Bronx Cultural Institutions Bronx STATS 2020
BTR BRONX STATS - NOVEMBER 20, 2020 33
In addition, the BCA provides
cutting edge programming in arts
education and cultural strategies to
help revitalize local communities,
including the Bronx Culture Trolley.
BCA also designs and implements
programs that focus attention on issues
of concern to Bronx residents
including: job training, fi nancial stabilization,
independent contracting,
business startups, environmental
concerns, and health related issues.
It also awards promising artists
through its BRIO Awards grant program.
Arts and education services
and programs, such as the Bronx
WritersCorp, are also available for
children enrolled in Bronx public
schools.
In the future, BCA will move into
the former Washington Mutual Bank
Branch at 2700 E. Tremont Avenue in
the Westchester Square community.
The former bank branch was gifted
to the cultural institution by the JPMorgan
Chase Foundation and will
become the BCA’s new headquarters
and permanent home, consolidating
its programs into one estimated
5,200 square-foot building.
BRONX COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Main Location:
3309 Bainbridge Avenue
The Bronx, NY 10467
Phone: (718) 881-8900
Fax: (718) 881-4827
E-mail: administration@bronxhistoricalsociety.
org
Web: www.bronxhistoricalsociety.
org
Hours of Operation:
Research Library: Tuesday to
Thursday – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (appointment
only)
The Bronx County Archives:
Monday to Friday - 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(appointment only)
The Valentine-Varian House: Sat.
– 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. / Sun. – 1 to
5 p.m.
The Edgar Allan Poe Cottage:
Sat. – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. / Sun. – 1
to 5 p.m.
The Bronx County Historical
Society was founded in 1955 to
preserve the heritage of the thriving
community. The Society administers
the colonial era Valentine-Varian
House, which serves as the Museum
of Bronx History; The Bronx County
Archives; an extensive Research
Library; and Poe Cottage, the fi nal
home of America’s great 19th century
poet and author, Edgar Allan
Poe. The Valentine-Varian House, at
3266 Bainbridge Avenue, and Poe
Cottage, at 2640 Grand Concourse
at East Kingsbridge Road, are listed
in the National Register of Historic
Places.
The Valentine-Varian House,
the site of six skirmishes between
American troops and British forces,
was built in 1758 by Blacksmith
Isaac Valentine to include a blacksmith
shop and farmland. When the
Valentines fell on hard times after
the Revolutionary War, the house
passed into the hands of the Varian
family. The property was eventually
sold to the Society in 1965 and
would open to the public as the Museum
of Bronx History in 1968. Visitors
today can touch the fi eldstones
Isaac Valentine used to construct
the house and walk on the oak and
pine fl oorboards he fashioned. The
main level contains three galleries
that feature rich rotating bi-annual
exhibitions, and the museum gift
store. The upper levels are not open
to the public.
Poe Cottage is a small wooden
farmhouse built around 1812 that
once commanded unobstructed
vistas over the rolling Bronx hills
to the shores of Long Island. The
house was where Edgar Allen Poe
penned many of his most enduring
poetical works, including “Annabel
Lee,” “The Bells” and “Eureka.”
He would spend the last years of
his life there, from 1846 to 1894.
The Bronx County Historical Society
has overseen the property since
1975. Poe Cottage has since been
restored to its original appearance,
with authentic period furnishings.
A fi lm presentation and guided tour
help bring Poe Cottage to life. Visitors
can see the bed in which Virginia
died and the rocking chair Poe
used. In the kitchen, the dishes on
the table appear as if the great author
had just stepped out for air.
The Society is not only dedicated
to preserving Bronx history. It
also offers a variety of programs for
the casual visitor, tourist, business
person, student, or researcher interested
in learning more about contemporary
life in The Bronx. Tours of
the borough are conducted by The
Society’s staff and volunteers, while
special publications, radio and cable
T.V programs, concerts, educational
programs, exhibitions, art shows
and lecture series highlight today’s
Bronx as well as the borough’s heritage.
THE BRONX MUSEUM
OF THE ARTS
1040 Grand Concourse
Bronx, NY 10456
(718) 681-6000
Fax: (718) 681-6181
info@bronxmuseum.org
www.bronxmuseum.org
Hours of Operation: M-W: Closed;
Thurs., Sat. & Sun: 11:00am
- 6:00pm; Fri. 11:00am - 8:00pm
Membership: Members help support
the Bronx Museum of the Arts
and its daily costs of operation. Purchasing
membership provides supporters
with invitations to special
events, performances, exhibition
tours, and preview receptions of
major exhibitions. For further details
on the different types of membership
options, call (718) 682-6000
ext. 136.
Admission: Free for the 40th Anniversary
season.
Basic Information:
The Bronx Museum of the
Arts is the fl agship cultural institution
of the Bronx and was founded
in 1971. The museum’s current
home on the Grand Concourse is
itself, a distinctive contemporary
landmark designed by the internationally
renowned fi rm Arquitectonica.
Inside, the cultural mainstay
focuses on 20th and 21st century
contemporary art, while serving
the culturally diverse populations of
the Bronx and the greater New York
metropolitan area through its permanent
collections, special exhibitions
and education programs.
Refl ecting the borough’s dynamic
communities, the Museum is
the crossroad where artists, local
residents, national and international
visitors meet. The Bronx Museum
of the Arts maintains a permanent
collection of works by artists of
African, Asian, and Latin American
ancestry. Additionally, the Museum
collects works by artists for whom
the Bronx has been critical to their
artistic practice and development.
The Museum’s educational offerings
spring from these central programs
with outreach to children and
families as well as adult audiences.
History:
In its fi rst decade, The Bronx
Museum of the Arts was housed
in the public rotunda of the Bronx
County Courthouse located on
Grand Concourse and 161st Street.
In 1982, it moved fi ve blocks north
on the Concourse to 165th street
into a former synagogue purchased
and donated by New York City.
After making a successful
impact in the community, the Bronx
Museum of the Arts made a decision
to expand the scope of its programs
and embarked on an ambitious
capital project to enhance its facility.
In February 2004, The Museum
began construction on a 16,000
square-foot building to the north of
the existing facility. The Bronx Museum
of the Arts was awarded the
“Excellence in Design” prize by The
Art Commission of the City of New
York in 2003. The $19 million space
opened in October 2006, featuring
a major gallery, fl exible events
Continued on Page 34
New York Botanical Garden
Bronx Zoo
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