Spring 2019
Spring for The Bronx
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The Bronx Wave River Hill Chairs
Dear Readers: a publication of:
Welcome!
It is with great enthusiasm that The Bronx Tourism Council launches its first official seasonal Go Bronx Magazine! In this issue you will find a calendar of events and a few interesting articles written by some of our cultural partners. As the weather gets warmer, tourism season kicks off and we are thrilled to be on your top list of destinations. Between the new Dinosaur Safari at the Bronx Zoo, the annual Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden, or concert tributes and museum exhibits, there is plenty to experience in New York City’s most northern borough.
Our new magazine is designed to bring you fresh compelling content, ideas of what to see and do, and current information about activities in the borough. We hope to inspire you to come for a visit especially during our annual Bronx Week May 9 to the 19th. It’s when we come together and celebrate the best of the borough through a variety of events including a big parade, street festival and concert on Mosholu Parkway. Go to www.ilovethebronx.com for more information. In the meantime, I will see you in The Bronx! Bronxfully yours, Olga Luz Tirado Editor-in-Chief, Go Bronx Executive Director, The Bronx Tourism Council
TABLE OF CONTENTS Spring Calendar
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From France to The Bronx: Art Deco 6 More FUN FACTS to Read
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Spotlight: Riverdale
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Spring, 2019 Olga Luz Tirado Executive Director Sofia Thierfelder Grifoll Deputy Director Ashley Velez Tourism Administration
Tiffany Peluso Consultant 851 Grand Concourse, Ste. 123 Bronx, NY 10451 718.590.3518 www.ilovethebronx.com Go Bronx Magazine is a digital publication of The Bronx Tourism Council (BTC). Contents and design © 2019, all rights reserved. Reproduction or alterations without written permission is strictly prohibited. Every effort was made to ensure accuracy of the information in this guide as of press time. However, BTC assumes no responsibility for errors, changes or omissions. BTC makes no endorsement, representation or warranty regarding the suitability, quality or availability of any goods or services advertised or listed in this publication. Listings and advertisements may have been provided by the subject companies and BTC shall not be responsible or liable for any inaccuracy, omission or infringement of any third party’s rights therein, or for personal injury or any other damage or injury whatsoever.
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Spring Calendar of Events March 27—September 1 USELESS: MACHINES FOR DREAMING, THINKING, AND SEEING The exhibition features a selection of curious machines created by artists with the goal of stirring dreams, feelings, critical thinking, and ironies; for seeing what microscopes, telescopes and cartographies cannot show; for flying without taking-off; in short, for doing the impossible. The Bronx Museum of the Arts , 1040 Grand Concourse Click here for more info
May 18 | Time not set yet. Go to website for info AMAZING BRONX RIVER FLOTILLA Paddle 5 miles of The Bronx River while fundraising to kick start Bronx River Alliance’s Recreational program. Click here for more info
April 13 | 9:30AM - 3PM BRONX RIVER RUN, PEDAL, PADDLE Gather a team to run, cycle, and paddle The Bronx River for a three part relay that will end in a party at The Point's Art Campus at Rocking the Boat! The BXRPP is a fun one day, non-competitive relay event that promotes an active lifestyle through running, biking and canoeing while highlighting The Bronx River and its greenway. Click here for more info
June 11 | 8PM NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC AT VAN CORTLANDT PARK NYPHIL comes to The Bronx once again for a free concert. Bring chairs and/or blankets and enjoy the music. Van Cortlandt Park, enter at 242nd street & Broadway
