St. Philip’s Parish House on Boston Road
REPRINTED FROM 12-30-2010
The parish house for St. Philip’s Protestant Episcopal Church for blacks occupied this site
at 1119 Boston Road for over a century. It was razed during the fi rst week in December and
now a simple pile of rubble is all that remains of the ancient wood frame building that was
once one of the oldest schoolhouses in our borough. The bulldozer was still at the site when
I snapped this picture on December 3.
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Much like Pudding Rock was a
haven for Native Americans and the
Huguenots traveling to and from
New Rochelle, the nearby building
at 1119 Boston Road was a haven for
blacks.
It was that way when the area
was largely Jewish and again when
it was a mixed community. T
hat’s the way it was as far back as
the memories of those familiar with
the neighborhood can conjure. It
was a constant in an otherwise mobile
community.
It was, therefore, quite a shock
when I stopped by with Nick DiBrino
and Tom Casey on December 3rd to
look for someone to speak with that
we found that the building had been
razed.
We had passed it only the week
before but now the bulldozer was
piling up the rubble of the ancient
wooden structure. We were a day
late. Another slice of Bronx history
was obliterated but at least I was
able to get a photograph of the bulldozer
piling up the remnants of the
old building.
The ancient one and a half story
wood frame structure on Boston
Road between 166th and 167th
Streets that was once the village
schoolhouse would have many tales
to tell if buildings could speak.
It was old and dilapidated as far
back as memories go and an 1893 report
on the structure reads: “The
mosses of a century seem to have
gathered on the long slope of the
roof and it appears in every part to
be slowly withering to decay.”
The writer continued saying that
it still supported life and love under
its mosses. The report then continued:
“It was a desolate sort of blot
on a new and dressy city landscape
when I last saw it in the chill light of
a November sun on a Sunday morning
after-noon, but its desolation
was far more eloquent than the sermon
of a famous preacher which I
heard that day.”
The old school house and church
hall was taken over by St. Philip’s
Parish House for the Aged and Colored
in 1896 and the official dedication
took place on May 1, 1897. The
house was in the front and the chapel
was in the rear.
The Right Rev. H. C. Potter led the
ceremony assisted by Rev. Dr. Victor
Smith, Rev. H. C. Bishop, and Rev.
Dr. Clifford.
The chapel at the rear was built
in memory of Cornelia Anna Guignon
by her brother Peter W. Ray,
M. D.
It was supported by voluntary
contributions and annual donation
day events were held.
The home was actually founded
in 1872 on Mulberry Street in lower
Manhattan and soon moved to 127
West 30th Street.
Its function was to provide a comfortable
home for the aged, infirm
and destitute members of St. Philip’s
Protestant Episcopal Church (colored).
They seemed to find their niche
in life when they moved to 1119 Boston
Road here in the Bronx in 1896
and just up until very recent times,
people recall the old black men
resting comfortably on their porch
which occupied the entire length of
the front of the building.
They’ll be missed as they had become
an integral part of the community
and the old parish house now
remains only in our memories.
The Waterfront NYC at Trump Golf Links will host Oktoberfest on Sunday, September
29. Photo courtesy of the Waterfront NYC
The Waterfront NYC
to host Oktoberfest
The Waterfront NYC will host
Oktoberfest on Sunday, September
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Dust off your lederhosen and
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Live concert featuring
Go Go Gadget & The Barnstorm
Band, beer specials, food stations,
ferris wheel overlooking
the iconic NYC skyline, stein
holding contest, yard games,
and more.
Purchase tickets at www.
thewaterfrontnyc.com.
The Waterfront NYC is located
at Trump Golf Links at
Ferry Point, 500 Hutchinson
River Parkway.
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