History

Bronx History: The Lorillard Spencer Estate and The Birth Of Allerton

A French Huguenot family, the Lorillards, settled in the area which is now known as Allerton as well as parts of the New York Botanical Garden back in the late 1700s. The family became extremely successful in the tobacco industry and their company would eventually give rise to Lorillard Inc, which makes Newport, Kent, and other cigarettes.

By 1840 they had built what is now known as The Snuff Mill at NYBG which according to the New York Times, “…tobacco was ground into smokeless, powdery form called snuff, which could be flavored and inhaled.”

Seis del Sur Returns This Friday With Their Latest Exhibition, ‘Barrios’

Back on a cold Saturday evening in January of 2013, thousands of people returned home to the South Bronx at the Bronx Documentary Center for Seis del Sur’s first exhibition, ‘Dispatches From Home by Six Nuyorican Photographers which took us through an emotional photographic and multimedia journey into our darkest past—yet vibrant and full of life.

This Friday, October 23rd at 6:30PM at NYU’s King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, the collective returns with their third exhibition which not only brings back the original from 2013 but combines it with more contemporary work focusing on barrios throughout ‘Latino America’.

Restoration of Ben Shahn Murals At The Bronx General Post Office Almost Complete

When the Bronx General Post Office was purchased by YoungWoo and Associates last year, one of the first things they announced they would work on would be the restoration of the landmarked interior murals—masterpieces from the New Deal Era by Ben Shahn created in 1939.

Earlier this year, after selecting Parma Conservation, LTD, the delicate work of restoring these important works of art treasures began.

Jose “Chema” Soto, Founder of Rincon Criollo aka ‘Casa de Chema’ Passes Away

Out of the hundreds of “casitas” or little houses that dot community gardens across New York City, there is one that is known by folks all over—considered the oldest and largest one in NYC—and it is Rincon Criollo aka Casa de Chema named by locals for its founder, Jose “Chema” Soto who passed away Thursday at the age of 70.

When residents of the South Bronx were left to their own devices among rubble and ruin, Don Chema took it upon himself to clean up an abandoned lot on Brook Avenue and 158th Street 40 years ago back in 1975.

Historic District Council’s FREE Summer Mixer This Monday!

We are at a critical juncture in our borough’s history.

101 years ago, when The Bronx was born as the 62nd and last county of New York State in Melrose at The Old Bronx Borough Courthouse, there began a frenzy and expansion into our borough that forever changed our landscape.

Today we are facing a second gold rush so to speak as we are considered the last frontier in real estate development in New York City—a city that is no longer recognizable to us with the loss of many neighborhoods that have succumbed to the white washing of gentrification and “progress” littered with the same chain store after chain store.

This is a chance to mingle and meet other Bronxites concerned about the future of our borough and the issues we face. It doesn’t matter if you’re from Riverdale, The South Bronx, Morris Park, Soundview, Throggs Neck, Kingsbridge or anywhere in The Bronx—this is an event for ALL of our residents.

Hip-Hop Museum Coming To The Old Bronx Courthouse?

After No Longer Empty’s residency and exhibition at the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse, ‘When You Cut Into The Preset The Future Leaks Out’, and over 6,000 visitors—over 75% from the area and not counting youth programs who graced the halls of this hallowed landmark—many have asked what now?

Well one possibility is that The Universal Hip Hop Museum—the only and official Hip-Hop museum chartered by the State of New York—may in fact call the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse Home. A fitting tribute given the fact that The Bronx is the birthplace of the global phenomenon that is Hip-Hop.

Undesiging the Red Line Interactive Exhibit

Join Designing the We for a new conversation on how Undesigning the Redline and contextualizing the work we do in the Bronx, New York City, and beyond opens alternative models, collaborations, and processes where another reality is possible. Check out the interactive exhibit and participate in new conversations, both one-on-one and in small groups.