June 8, 15, 22 | 10AM - 3PM BRONX RIVER UPPER RIVER PADDLE This paddle begins at 219th St. and ends in the Mitsubishi Riverwalk of The Bronx Zoo. These trips are approximately two and a half hours on the water and have one portage site which requires one to wheel their boat for a mile and a half. Participates will have the opportunity to travel south through Shoelace Park, The Bronx River Forest, The Botanical Garden, and The Bronx Zoo. All registering should be predominately fit for this challenging, yet rewarding experience on The Bronx River. Please allow approximately 4 hours, which includes time for registration, put in and take out, etc. Click here for more info
June 28 | 4PM FREE COMMUNITY FRIDAY Join us the last Friday between the months of June-Oct. There will be fun activities along The Bronx River: paddling trips, art workshops and more! Click here for more info
April 13 | 11AM - 2PM WATER QUALITY MONITORING TRAINING Become a community scientist and river steward! Learn how to test water quality on The Bronx River by joining a fun, hands-on training at the New York Botanical Garden. Attendees will be prepared to adopt a portion of The Bronx River to test for 2019 Water Quality Monitoring season and join a city-wide network of waterway advocates. Click here for more info April 22 | 10AM - 1PM EARTH DAY TREE & SHRUB PLANTING Join a local Girl Scout troop in helping to restore a vital habitat along The Bronx River by planting native trees and shrubs. Shovels and gloves will be provided. Click here for more info May 11 | 2PM - 6:30PM BRONX FASHION WEEK The Mall at Bay Plaza 200 Baychester Avenue Click here for more info
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250 Bedford Park Boulevard West Click here for more info on events below
450 Grand Concourse Click here for more info on events below
April 6 | 8PM NOCHE CALIENTE: FRANKIE NEGRON, ROBERTO BLADES, & BRENDA K’ STARR Special night with three Salsa stars known for performing some of the best Salsa the world has to offer. Hard to resist Frankie Negron’s blend of genres like R&B and pop into Salsa, Ruben Blade’s Salsa hits such as Lagrimas, Flor Dormida, Si Estuvieras Conmigo, and the multitalented Brenda K Starr’s unforgettable hits such as Herida.
April 6 | 7:30PM A TRIBUTE TO DAVE VALENTIN An exciting double bill – a tribute to the late flutist Dave Valentin led by his former music director, pianist Bill O’Connell, with flute virtuoso Andrea Brachfeld plus the debut of Bill O’Connell's latest project (ACE). April 11, 17 @ 2PM | Apr. 12 @ 7PM |Apr. 18 @ 12:30PM IN REAL LIFE The world premiere of Stacie Lents’ tragicomedy In Real Life, in which two high school students, who live in the post-Trump future when the world has gone completely virtual, rebel against cyber reality and attempt to connect to an actual world they have never known.
April 13 | 8PM LA SOPHY & FAUSTO REY After more than FOUR decades the international artists of several generations will meet for the first time at the prestigious Lehman Center in The Bronx, to present what will undoubtedly be the biggest concert of 2019. April 27 | 8PM STAR DUST, A DAVID BOWIE TRIBUTE After a year on tour and a triumphant run at Broadway’s, Joyce Theater, Complexions Contemporary Ballet brings this powerful, loving and emotional tribute to David Bowie’s musical career!
April 26 | 7:30PM JAVIER PADILLA & THE MOVEMENT PLAYGROUND Javier Padilla is an emerging choreographer, dancer, pilates instructor and movement artist interested in utilizing innovative technological and marketing strategies to enhance artist visibility and creating works.
May 11 | 8PM ANDY MONTAÑEZ 55TH ANNIVERSARY Andy Montanez will be joined by several of Puerto Rico’s most illustrious talents: Victoria Sanabria, El Trio Ideal, Johnny Olivo & Herencia De Plena. Come see him perform at Lehman Center!
