Kingsbridge, Bronx

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Kingsbridge

Kingsbridge is a neighborhood in the Bronx, New York. It is bounded by West 240th Street and Van Cortlandt Park on the north, the Jerome Park Reservoir to the east, Fordham Road and Marble Hill, Manhattan, to the south, and a large hill on the west demarcating Kingsbridge from the Riverdale neighborhood. The border between Marble Hill and Kingsbridge is irregular and largely unmarked. At many points throughout the area, Riverdale and Kingsbridge are connected by a series of "step streets", with stairways of as many as 160 steps built into the hills. Some jokingly refer to Riverdale as the "rich uncle" of Kingsbridge. The neighborhood is also part of a Business improvement district that is home to 200 merchants, which is one of the largest retail shopping districts in The Bronx. River Plaza Shopping Center is located nearby -in Marble Hill, Manhattan - but it is not part of the business improvement district.

Click for depiction of King's Bridge [[1]]

The neighborhood is named for The King's Bridge, erected in 1693 by Frederick Philipse a local Lord loyal to the British Monarch. The bridge spanned the now-filled-in Spuytin Duyvil Creek, roughly south-parallel with today's 230th Street. The Kingsbridge carried Boston Post Road, connecting continental America (today's Bronx) with Marble Hill, once part of the Manhattan island, but still today part of the Manhattan borough. The bridge is said to still be in place, having been buried when the creek right-of-way was filled in. The creek water flow was redirected to the new and deeper shipping canal, south of Marble Hill.

[edit] History

Until the latter part of the 19th century Riverdale, Kingsbridge, and other areas now in the northwest Bronx were part of the Town of Yonkers. The areas that are inside the modern-day New York city line broke off to form the Town of Kingsbridge. Later, the City of New York annexed the western half of the Bronx, including the Town of Kingsbridge. As the trains to Manhattan were built in the 20th century, a stop in the northwest Bronx along the Hudson River called Riverdale-on-Hudson, now Riverdale (Metro-North station) was created. This gave rise to the Riverdale neighborhood; the remainder of the old Town of Kingsbridge developed into the modern-day Kingsbridge neighborhood.

Kingsbridge was once a neighborhood of predominately Irish immigrants. From the late 1970s the Irish population has decreased significantly, being replaced by large numbers of Hispanics, Asians, Albanians and Greeks. The legacy of the Irish contributions can be seen in the churches and schools that still operate in the neighborhood and serve the needs of its current residents.

For example, walking through the neighborhood one would immediately notice St. John's Roman Catholic Church located on Kingsbridge avenue near 231st street, and its two schools; the elementary school which is located on Godwin Terrace (just south of 231st street), and the junior high school which is located on Kingsbridge Ave just a block north of 231st. In northern Kingsbridge the Visitation Roman Catholic Church and School is located on West 239th street. To the east, on Sedwick Ave we have Our Lady of Angels Church and School. For recreation on the weekends, one can go to Gaelic Park which is located on 240th street & Broadway and watch a variety of sports including Gaelic football or a good hurling match and have a few pints after the game at one of the local pubs. And last but certainly not least, the neighborhood is home to Manhattan College (Jaspers) located on Manhattan College Parkway (W.240th street) where many of the children of these Irish immigrants received excellent Lasallian educations and then left the neighborhood for a new and better life.

Over the past five years, the neighborhood has held two reunions at Manhattan College. The turnout for each reunion was tremendous. For example, former residents of Kingsbridge from all over the U.S. and even from places as far-away as Japan attended.