Major Landmark Districts Bronx STATS 2020
GRAND CONCOURSE
HISTORIC DISTRICT
Location: The Grand Concourse
Historic District is located along a milelong
stretch of land from E. 153rd Street
to E. 167th Street.
Designation: The community was
designated an historic district by The
Landmarks Preservation Commission in
October 25, 2011.
Information: The Grand Concourse
was conceived in 1891 as a link between
the park systems of Manhattan
and the sparsely settled region of the
Bronx. At the time of its completion in
1909, the boulevard featured bicycle
paths and pedestrian sidewalks in addition
to a central vehicular speedway. In
1924, the boulevard was extended south
from E. 161st Street to E. 138th Street,
and the roadway soon became the major
north-south artery of the West Bronx.
The completion of the Jerome Avenue
subway line in 1918, which made the
West Bronx more accessible to Manhattan,
helped spark a period of intensive
residential development. The buildings
of this era typically refl ected the fashions
of Manhattan, characterized by
revivalist architectural styles such as
Tudor, Renaissance, and Colonial Revival.
The largely brick and terra-cotta
buildings featured decorative elements
such as corner towers, faux half-timbering,
elaborate brickwork, and classically
decorated main entry porticos.
A second wave of development was infl
uenced by Art Deco and Moderne style,
as evidenced in the 27 apartments within
the historic district constructed between
1935 and 1945. In fact, the Grand Concourse
contains the largest concentration
of Art Deco-style residential buildings in
the United States. The Art Deco style was
marked by streamlined elements such as
curving walls, recessed spandrels creating
an effect of continuous window strips,
brickwork arranged in vertical or horizontal
patterns, wrap-around corner window
openings, and materials suggestive of the
“Machine Age,” such as steel-and-glass
casement windows. The related Moderne
style was also characterized by streamlined
geometry, but with more minimal
ornamentation, and by a fascination with
aerodynamics. In addition to the 61 apartment
houses constructed between 1917
and 1959, the historic district also contains
two parks and several public institutions,
including the Bronx County Courthouse
and Andrew Freedman Home, both
designated New York City individual landmarks.
LONGWOOD
HISTORIC DISTRICT
Location: The Longwood Historic
District is a nationally recognized historic
district located in the center of the Longwood
neighborhood in the Bronx, New
York. It encompasses three square blocks
roughly bounded by Beck Street, Longwood,
Leggett, and Prospect Avenues.
Designation: The community was
designated an historic district in July
1980 and on September 26, 1983, it was
added to the National Register of Historic
Places.
Information: The district consists
of semi-detached brownstones, most of
which have been converted into S.R.O.’s
(Single Room Occupancy). The original
developers of the Longwood Historic District
were George B. Johnson and C. Ball,
who contributed greatly to the early urbanization
efforts in Morrisania. Up until
the late 19th Century, the area had been
sparsely populated. The plans for the IRT
subway between the Bronx and Manhattan
spurred an early rowhouse development.
The completion of the subway and
a massive population infl ux in the early
years of the 20th Century resulted in
subsequent apartment house construction,
which left the blocks of the Longwood
Historic District as one of a handful
of isolated, low-scale rowhouse districts
amidst the high density apartment buildings
more typical of the area. The Romanesque
Revival and neo-Renaissance
style of the rowhouses make the district
historically signifi cant to warrant a designation
as an historic district.
BERTINE BLOCK
HISTORICAL DISTRICT
Location: The Bertine Block Historic
District is located on E. 136th Street between
Brook and Willis Avenues.
Designation: The community, which
was once simply known as the Bertine
Block, was designated an historic district
in 1994,
Information: The Mott Haven community
features this architectural treasure;
a row of 10 narrow townhouses
featuring eclectic gables, cornices, warm
brick, and tall chimneys. The distinct
structures were designed by Edward Bertine
between 1891 and 1895.
58 BRONX STATS - NOVEMBER 20, 2020 BTR
CLAY AVENUE
HISTORIC DISTRICT
Location: One block between East
165th and 166th Street.
Designation: The one block was
designated an historic district on April 5,
1994.
Information: Thirty-two residential
buildings face each other across the avenue,
most of them designed by Warren
Dickerson, who was also the dominant
architect in the Longwood Historic District.
The ensemble features Romanesque
Revival and neo-Renaissance style rowhouses
designed as semi-detached
pairs.