May 2 | 7:30PM MACHITO AND BEYOND WITH THE CARLOS HENRIQUEZ ENSEMBLE The acclaimed bassist for Wynton Marsalis, and a respected bandleader in his own right, explores the impact of Machito on Latin jazz as well as a youthful take on some Machito classics and Graciela favorites. May 3 | 6:30PM MACHITO AND MARIO: THE ROOTS OF AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ Noted Latin Music historian Joe Conzo, Sr. guides you through the exhibit developed and on loan from the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. May 3 | 7:30PM MACHITO: A LATIN JAZZ LEGACY In a career that spanned half a century, this Cuban bandleader embodied Latin Jazz and influenced several generations of musicians. May 4 | 7:30PM THE MACHITO ORCHESTRA Mario Grillo, aka Machito, Jr., leads a program of Machito hits including “Cuban Fantasy” and “Mambo Inn” as well as some rare gems for this historic concert. FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE!
May 25 | 8PM INVINCIBLE A GLORIOUS TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL JACKSON “Invincible” is hailed as the Number One Michael Jackson’s tribute show in the world. Bessie Award winner and producer Darrin Ross, searched all over the world to find artists that could replicate Michael’s talents in order to perfect his vision of a one of a kind theatrical spectacular tribute show that truly captures the essence of Michael Jackson. June 1 | 8PM LOS VAN VAN 50TH ANNIVERSARY Heralded as Cuba’s greatest dance orchestra and known throughout the world for their iconic live performances, Los Van Van returns to Lehman Center for their 50th anniversary celebration
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FROM FRANCE TO THE BRONX ART DECO John D. Rockefeller, Jr. built Rockefeller Center. The Empire State Building was constructed in eighteen months, and the spire that defines The Chrysler Building was raised. Ornate stonework was replaced by sleek lines and gleaming ribbons of steel directing one’s eyesight upwards. Glass doors employing a variety of geometric shapes marked the entrances. Florescent lighting and polished brass offered a different kind of “optics.” Despite the fact that the most severe economic downturn was underway, these buildings had a Nowhere else but “modern feel.” These in The Bronx, buildings conveyed optimism. would residential These buildings are Art Deco. Nowhere else but in The development Bronx, would residential Art be so prolific. Deco development be so prolific. These new structures featured cream-colored brick and lots of glass. Bold accents using colors like red, blue, or even green and yellow defined a building’s profile. Windows were no longer inserted into a wall of stonecolored brick. Rather they defined a structure’s geometrics. Glass casement windows that opened like French doors could also “turn the corner.” Inside this provided additional ventilation and sunshine. Outside after dark a window’s ambient light could “bend” at an intersection between a street and avenue. On the Grand Concourse the entrance to an Art Deco building had to “dazzle” your eye and grab your attention. 1500 Grand Concourse, designed by architect Jacob Felson, once featured an imposing double-
door of brushed steel. Inserted into each door, was crescent shaped glass resembling a “half-moon.” When closed, together these doors formed a perfect circle…or “full moon.” Accentuating this entrance even further was a wall of green colored glass brick surrounding the steel door. At night backlighting illuminated, projecting a green glow that is then reflected by the doors themselves. The doors and glass brick are gone, but the building is still worth seeing. A few blocks south at 1150 Grand Concourse, architect, Horace Ginsbern created a mosaic featuring an underwater scene of tropical fish surrounds a double door of polished brass. Recessed lighting gives the multi -colored artwork a mystique that captivates one’s imagination while making the brass door appear so welcoming. This entrance defines 1150 as “The Fish Building” and shares a block of Art Deco buildings down from McClellan to 167th street. Looking carefully at the windows will reveal they uniformly face southwest, lining up perfectly with the setting sun. Emery Roth designed many of Manhattan’s most elaborate Art Deco buildings along Central Park West. In The Bronx Roth built only one, 888 Grand
Art Deco
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Executive Towers, 1020 Grand Concourse PHOTO CREDIT: Olga Luz Tirado
PHOTO CREDIT: Olga Luz Tirado
Concourse. Situated on the southeast corner of East 161st Street, the entrance is eye-catching. Rising to a height of fifteen feet is a concave wall of gold mosaic tile highlighted by horizontal ribbons of black and white. Centered exactly in the middle of this design is a revolving door over which are the numbers 888 that hint to an Egyptian influence. A Terrazzo tile circular design entry floor coupled with a corresponding canopy complete this high-profile location. Lobbies are a building’s “living room.” They offer a lasting first impression. Art Deco lobbies generally opted for intricate Terrazzo flooring that captivates the eye, often serving as a way to direct you to where it is you’re going. Use of low-rise stairways creates a sense of space even if the actual area is not all that spacious.
