a beautiful cupboard (was) and a children's sled (pricker-sledge.) The house also contains many heirlooms donated by descendants of the Van Cortlandts.

Van Cortlandt Manor An excellent example of how the landed gentry lived in the eighteenth century in and about New York is this ample stone house with its wood shutters and unpretentious exterior, contrasting strangely with its rich Georgian interior. It is interesting to note that stone was widely use for country houses but rarely in the city, where brick predominated.

My grandpa Ray Sr. was a shutterbug, and this is my Dad's neighborhood team. They hailed mostly from the Fordham Road area. It's Grandpa's writing and my Dad, Ray Jr., is the black-haired boy in the second row holding a glove. \--Carolyn Crapo

Amalgamated Housing Corporation, 98 Van Cortlandt Park South, ca. 1929. In the 1920s a new law was passed that allowed for various tax and financing benefits to developers willing to build affordable housing. The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (founded in 1914) saw this legislation as an opportunity to create cooperative housing for their members. Their first effort was the Amalgamated Houses. The eventual eleven buildings of the complex were begun in 1927. The design and layout of the structures were specifically aiming to correct the health and quality of life problems that plagued the older tenement buildings. The design of Springsteen and Goldhammer created apartments with proper light and airflow and provided a large interior courtyard that all apartments looked out on. Along with the residential spaces, the complex also provided a rich community environment with newsletters, educational activities, a library, and a supermarket.

Van Cortlandt Grist Mill, ca. 1900. The Van Cortlandt saw and gristmill was situated at the southernmost tip of Van Cortlandt Lake. The lake itself was created 1699 when Tibbetts Brook was dammed to power the Van Cortlandt family’s grist mill. The mill survived )perhaps just barely) into the 20th century. It was depicted in various mediums by a number of artists, perhaps inspired by its historic significance and quaint rural look. Sources agree that the grist mill burned down after being struck by lightening, though the year it occurred is variously given as 1900, 1901, or 1911.

Van Cortlandt House is the centerpiece of a 1,000-acre urban park that encompasses what was once the Van Cortlandt family’s estate.

Sheridan Triangle is a small area of grassy land which the City of New York acquired as parkland in 1888. The area abuts Van Cortlandt Park. It was named for a member of the Riverdale family, David Sheridan.

Sugar House Prison Window, just east of the Van Cortlandt House, undated postcard. In 18th century New York City a number of sugar houses—constructed for the storage of imported sugar and molasses— were commandeered during the Revolutionary War. The five-story brick sugar house at Rose (now William) Street and Duane Street was constructed in 1763. According to local lore, this sugar house was used by the British army as a prison during the war. Recent scholarship, thought, suggests that perhaps this specific sugar house was not, in fact, used as a prison. Regardless of this evidence, for more than two centuries the building was considered part of Revolutionary War history. The Duane Street building fell into serious disrepair in the late 19th century and was demolished in 1892. Given the history of the building, two of its "prison" wall sections with windows were saved. One was installed in the Rhinelander Building, and later One Police Plaza when it replaced the Rhinelander Building in 1973. A second wall section with single window was moved to Van Cortlandt Park, where it remains next to the Van Cortlandt House.

Woodlawn Heights is located in the northernmost section of The Bronx, bounded by the City of Yonkers to the north, Woodlawn Cemetery to the south, the Bronx River to the east and Van Cortlandt Park to the west. The area, originally part of the town of Kingsbridge, was one of the first to be annexed to the City of New York in 1874, along with West Farms and Morrisania. Just as the rest of The Bronx, these towns had previously been part of Westchester County. The remainder of the borough was annexed in 1895-96, prior to the 1898 consolidation of the boroughs to form the City of New York. In the 18th century, the area was known as Washingtonville, named in honor of General George Washington, who constructed a redoubt and stored munitions during the Revolutionary War in the southeast corner of what is today Woodlawn Cemetery. By the early 20th century, perhaps due to the prominence of Woodlawn Cemetery (established in 1863), area residents began calling the neighborhood Woodlawn Heights or simply Woodlawn. The area remains anchored, both in name and geography, by Woodlawn Cemetery, which is well known for its beautiful landscapes and some of the finest mausoleums in the country. For most of the 19th century, the area was largely rural, dotted with farms and woodlots. As is the case for most neighborhoods in the five boroughs, development was spurred on by the availability of transportation. The New York and Harlem Railroad (now Metro-North’s Harlem line) played a vital role in the development of Woodlawn Heights. The first section in lower Manhattan was constructed in 1832, and by 1841 this street railway had reached The Bronx. Although it was one of the first railroads in the United States, it was not very popular in its early days. Cornelius Vanderbilt acquired the Railroad in 1864 and merged it with the Hudson River Railroad five years later (this was a precursor to what became the New York Central Railroad). Even though ridership was still low, the presence of this rail line was very appealing to the founders of Woodlawn Cemetery, and, indeed, was a major factor in selecting a site for the cemetery (the railroad runs adjacent to the cemetery’s eastern edge). In 1891, Manhattan’s Third Avenue El extended to The Bronx, and in 1914-17, the IRT subway reached this area with a network of elevated lines that not only connected The Bronx to the rest of the city, but connected Woodlawn Heights to other parts of the borough. Of all these transit improvements, the extension of the subway to this part of the city had the greatest impact, transforming it into a low-density, suburban enclave. Much of the neighborhood was constructed around this time or just after. Early residents of Woodlawn were primarily German, Italian and Irish, and were members of the working class. Today, the neighborhood’s largely middle-class population of about 8,000 includes a significant portion that are of Irish descent, including more recent Irish immigrants. In fact, Woodlawn is affectionately known as New York City’s “Little Ireland,” physical evidence of which is found in its many Irish pubs along Katonah Avenue, its commercial spine, architectural flourishes like green trim and shamrock details, and its robust annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This familyoriented neighborhood features a charming array of detached, one- and two-family houses, some apartment buildings and hilly streets. In May 2016, Woodlawn was downzoned to maintain orderly growth and to avoid out-of-character mid- to high-rise development, thus preserving its low-rise residential character.