FIELDSTON HISTORIC DISTRICT
Location: The Fieldston Historic District
is bounded roughly by the Henry Hudson
Parkway on the west and Tibett and
Waldo avenues on the east between Manhattan
College Parkway/244th Street on
the south and 250th Street on the north.
Designation: The area was designated
a Historic District in April 2006.
Information: The historic area includes
257 buildings. The enclave was
once a privately owned estate that developed
into a planned suburban community,
a fact that was cited by the Landmark
Preservation Committee to argue for the
Historic District designation. The area is
unique for New York City in that represents
a planned suburban area mixed in
between wooded areas.
MORRIS AVENUE
HISTORIC DISTRICT
Location: The Morris Avenue Historic
District is located in Mount Hope, on Morris
Avenue, between Tremont Avenue and
179th Street.
Designation: Designation made July
15, 1986.
Information: The single block is
lined with 35 houses and two apartment
buildings that builder August Jacob created
between 1906 and 1910 with the
hopes that their construction would be
profi table after the 1904 opening of the
IRT subway line connecting Manhattan
and the Bronx. The historic brownstones
have stood the test of time, despite being
turned into Single Room Occupancies.
MORRIS H.S.
HISTORIC DISTRICT
Location: The landmarked Morris
High School Historic District is located
adjacent to the Forest Houses encompassing
two square blocks between Boston
Road, Forest Avenue, and East 166th
Street.
Designation: Designated an historic
district on December 21, 1982.
Information: Morris High School was
the fi rst public high school in the Bronx,
opening in 1897 as the Mixed High School
before moving into its current building,
now known as the Morris High School Educational
Campus, in 1904. The historic
building’s exterior facade and auditorium,
along with the adjacent brownstones located
on the surrounding avenues in the
Morris High School Historic District, have
been granted landmark status.
THE MOTT HAVEN
HISTORIC DISTRICT
Location: The Mott Haven Historic
District is located on Alexander Avenue
between E. 138th Street and E. 141st
Street.
Designation: Historic District status
was awarded on July 29, 1969.
Information: The district contains
the row of handsome brownstones that
date back to the 1870’s. Known historically
as “Doctors Row” and “Irish Fifth
Avenue,’ the district also contains the police
station, the 1905 neo-renaissance
Mott Haven Branch of the New York Public
Library and Saint Jerome’s Roman Catholic
Church.
MOTT HAVEN EAST
HISTORIC DISTRICT
Location: The Mott Haven East Historic
District is located on East 139th and
East 140th Street between Brook and
Willis Avenues.
Designation: The area was rewarded
with historic district status on
April 5, 1994.
Information: The district contains
rows of handsome brownstones designed
by William O’Gorman and William Hornum
in 1883 combining Dutch and Flemish architectural
aspects on the north side of
E.140th Street and neo-Grecian aspects
on the south side of E.140th Street and on
E.139th Street.
RIVERDALE HISTORIC DISTRICT
Location: The Riverdale Historic District
is bound roughly by 252nd and 254th
Streets and Palisade and Independence
Avenues.
Designation: The area of Riverdale
was designated an historic district on October
16, 1990.
Information: Winding, tree-lined
roads that lead to grand homes and estates
add to the beauty of Riverdale. The
historic district is also home to Wave
Hill, a natural preserve with breathtaking
views of the Hudson River and special
events year-round; the Judaic Museum at
the Hebrew Home for the Aged; the Van
Cortland House Museum; and the landmark
structures of the College of Mount
Saint Vincent.
PERRY AVENUE
HISTORIC DISTRICT
Location: The Perry Avenue Historic
District is located between Bedford Park
Boulevard and E. 201st Street.
Designation: The community was
designated an historic district by The
Landmarks Preservation Commission in
December 15, 2009.
Information: The nine Queen Annestyle
row houses on Perry Avenue, shaded
red brick and tan, were built between
1910 and 1912 by George D. Kingston
and designed by Charles S. Clark. The
three-story dwellings, which boast fi eldstone
walls and small front yards, were
meant for middle class families; many
were originally owned by German immigrants.
When new, the wood-frame
houses included four bedrooms, two bathrooms,
cellars, laundry areas and servants
quarters. Although the neighborhood
sprouted large apartment buildings
in the 1920s and 1950s, Perry Avenue’s
sloped slate roofs, splayed lintels, iron
cornices and three-sided porches remain,
retaining the architectural details and
suburban character that existed nearly a
century ago. The Perry Avenue houses
constitute the Bronx’s tenth historic district
and the City’s 100th historic district.
1771 Andrews Avenue