Other key components of an Art Deco lobby include etched mirrors of blue glass featuring an actual bucolic scene that was cut directly into the mirror itself. During the Great Depression President Franklin D. Roosevelt commissioned the inclusion of grand murals in just about every public building. As such, many privately constructed Art Deco buildings also featured a mural. Some were painted, while others might be composed of small mosaic tiles. Elevator doors were always special. Some were polished brass or steel, but the most memorable were painted with elaborate designs of contrasting colors. Off the boulevard at East 162nd Street, architect Marvin Fine designed 1005 Jerome Avenue with a lobby of enormous proportions that is only surpassed by the fact this building occupies four acres of property and at one time boasted two full service lobbies on two different avenues. As bold and different as was Art Deco design when it was introduced to New York City in 1925, when World War II commenced in 1941 virtually all construction halted. With that, the Art Deco era abruptly ended, never to be revived. So too, never again would any future decade see the population of the borough increase by more than 128,000 people as it did during the 1930’s. It was the decade of Art Deco in The Bronx!
Sam Goodman is Bronx-born and has worked for The Bronx Borough President’s Office as an urban planner since 1995. He also offers a “Grand Concourse Stroll Into History” Walking Tour.
888 Grand Concourse following construction
More FUN FACTS to read “The Grand Concourse: A Boulevard That Lives” “It Was Made in The Bronx” “The Bronx is For The Birds”
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GET YOUR DINOSAUR ON!
Prepare for the biggest, most realistic Dinosaur Safari ride in America. Dinosaur Safari is back at the Bronx Zoo! Over 40 life-size, animatronic dinos have taken over the park. April 19 - November 3. Buy your tickets here!
THE BEAUTY OF ORCHIDS! For its 17th year, The New York Botanical Garden’s popular annual orchid exhibition returns with The Orchid Show: Singapore, developed in partnership with Gardens by the Bay and Singapore Botanic Gardens. February 23 - April 28. Purchase tickets here
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SPOTLIGHT: Riverdale
Wave Hill House
PHOTO CREDIT: Joshua Bright
From Farm to Suburb to Neighborhood While always keeping a low profile, Riverdale has long been a very pleasant place to live or visit. Among its many residents were celebrated leaders—Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, New York Yankee “Iron Man” Lou Gehrig and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. Riverdale, once a “planned community” on 254th Street, is now bounded on the north side by Yonkers and on the west side by the Hudson River. Sitting on the Riverdale ridge, the neighborhood seems set apart from the rest of The Bronx. Many 19th-century structures include local and national landmarks. Parks and playgrounds help maintain its suburban feel. During colonial times, Riverdale was part of large estates owned by Adrian van der Donck and then Frederick Philipse. At the end of the American Revolution, Philipsburg Manor was broken up into small farms. From 1683 until 1874, what is now Riverdale, was part of Westchester County. It was in 1874 that the area was annexed by New York City and later became part of the West Bronx. One reason Riverdale continues to be a haven is Wave Hill. The Perkins-Freeman family gave 28 acres and two mansions overlooking the Hudson River to the city in 1960. In 1967, horticulturalist Marco Polo
