part 3 is continuing north of the cross-bronx on a 4-thread tour of the grand concourse.

 

 

LEFT: 1835 GC at East 176 Street, by H. Herbert Lillien, 1939.

RIGHT: 1855 GC at Mount Hope Place, Thomas Dunn 1936.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

loving the 1930’s art modern styling.

The casement windows are gone, but again the staggered placement ensures good light

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

one of many Concourse buildings with dual-direction windows allowing views both of the concourse in front of the building and looking south along it. 2121 was built by Horace Ginsbern (see Park Plaza Apartments, above).

 

 

 

 

this is historic ---

it's the last remaining ‘70's-80's / bronx is burning’ era rubble pile left on the gc  :|

 

 

 

 

a gas station survivor

 

 

 

clean city!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was obviously a former theater building

 

Hey! Get your man-fix here!  :laugh:

 

 

As promised we have reached paradise, so this part of the gc tour is coming to an end…  :wink:

 

   

 

   

 

 

 

 

these shots on are from 1974 & 1999, respectively

 

 

from forgotten ny:

 

Stephen Samtur and Martin Jackson describe the Paradise in their book The Bronx: Lost, Found and Remembered 1935-1975:

 

It was the place of dreams fulfilled, the object of affection for countless Bronx natives, a wonderland on the Grand Concourse...a grandiose movie palace done in the Hollywood Baroque style so favored in the late 1920s, the Paradise was the premier venue for the Bronx. It wasn't just a theatre. Nobody went only to watch the movie. Going to the Paradise was an event, a signal that the evening's date was more than routine. It was a place to be seen in and a transient bit of elegance that lingered in the memory long after the film itself had been forgotten...

 

The lobby itself was a foretaste of delights to come: towering marble pillars and a magical fountain complete with swimming goldfish. The staircases were clad in deep carpets, the walls hung with tapestry and adorned with statuary. Along the walls were wrought iron benches and throne-like chairs for the weary, or for the nearly delirious children to sit briefly. In the restrooms were uniformed attendants, dispensing towels, perfume and a sense of wealth to those utterly without such prior experiences. Consider the impact upon a family of, say, garment workers or municipal employees, who struggled through the Depression in a four-story walk-up off the Concourse. In the days before televison or habitual automobile ownership, an evening at the Patradise was a fantasy come true. Affordable even by the most constrained Bronxites, the Paradise demonstrated anew the wonders of American life and wrote itself indelibly in the memories of two generations.

 

 

*** next up on the final gc thread is fordham rd shopping and one heck of an armory ***

 

Paradise, indeed! What splendor!

 

This one really grabbed me; I think it's a strong image:

I really like those dual directional window buildings for some reason.  They aren't the best looking, but I find something quite enjoyable about them.