New York is a very colorful and remarkable city. Many world-famous stars, athletes and politicians were born here. The streets of New York are always full of tourists, as there is so much to see here. The most attractive parts include Manhattan and Brooklyn. However, we are going to talk about the Bronx. Historically, this district has more negative associations. Slums, street gangs, drugs and debauchery were associated with it. Let’s have a look at the Bronx from a different angle. After all, great world cultures were created here, which became widely popular all over the world. The Bronx holds several records, not only at the level of New York but also of the USA. Thus, we present interesting facts about the Bronx. Read more on i-bronx.
A paradise for hikers
New York is an ideal city for those who appreciate walking. The rhythm of life here is crazy, as well as the traffic. However, each neighborhood has pedestrian streets where one can take a break from the endless traffic and enjoy a walk in silence. In total, New York has more than 100 pedestrian streets. The vast majority of them, 64 streets, are located in the Bronx. The longest of them is W 230th Street.
Friendship of nationalities
If you look at a population chart of the Bronx, you can see many different nationalities and races. In addition, it is the only borough in New York where the majority of the population (more than 53%) is represented by Latin Americans. Over 30% are African American, 11% are White American, 3.5% are Asian, 0.6% are from another race and 1.2% are mixed race. In the middle of the last century, you could hear more Spanish than English on the streets of the Bronx. Immigrants, who changed the demographics of the city, were always loyally received here. The Bronx has taken in more of the African diaspora than any other city in the world in recent decades. Many Jews and other migrants also found refuge here. There are certain districts in the modern Bronx that are perceived as certain European oases in America. Thus, Woodlawn is considered the Irish capital of New York and Arthur Avenue in Belmont is New York’s most authentic Little Italy.
The world’s largest collection of Art Deco architecture
Many buildings in the art deco style are located not in pompous and expressive Miami Beach or ostentatious Manhattan but in the dubious and unprestigious Bronx. This happened due to one person, the French immigrant Louis Aloys Risse. At the beginning of the 20th century, he came up with the idea of creating in the Bronx something like the famous Champs-Élysées in Paris. This is how the well-known central street of the Bronx appeared. The Grand Concourse absorbed the charm and sophistication of Art Deco architecture. The work of Louis Risse was continued by the architects Horace Ginsbern and Emery Roth.
Bridges
Another fact that distinguishes the Bronx from the rest of New York is the largest number of connections via bridges to Manhattan. The Bronx is an absolute champion in this and has 13 bridges. Brooklyn occupies the second place with only three bridges. Among the 13 bridges, one is intended only for pedestrians and two are railway bridges.
There is another Bronx record related to bridges, namely the oldest bridge in New York. It is called the High Bridge. It stands above the Harlem River. The High Bridge was built in the middle of the 19th century. It was part of the Croton Aqueduct system. The original stone buildings are still preserved here. In 2013, a large-scale reconstruction of the High Bridge was carried out. The floors were strengthened, lighting was installed under the spans, a concrete base was poured, on top of which the historic brickwork was again installed. Read more about the history of the High Bridge in the article.
The greenest district of New York
When asked about the largest park in New York, most will answer Central Park. However, this is not the right answer. Central Park is the most famous and really big, but the Bronx has a park three times its size. It is located in the northeastern part of the Bronx and is called Pelham Bay. Its area is 2,765 acres (while the area of Central Park is 843 acres).
In addition to Pelham Bay Park, two more of the ten largest parks in New York are located in the Bronx: Van Cortlandt Park (3rd place) and Bronx Park, which combines a zoo and botanical garden (7th place on the list). More than 25% of the land in the Bronx is set aside for parks. Therefore, it can be considered the greenest area of New York.
The first Häagen-Dazs ice cream
In the Bronx, the legendary Häagen-Dazs ice cream appeared in 1961. Nowadays, it is sold in every corner of the world and has 46 different flavors. Reuben and Rose Mattus sold only three types of ice cream (vanilla, chocolate and coffee) in special carts. The unusual foreign name and unsurpassed taste quickly made this ice cream popular in the Bronx. Consumers were not even scared by the higher price than competitors. A pint of Häagen-Dazs ice cream cost 75 cents, while the average price of ice cream was 53 cents. In 1976, the first Häagen-Dazs ice cream parlor opened in the Bronx.
Article ‘the’ in the title
The Bronx is the only borough in New York that has the article ‘the’ in its name. This happened because it was named after the river, which was named after Jonas Bronck, a Swedish captain who owned a large farm on these lands. The official name has a capital T. However, it is often written as the Bronx, especially in periodicals.
The world center of piano production
From the beginning of the 20th century and the construction of the subway to the Bronx, there was a significant uprise in population growth. At that time, the construction of both residential and industrial buildings was actively developing. Migrants brought their crafts and skills. Money was required to get settled in a new place. Thus, it was necessary to do something that would definitely bring profit. Pianos were very popular at the time in American society as more or less affordable instruments. Many invested in this business. In 1919, there were already 63 factories here. Read more about the development of piano production in the Bronx in the article.
Other interesting facts about the Bronx
Here are a few more features of this area of New York:
- During Prohibition (1920-1933), the Bronx was the center of underground whiskey production. This was usually done by Italian, Irish and Polish gangs.
- The Bronx is the only borough of New York that is located on the mainland. All other boroughs are on a separate island or on Long Island.
- The Bronx is the birthplace of hip-hop and breakdancing. For the first time, at one of the parties on Sedgwick Avenue on August 13, 1973, DJ Kool Herc made a successful experiment with musical tracks. He prolonged melodies and mixed music between verses to continue dance sets. Many fans appeared shortly. Then, hip-hop culture was supplemented with such elements as graffiti, emceeing and break-dancing.
- The Bronx is home to the largest zoo in the United States, the 265-acre Bronx Zoo.
- Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx is America’s oldest public golf course, dating back to 1895.
- The largest cemetery in the US is also located in the Bronx, on the privately owned Hart Island. It is believed to have housed close to a million bodies since the late 1860s.
- The last home of Edgar Allan Poe was a small house in the Bronx, in which the writer’s museum is now open. Here, he wrote his famous works Annabel Lee and The Bells.
- There is a banana ripening factory in the Bronx. Before reaching stores across the city, the bananas are ripened in sealed rooms at the Banana Distributors of New York warehouse.