NOTES

Booklet compiled by Jayne Warman and Marilynn Wood Hill

Cover design by Robert Scott

May 2010

A Historical Stroll

through

Bronxville’s Business District

John Kane’s blacksmith shop was one of the few buildingson Pondfield Road in the nineteenth century.

BRONXVILLE HISTORICAL CONSERVANCYP.O. Box 989

Bronxvillle, New York 10708www.bronxvillehistoricalconservancy.org

Introduction

A visitor stepping off the train in Bronxville a century ago wouldimmediately have found himself right in the heart of a tiny village andonly a short stroll away from the places that made up its civic,commercial, social, and residential life. Most of America at the timewas still rural, even though urban growth was encroaching on thattraditional American way, and Bronxville by the end of the nineteenthcentury seemed to offer its residents and visitors a mix of the best ofboth of those worlds.

Although there had been a cluster of residents in the area known asUnderhill’s Crossing since before the Revolution, it was the coming ofthe railroad in 1844 that created the stimulus and focal point for thegrowing village. Less than a decade later, in 1852, the establishment of apost office not only occasioned a change in the community’s name to“Bronxville,” but also was fundamental for community development.These two early institutions – railroad stop and post office – became thegeographic center of an expanding circle of village life that fanned outon both the east and west sides of the tracks.

The imprint of key individuals also was evident from the earliest yearsof the village. From unsophisticated long-time residents such asLancaster Underhill and the Tyler sisters, and enterprising, industrial andcommercial businessmen such as Frederick Kraft, to the urbane andvisionary newcomer William van Duzer Lawrence, Bronxville’s earlycitizens worked to establish in their village center the institutions theydeemed important for their families’ and the community’s future. Theirschools, churches, libraries, and municipal offices sat alongside smallbusinesses and a nationally known hotel, and these were intermingledamong the modest homes of ordinary citizens and the architecturallydistinctive residences of celebrated artists and writers.

In ways small and large individuals and structures both contributed tothe uniqueness of the little village that emanated from the early depotsquare – and we now invite you to the site of that first depot, to step backin time for a stroll around the charming village of Bronxville andimagine it as it was a century ago.

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31. The building of the underpass required horsepower and manpower. Here it isseen from the west side of the railroad tracks. The Hotel Gramatan is at the upperleft and Village Hall is visible right of center.

32. Bronxville’s mission-style station was built in 1916 to accommodateManhattan-bound passengers. After this photo was taken, the park in theforeground was enlarged and named Leonard Morange Square in honor of a WorldWar I local hero. In the background at left is the Hotel Gramatan towering over thescene. Behind the train station is the old Village Hall (Nos. 27 and 28) that wastorn down in 1942. The underpass is just visible at left.

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WALK TOWARD THE UNDERPASS TO THE WEST SIDE

29. The local press recorded numerous fatalities that were caused when pedestrianscrossed the grade-level tracks in Bronxville’s early years (Nos. 4 and 5). In 1915construction began on an underpass, which was completed in 1916. In this view,probably taken from Village Hall (No. 28), one sees Bronxville’s first hospital (No.30) at upper right. Palmer Avenue cuts diagonally across the image to the left ofLawrence Hospital.

CONTINUE WALKING TO THE WEST SIDE

30. On June 1, 1909, a newly constructed, modest, yellow-brick LawrenceHospital opened its doors and provided thirty patient beds, a clinic, and emergencyservices to residents of southern Westchester. The hospital is shown here someyears later as one would have approached it emerging from the newly constructedunderpass (No. 29).

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BEGIN ON THE TRAIN PLATFORM AT ONE PONDFIELD ROAD

1. This simple nineteenth-century dwelling of Lancaster O. Underhill was locatedon the east side of the railroad tracks, about where One Pondfield Road is today.Underhill was both Bronxville’s first stationmaster and first postmaster, conductingbusiness from his home almost to his death in 1898. The building also served asAmerican Express offices and as a center of village social life. According to onevillage historian, “A front room with tiny cubicles from floor to ceiling was usedfor receiving and dispensing mail. But according to old-time correspondents,Lancaster read all the post cards, used a method of tossing a letter to guess at therequired postage, and had a habit of tucking away some letters and not finding themtill weeks or months later.” (Anita Inman Comstock)

