Bronx, NYC - New Yorkled - Page 1

Borough of the Bronx - From the Mott Haven section to City Island, from Riverdale to Pelham Bay there's plenty of history and culture in the Bronx. Plenty of sights and things to do. The Bronx lies across the Harlem River from Manhattan and covers 44 square miles (114 square kilometers). It extends north along the Hudson River and east along the East River. It is the only borough not separated from upstate New York by water. Unfortunately, like the other Boroughs of Manhattan it's not as easily accessible from midtown Manhattan as perhaps the Upper West Side or East Side. 'BUT, there are those gems which are definitely worth going out of your way for.

Contrary to that bad rap the Bronx had gotten years ago about being the toughest side of town, there are plenty of wonderful folk up there. People from all walks of life and varied cultures. This part of town definitely has its own bit of charm. Heck, there's even a couple of famous bridges. The Throgs Neck and the Triborough Bridges certainly have their place in history as do the New York Yankees, the greatest major league baseball team of all time.

So jump aboard New Yorkled's little tour of the Bronx!

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Bronx Bombers (Yankees) - Yes! The Yankees. Our heroes who've won a whopping 26 World Series Championships in the following years: 1923, '27, '28, '32, '36, '37, '38, '39, '41, '43, '47, '49, '50, '51, '52, '53, '56, '58, '61, '62, '77, '78, '96, '98, '99, 2000. WOW! So are we proud of 'em? You Betcha!

From Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle to all the other greats who've played at Yankee Stadium, this team's been in the pages of history time and again. Not just for their wins but as well for their constant controversy. They've all made their team and Yankee Stadium a household name across America. Okay, okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but then again, no team has even come close to the fame of the Bronx Bombers. To learn more and see photos and posters available visit the Yankees Page on New Yorkled.

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Bronx Bridges - There are a number of bridges connecting the Bronx with Manhattan. There's the 3rd Ave., Willis Ave., Madison Ave., Broadway, University Heights and the Triborough Bridge. This last one, being the longest of them all, is a whopping 13,820 feet. There are also the Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges which connect this borough with the Borough of Queens. To learn more about these bridges as well as the other bridges of NYC then visit New Yorkled's Bridges Section. There's also the Bridge Photos Pages.

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Bronx Zoo - Aaaaaah! The wonderful Bronx Zoo. With over over 6,000 animals this is the largest metropolitan zoo in the nation. Run by the Wildlife Conservation Society it's a true treat visiting this Bronx sight-seeing treasure. For quite some time it's had free Wednesdays entry to the park. Let's hope this lasts forever!

To learn more about this Zoo, visit the Bronx Zoo Pages. Also visit the Bronx Zoo Photo Gallery as well.

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NY Botanical Garden - Second to the beauty of Central Park is this Green spectacular. As mentioned on the Botanical Gardens Page, as soon you enter through the gates you think you've stumbled upon a Green Wonderland. Trees of any species abound at every turn. Flowers aplenty exist in Spring, actually throughout the year. The conservatories themselves are somthing to snap photos of!

One of the best things is that it's directly across from the Bronx Zoo. But that's not to say that there's enough time in one day to visit both sights. But then again, the Botanical Garden is also free on Wednesdays, so why not try? To learn more about this huge expanse of living art visit the NY Botanical Garden Page of this Site.

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History of the Bronx

In the 17th Century the Dutch West India Company was a trading company incorporated by the States-General of the Netherlands in 1621 to share world trade with the Dutch East India Company. The West India Company was granted a monopoly of trade in the Americas amongst other places. It was through the activity of this trading company that the colonization and settlement of New Netherlands came about. New Netherlands later came to be known as New York. This activity wherein the Dutch West India Company acquired the area took place in 1639. It was at this time that Jonas Bronck established a farm here. It was after Mr. Bronck that this borough was so named.

A bit of trivia provided by Anthony Correa: You see, here in NYC, amongst our five boroughs, Bronx is the only one us natives and others make reference to with the word "the" preceding the name. Such as: "The Bronx." Well, it was brought to my attention by Anthony that back when Jonas Bronck and family owned the land, people who were traveling to visit them would say they we're going up to "the Bronck's". Later on in time, the name spelling changed, but the term going to "the Bronx" stayed the same!

Following Jonas Bronck were other settlers led by Anne Hutchinson, (1591-1643), an American religious reformer who was born in England and spent some years in the New York area as well as New England and ultimately her last days in what is now known as Pelham Bay, Bronx. On virtually any NYC Map you'll find spots bearing her last name. One example would be the Hutchinson River and Parkway. Yet other settlers came in with John Throckmorton. But most notable are the wealthy New York merchants such as Oloff Stevenszen Van Cortlandt and Frederick Philipse. Respectively, they created Manorial estates and another built the first toll bridge across the Harlem River to Manhattan in 1693. Of course another glance at a map would lead you to Van Cortlandt Park in the northern section of the Bronx.

On October 28, 1776 near White Plains, NY was fought the Battle of White Plains. Involved in this fight were the 2,000 plus American Soldiers led by General George Washington and some 13,000 Brittish and Hessian troops led by the British Commander in chief Sir William Howe. It was through poor planning that Washington and his men were able to take away to White Plains and avoid total destruction.

The Bronx was part of Westchester County until the western part was annexed by New York City in 1874 (the remainder was annexed in 1895). It remained an area of farms and small villages until the 1890s, when elevated subway and trolley lines were extended into the area and it began its rapid growth as a suburban community. In the 1840s, German and Irish railroad workers arrived; they were displaced by other immigrants: Italians, Poles, Jews, and Greeks. The Bronx was incorporated as a borough in 1898, and by 1920 its population was more than 700,000. Its ethnic makeup changed after World War II (1939-1945), when many middle-income white families moved out of the borough and black and Puerto Rican populations increased. The borough remains one of the most densely populated and ethnically diverse areas in the nation. According to the 1990 census, blacks represent 37.3 percent of the borough's population, people of Asian background 2.9 percent, Native Americans 0.05 percent, and people of Hispanic background 43.5 percent. Population 1,169,115 (1980); 1,203,789 (1990); 1,332,650 (2000).

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