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There's an older building on the corner of Jerome & Woodycrest, right off 161st Street, near Yankee Stadium. The eastern end of the building is rounded, and part of the south wall looks like a bay window type thing. (Sorry, it's difficult to describe.)
I've just seen it from the bus, so don't have any way of checking it out for myself, and am curious about its use.
Does anyone know what this building is? Apartments? Something else?
That Building was an Orphanage, erected in 1902, situated at 936 Woodycrest Ave. In 1972/1973, the children were removed to another location, and a Muslim Organization had purchased the property. I do not know what happened after they had it, but then it was turned into a Shelter/Hospice for people with AIDS. Over the years, the building had been left almost to ruin, however monies appropriated, allowed for restoration of certain items of the Original building, and the interior was transformed into residential Apts for families with children (also AIDS related). It is not a Hotel. I lived in that building from 1966 until we left for upstate NY because the area was very dangerous. I hope that I have answered your question satisfactorly.
PS to the above: There is also a separate building on the property, that faces Anderson Avenue, a yellowish brick building, about 5 Stories high, very plain and oblong in nature. This design was on purpose, as the Gymnasium and Swimming Pool were located in that Building, as well as Arts and Crafts, and a Dormitory on the top floor for the eldest group. The name of this building was given "Roberts Hall".
That Building was an Orphanage, erected in 1902, situated at 936 Woodycrest Ave. In 1972/1973, the children were removed to another location, and a Muslim Organization had purchased the property. I do not know what happened after they had it, but then it was turned into a Shelter/Hospice for people with AIDS. Over the years, the building had been left almost to ruin, however monies appropriated, allowed for restoration of certain items of the Original building, and the interior was transformed into residential Apts for families with children (also AIDS related). It is not a Hotel. I lived in that building from 1966 until we left for upstate NY because the area was very dangerous. I hope that I have answered your question satisfactorly.
If memory serves me, I recall that orphanage on Woodycrest. It was back in the late 50's, early 60's, almost directly across from the Norman Towers. It was a dreary place at the time, even scary for neighborhood kids. The area around Woodycrest was mostly Irish with a rare Italian or Jewish family here and there. During the early 60's, the first black family moved into the neighborhood on Anderson Avenue which caused as much of a ruckus as when hispanics started coming in a decade later. I heard the Norman Towers burned down in the late 60's. What a shame, it was a spectacular old deco building.
I attended PS 73 (junior high) and Taft HS nearby in the early 1970s and many of my classmates and some of my friends lived there in the orphanage. I recall their shock and dismay when the operation was terminated. [It really wasn't. the operators simply moved the operation to upstate NY, but pretended they were closing. That way they could dump all the kids into other NYC orphanages and foster homes, and begin upstate with a clean slate.] For the younger kids, life was basically okay. I lived on that street and walked by the building almost every day for years (had several classmates who lived in Norman Towers too). For the teens it wasn't as nice. You could 'allegedly' stay there till your 18th birthday if you were very, very, good. My memory is everyone else was shoved out the door at 16, regardless of the emotional state, or lack of job prospects. Tail end of what I called the heroin years, the streets outside (in a neighborhood turning very scary) were a little rough for a homeless 16 year old. Two of my classmates (1 M, 1 F) had that happen to them and I lost contact with them both inside a few weeks as the darkside of the city grabbed them. In the early 1970s the Bronx County Historical Society's President succeeded in arranging a tour of the place before it closed. I went on that tour. The inside was as cool (gothic) as the outsides. Like a tour of 'stately Wayne Manor.' Tall ceilings, wooden doors with etched glass paneling. Court yards, Tiffany furniture, etc. Everything was brass, glass, or mahogany. The place sat vacant for about a year, then Nation of Islam took it over. They were quiet and basically a good thing for the neighborhood. I don't know too much what happened there after that. I left NYC in the late 70s. I returned to visit family in the mid 80s (the cocaine years) and the place was all boarded up and Norman Towers (along with many of other the apartment houses I had known) were burnt out, or vacant lots. In 1990 the NY Times did an article on the place. Here is the link. STREETSCAPES: Woodycrest Children's Home; A New Life - and Mission - for a Bronx Residence - The New York Times
Last edited by Commodore64; 10-23-2009 at 12:04 PM..
Reason: spelling
I went to P.S.73,in 1963 I was in the 7th. grade and had classmates from the orphanage. I remember a redhead named Pamela and a blond named Connie. We would play together and I visited the Home a couple of times. It was nice inside, I remember a pool and beds all in a row. My friends always got money for clothes and shoes and went on trips. I used to wish I was an orphan so I could live there too!
Hi Norma, I was at the home during that time. I remember Pamela. I have an old photo of Pamela. I remember Connie as well. Woodycrest had a reunion in 2009 at a restaurant in Manhattan. Lots were there, but many have passed on.
Hi David, you missed the reunion in 2009. I and my oldest sister flew in for the reunion.
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Orphanage on Woodycrest