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2. Lancaster Underhill’s home (No. 1) was razed in 1903 and the Arcade Block, farleft, was built on that site. This arcade served as Bronxville’s main commercialbuilding for a number of years; it was torn down in 1960. At far right on SunsetHill was the 260 room Hotel Gramatan built in 1905 to cater to the carriage tradefrom New York and celebrities from around the world; it was demolished in 1972.The Gramatan Arcade in the center provided an entrance to the hotel with easyaccess from the train. The elevator, which still exists today, was added in 1906 andcarried visitors to the hotel lobby. These and many other structures in the villagewere built by William van Duzer Lawrence, who developed Bronxville into a muchsought-after community.

3. By 1893 Bronxville needed a larger train station and a new attractive depot wasbuilt to replace Lancaster Underhill’s home (No. 1). Located on the east side of theNew York and Harlem Railroad track, it stood about where the northbound depot istoday. This photo of Depot Square, c. 1906, was taken on the site where theGramatan National Bank was later constructed (No. 25). The Gramatan Arcade,center, is all that remains of the hotel complex.

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27. Bronxville’s first Village Hall, built in 1906, was an imposing and statelystructure that stood at the junction of Kraft and Pondfield across Depot Square (No.26). The wing at far right, which extended along Kraft, housed the fire departmenton the lower level and public meeting space above. An indoor swimming poolconnected the firehouse with the village offices in the main building. The muddystreets are a reminder that Bronxville still retained some of its rural character evenas the village was expanding.

28. This view of Village Hall emphasizes its classical elegance. It was the firstbuilding a visitor would encounter when arriving by train in Bronxville. To theleft, the circular bay along Pondfield was part of the library. This municipal centeralso housed the post office as well as a bowling alley and a gymnasium.Bronxville’s resident artists decorated the walls of Village Hall with their paintings.The building was torn down in 1942 and a new Village Hall was built at its presentsite at Bronxville’s Four Corners.

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CONTINUE ALONG KRAFT TO THE NORTHBOUND TRAIN DEPOT

25. The Gramatan National Bank, founded in 1906, was the village’s first bankingenterprise. The building, seen here, was constructed in 1912, and looks very muchthe same today. At far left is the Gramatan Coal Storage Warehouse at the end ofPark Place on Kraft (No. 15). At far right is the corner of the train depot (No. 26).At Christmas time, between 1948 and 1960), Santa Claus would arrive at the schoolplayground by helicopter(!) and, together with Little Chief Gramatan, would lead ahost of villagers and their children to the bank where toys and candy canes weredistributed to the children.

26. Depot Square, looking south, is shown here, c. 1912. The 1893 depot wasrazed when the underpass was built in 1916. A corner of the Gramatan NationalBank (No. 25) is visible at far left.

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4. This c. 1910 image shows Bronxville’s third arcade building, Studio Arcade,constructed in 1909 on the west side of the tracks. The grade level railroad ranbetween Studio Arcade and the Arcade Block (No. 2), far right, until 1916 whenthe underpass was built (Nos. 29 and 31). Studio Arcade was one of the village’searliest multi-use buildings, combining apartments above and shops below.

5. This photo, taken around 1900, looks west over the train track from the ArcadeBlock (No. 2). Disembarking passengers were often met by horse-drawn surreys(No. 6). Palmer Avenue is in the background. The future Lawrence Hospital (No.30) was built on the land to the right.

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6. This picture shows Bronxville’s first “taxi” in front of the 1893 train depot (Nos.3 and 26). The coupe was a two-seater. Most “hacks” were surreys with fringearound their tops. Bronxville’s early hack drivers included Mrs. Ella Thorne, whogot her license on May 11, 1899.

WALK ALONG PONDFIELD ROAD TO CORNER OF VALLEY ROAD

7. This building has served as the entrance to Lawrence Park for over 120 years.William van Duzer Lawrence would have seen this little building (in a moresimplified form) when he first visited Bronxville and the Prescott farm in the late1880s. Lawrence is primarily responsible for developing rural Bronxville into acharming suburban village.