Stufano was appointed its founding director of horticulture and by the time he retired in 2001, Wave Hill had become both a beautiful public garden with spectacular views of the Hudson River and an important educational and cultural institution. Wave Hill House is by far the older home, dating from 1843–44. It was built by William Lewis Morris, a grandnephew of both Lewis Morris, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence for New York, and Gouverneur Morris, who was known as the “penman of the Constitution.” American publisher William Henry Appleton known for publishing works by evolution theorist Charles Darwin and Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll, was the second owner of Wave Hill House. He later rented the house to Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., whose son “TeeDee,” the future president of the United States, was then 12 and 13 years old. It was also rented to the author Samuel Clemens (“Mark Twain”). Dwight James Baum (who designed many homes in Riverdale) began building a medievalstyle addition to the house to accommodate the armor collection of the ichthyologist Bashford Dean, who rented the house starting in 1909 but died before the addition was complete. The famous conductor Arturo Toscanini rented the house during World War II, and it
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served as the residence of the British Mission to the new United Nations in the early 1950s. Often referred to as “one of the greatest living works of art,” Wave Hill today is a world-renowned garden, open yearround for visitors to enjoy the landscape as well as a gallery of contemporary art inspired by nature, indoor and outdoor concerts, guided walks and programs that range from art-making Armor Hall c. 1929 Photo Courtesy of to woodworking and Mrs. Kitchell M. Boorman Collection wellness. South of Wave Hill House is a Georgian revival mansion, built on the site of a Victorian-style summer villa George Walbridge Perkins and his wife Evelina purchased in 1895. They soon expanded their home into a much larger house they named Glyndor. That building was struck by lightning in 1926 and quickly replaced. Currently, Glyndor II boasts an art gallery and offices for Wave Hill staff. Among Riverdale’s other attractions are the Hadley House, originally a small farm house on Post
Road, which may or may not be older than the Van Cortlandt Mansion (1748) located in the park of the same name. In 1974, the Russian Mission to the United Nations began construction of a 19-story building on Mosholu Avenue, with 240 apartments above an auditorium, gymnasium, and an underground garage, all built from the top down using the suspended steelfloor system. Riverdale boasts many schools, including Ethical Culture Fieldston, Horace Mann, Often referred to Riverdale Country, and as “one of the Salanter Akiba Riverdale academy and high school. greatest living Two colleges also call works of art,” Riverdale home: Manhattan College and Mount St. Wave Hill Vincent. In addition, many today is a houses of worship serve the community in Riverdale. Its world-renowned two oldest churches, were garden designed by famous architects, Christ Church (Episcopal) is by Richard Upjohn James Renwick, Jr., designed Riverdale Presbyterian. Culture thrives in Riverdale. The Hebrew Home has the Derfner Judaica Museum. The Bronx Arts Ensemble, the Sinfonietta of Riverdale, and the Riverdale Choral Society perform locally. The An Beal Bocht Café is the setting for music, poetry, comedy, theater, and art exhibits
While you are in Riverdale... WHAT TO SEE: WHERE TO EAT:
DERFNER JUDAICA MUSEUM 5901 Palisade Avenue,
BECCOFINO 5704 Mosholu Avenue
VAN CORTLANDT HOUSE MUSEUM 6036 Broadway, Van Cortlandt Park
AN BEAL BOCHT CAFÉ 445 w. 238th street
ELISA CONTEMPORARY GALLERY 5622 Mosholu Avenue, Riverdale
YUKKA LATIN BISTRO 5684 Riverdale Avenue
WHERE TO SHOP:
LIEBMAN’S DELI 552 W 235th Street
MARYANNE’S IRISH GIFT SHOP 5694 Riverdale Avenue RIVERDALE JUDAICA 3706 Riverdale Avenue PAGE 10
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21ST ANNUAL BANKER’S BREAKFAST Friday, May 10th @ 8:30am—11am HEALTH DAY EVENT May 11th @ 11am—2pm
ANNUAL AFRICAN NATION’S CUP SOCCER TOURNAMENT April 13—May 18th
BRONX BALL May 18th @ 6pm
INDUCTION CEREMONY May 19th @ 11am
PARADE, STREET FESTIVAL & CONCERT May 19th @ 12pm—6pm PAGE 12
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