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STAND AT INTERSECTION OF KRAFT AND PARK PLACE

a

b

24. a) Park Place, or Tinkers Alley, is seen here going toward Pondfield Road. Atthe end of the road is one of Pondfield’s “twin” houses (No. 10). The first St.Joseph’s church, near left on the corner of the street, opened its doors in 1906. Thechurch building was Bronxville’s vacated schoolhouse (No. 11) that had beenmoved from Pondfield Road. The McGrath family had a funeral business in thehouse on the right before the establishment was relocated to its current site onCedar Street (No. 22).b) This c.1928 view of Park Place was taken in the middle of the block. Housesand businesses were already being razed to widen and pave the street.

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22. Directly across the street from their father’s house on Cedar Street (No. 21)were the homes of William F. Kraft, left, and John Kraft, right, sons of tanneryfounder, Frederick Kraft. Frederick McGrath moved his funeral home businessfrom Park Place and Kraft Avenue (No. 24a) to William Kraft’s house in 1932.The house is today the only reminder of a once entirely residential street.

WALK ALONG KRAFT AVENUE TOWARD PARK PLACE

23. The two Kraft sons’ houses (No. 22) are seen here from across Kraft Avenuelooking north toward the Hotel Gramatan (No. 3), which is barely visible in thedistance. The dirt road in the foreground probably led to the Kraft Tannery. Thelow white structure near the end of the road is the side of the firehouse that wasonce part of Bronxville’s first Village Hall (Nos. 27 and 28). The gambrel-roofedhouse faced Kraft Avenue and stood next to Frederick McGrath’s first house at thecorner of Park Place (No. 24a). This photo dates from around 1910.

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WALK TO THE CORNER OF GARDEN AVENUE AND PONDFIELD ROAD

8. This photo, taken about 1900, shows the Lawrence Park clubhouse, or “Casino,”and its tennis court. This center of social activity had an assembly room, diningroom, kitchen and locker room. The “Parkites” often used the Casino to stageplays, which they had written. Bronxville’s earliest organized sport was tennis. In1905, the Bronxville Athletic Association built six more courts on the site of theGarden Avenue parking lot.

9. This photograph, c. 1910, shows an “English cottage” style home located on thecorner of Pondfield Road and Garden Avenue, now #65 Pondfield. It was occupiedby a number of prominent families before being converted to a commercialbuilding. The tall elm tree to the right of the house, well over 150 years old, wasfelled in 1951 because of Dutch Elm disease.

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WALK TO THE FRONT OF 89 PONDFIELD ROAD

10. This c.1915 photograph shows the pair of houses that stood at roughly this sitewhen Pondfield Road was primarily a residential street. The house, at right, wastorn down in 1938; a bank building at #95 replaced it. Its “twin,” left, was the lasthome on Pondfield to retain its residential character. It served as a doctor’s officeuntil about 1960 when it burned and the two buildings at #85 and 89 took its place.The Hotel Gramatan looms in the distance.

11. Looking across the street at the large building that comprises #74a-84 Pondfieldstorefronts, one would have seen Bronville’s first village public school, in use from1870 to 1906. It stood next to the Tyler sisters’ store (No. 14). The schoolplayground extended to Kraft Avenue behind the building. This photograph, c.1890, shows schoolchildren of the time standing along Pondfield Road. To makeroom for a new school (No. 12), the building was moved in 1906 to the corner ofPark Place and Kraft Avenue where it served as the first Church of Saint Joseph’sparish (No. 24a).

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20. This photograph shows the east side of Cedar Street going toward PondfieldRoad as it appeared in the 1890s. The house at right stood just north of the site ofthe present Church of St. Joseph. The house in the background was the home ofFrederick Sprenger, Bronxville’s first photographer. Both houses were locatedwhere the metered parking lot is today.

21. This home stood facing Cedar Street on the corner of Kraft Avenue where theChurch of St. Joseph is today. It was built in 1870 by Rev. Samuel Cox, a retiredpastor and professor at Union Theological Seminary. Frederick Kraft bought thehouse in 1890. Kraft was the founder of a nationally known tannery, which madefine glove and piano action leather. The tannery itself sat about where MidlandGardens is today; it was destroyed by fire in 1922.

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18. This house at One Cedar Street was photographed c. 1880 from the front yardof the Smith house (No. 16) directly across the street. Originally a four-familyhouse built to accommodate workers in Swain’s cutlery factory, this residence waslater used as a workshop and finally purchased as a private home. The presentapartment building and ground level shops were designed by George F. Root IIIand Harold Zeller in 1927.

WALK ALONG CEDAR STREET TOWARD KRAFT

19. This panoramic view was taken about 1890 from the roof of one of the housesthat once lined Cedar Street. The house at far left facing Pondfield Road belongedto Henry Hargreaves, the school janitor for 35 years; the Post Office now stands onthat site. The white farm house in the center was originally owned by the Underhillfamily. When this photograph was taken, that house belonged to Anthony Mertz,who provided vegetables for “Tilly” Tyler’s grocery (No. 14). Farther alongPondfield Road at the upper right is Bronville’s first church, the Dutch ReformedChurch, built in 1850. The Crow’s Nest estate is barely visible in the distance.

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12. The second public school (the “yellow brick school”) was built on the samesite in 1906. The building, designed by resident architect William Bates, had twoentrances – south for boys and north for girls. In use from 1906 to 1924, the schoolprovided a full course of study for grades one through eight. Next to the school tothe right is the Colonial Building, #52-70 Pondfield Rd., which was built in 1913.A new school complex opened in 1925 at the present school’s location. At first twoseparate buildings, an elementary and a high school, the structures were joinedtogether in 1930 with the addition of a third center building.

13. Seen here is a view along Pondfield Road looking north toward the Hilltop, c.1910. A corner of the roof of the “yellow brick” school (No. 12) is in the centerforeground. In the distance to the left is the Hotel Gramatan (Nos. 2 and 3). Justbelow is the Lawrence Park gate lodge (No. 7) at 4 Valley Road; on the hill is theCasino (No. 8); beyond it on the horizon is the “Chateau,” #17 Sunset. In theforeground at far left one can just make out the side of Village Hall (Nos. 28 and29). The two buildings along Pondfield, right, are the same as those seen in No. 9.

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14. “Tilly” Tyler operated her “Fine Grocery” at the corner of Pondfield and ParkPlace (then known as “Tinkers Alley”) to the left of the school (No. 11). Tilly’ssister, Ann Valentine Tyler Smith, was postmistress from 1896 to 1906 and carriedout her duties in the same house. She also continued Lancaster Underhill’s quaintpractices (No. 1). One villager remembered as a boy asking for his mail and beingtold “there is nothing important for you, just a card from your friend John inAlbany who doesn’t like it there.”

15. Across Pondfield Road, Park Place is seen here going toward Kraft Avenue.When known as Tinkers Alley, this narrow dirt street was lined with houses thatoften served as small businesses as well as private residences; the street waswidened in 1928. Thomas Phinney’s upholstery, near right, was on theapproximate site of #2 Park Place. The first building on the left stood at the cornerof Pondfield and Park Place; the second building, now #15, once served as thevillage jail with two small “cell” rooms behind the house. At the end of the road isthe large Gramatan Coal Storage Warehouse, which burned to the ground in 1931.

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WALK ALONG PONDFIELD TO CORNER OF TANGLEWYLDE

16. On this corner, now #117 Pondfield, stood Alfred E. Smith’s stylish SecondEmpire design home, photographed here after the Blizzard of 1888. MidlandAvenue appears in the far background. Smith made carriage axles at his SwainStreet (now Pondfield Road West) business. His son, an attorney, lived here withhis family and widowed mother around the turn of the century. In 1931, a servicestation for Standard Oil of New York (Socony) replaced the Smith house. Thebuilding still stands today in a remodeled form.

17. Bronxville’s first post office was established in 1852 by President MillardFillmore. Lancaster Underhill became Bronxville’s first postmaster, serving for 44years (No. 1). When Underhill retired in April 1896 at the age of 88, AnnValentine Tyler Smith took over as postmistress (No. 14). In 1906, the post officemoved from the Tyler store to the newly built Village Hall (Nos. 27 and 28) until1928 when it moved again, this time to the original Picture House on Kraft Avenue.The present P.O. was built in 1938. On an interior wall of the building is a largemural painted by the acclaimed artist John Sloan. Seen here, the mural depicts ayoung Lancaster Underhill holding the first bag of mail delivered by train to thevillage.

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