3041 Kingsbridge Ave
1905, McKim, Mead & White

This former Branch of the New York Public Library was established in 1894 by Dr. James Douglas as the Kingsbridge Free Library. A local resident, Douglas was a vestryman at the Church of the Mediator, and in 1902 he offered to donate this property so that a new Library could be built in the neighborhood. With funds contributed by Andrew Carnegie, this neo-Federal style building opened in 1905, and became the second NYPL branch in The Bronx. The one-story, three-bay, red brick structure has splayed stone lintels characteristic of the style, as well as an oversized pedimented entrance. By the late 1920s, the library was overcrowded but no plans to renovate or expand it were ever implemented. In later years, the opening of new branches in Van Cortland and Riverdale prompted the reduction of the library’s service area, and in 1959 it was replaced by a new building at 280 West 231st street. The original building was sold to the Church of the Mediator in 1960, and in 1982 it was converted to a Preschool, which still uses the property today. Photo courtesy of the NYPL.

1176 Franklin Ave
1904-06, J. O’Connor

The school was originally part of the Roman Catholic parish of St. Augustine, the first one founded in the Bronx. The complex included a church, the school, and an annex. The oldest building was St. Augustine’s Church, which opened in 1895 and was designed by noted architect Louis C. Giele. It closed in 2011, and was demolished in 2013. The school opened in 1906 to serve the growing population of the Bronx. It is a three-story Classical Revival brick structure with a stone base, and features a full-height projecting central bay at the main façade, capped by a classical pediment. This element is highlighted by glazed blue and white terra cotta sculptures. It was designed by architect J. O’Connor, whose work is also featured in the Fieldstone and Upper East Side Historic Districts. In 2011, St. Agustine School closed and the building became the Harriet Tubman Charter School. This institution, founded in 2004, has a focus on science and offers kindergarten through 8th grade education.

266 E 163rd St
1923, William E. Erb & Paul R. Henkel

By the end of the 19th-century, a sizeable Catholic population concentrated
in the Melrose area of The Bronx, which prompted the establishment of St. Luke’s Church in 1897 and SS. Peter and Paul in 1898. The following year, this property on 163rd St was purchased to create a third parish, for which Father Thomas W. Wallace was appointed as pastor. Since he had two sisters who were Ursuline nuns, the parish was named after the founder and patron saint of the order. The first church was a small wooden building which opened in 1900, with the rectory located on Morris Avenue between 162nd and 163rd Streets. The parish school was established in 1907 in a small parish hall on Grant Avenue. Plans for a new church and school were announced in 1920, with the school being completed first. The three-story brick structure features limestone trimming and carved ornamentation. It consisted of 22 classrooms, a gymnasium in the basement, and a large auditorium. Construction of the new church at the corner of Morris Avenue never materialized, and the school auditorium became the permanent church.

3053 Kingsbridge Ave
1908-14, Henry Vaughn

This congregation’s first church was a wooden structure that opened in 1857. After 50 years, they were able to begin construction of a new building, but it would take another six years to be completed. Nicknamed the “Little Cathedral of the Bronx, it was officially named Church of the Mediator in 1921. Designed by famed architect Henry Vaughan, this Gothic Revival structure rises approximately four stories in height, with a steep pitched roof. The main façade features a double-height pointed- arch stained-glass window, flanked by a pair of stone buttresses, beneath of which is the entrance with an enclosed porch. A stone tower rises at the northwestern corner of the building, with Gothic arched windows with wooden tracework. Vaughan’s work includes the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., as well as three Chapels of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, the Mother Church of the Diocese of New York. This is believed to be the only church where he included internal buttresses in the structure. Photo courtesy of the NY State Historic Preservation Office.

3033 Kingsbridge Ave
1907-09

The St. John’s parish was founded in the 1860s as a mission in Yonkers, and was later attached to the Jesuits of Fordham University. In 1870, they purchased this plot of land and built a small timber-framed church, formally establishing the parish in 1877. In the following decades, the church grew considerably, allowing for a new building to be erected in 1893.This Neo-Gothic structure was built a few years later, during Rev. Daniel O’Dwyer tenure as Pastor, and used part of the former building’s basement. It features buff brick with limestone accents, with a double-height stained-glass window set above three arched wooden entrance doors at the main façade. At the southwest corner there is a tall spire installed in 1966 as part of a large renovation project, which also reportedly removed some of the exterior ornamentation. Photo courtesy of the NY State Historic Preservation Office.

891 Home Ave
1909, Thompson & Frohling

Located in the Morrisania neighborhood, this small one-story brick structure was originally built for the Ebenezer Baptist The congregation purchased the land from Charlotte S. Church. Trowbridge, and hired the Manhattan-based architectural firm Thompson & Frohling to design this two-tone Gothic style building. Frohling was a Swedish-born architect who resided in the area, and would later become known for his design of Charleston, South Carolina’s first “skyscraper”, the People’s Building. The church features a semicircular apse at the corner of Home Street and Intervale Avenue, where the altar is located and is highlighted by a polygonal belltower. Both facades are identical, with three pointed-arch windows and a hipped roof with dormer windows. From the mid-1920s to the mid-1940s, the building hosted the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and the Immanuel Spanish Church. It was later used as a synagogue, by 1955 it was handed over to its current owner, the Mother Walls A.M.E. Zion Church. Directly across the street, at 1213 Intervale Ave, stands FDNY Engine 82/Ladder 31. The building was prominently featured in Dennis Smith’s 1972 book about firefighting in the South Bronx Report from Engine Co. 82.

1343 Fulton Ave
1896-97, J.W. Walter

This Gothic style two-story brick structure was originally built as the St. John’s German Lutheran Church. The congregation was founded in 1860 as the Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische St. Johannes Kirche, and initially met at a local beer saloon and social hall managed by Conrad Hubner, one of the founding members. Their first building was a wood frame structure on the north side of East 169 Street, dedicated in 1865. In 1893, they purchased this lot on Fulton Avenue for a new church building. The property also included two houses, one of which was renovated into a parish house, and the other as the parsonage. In 2010, the congregation disbanded and the building became Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ), an independent Nontrinitarian Christian church, founded in 1913 in the Phillipines.

1205 Washington Ave
Ca. 1850

Originally built by the Disciples Church, this brck structure became the First Presbyterian Church of Morrisania in 1865. The congregation had been organized in 1849, and was placed under the supervision of Reverend Arthur Potts, from New York, in 1865. Soon after, they were able to request recognition and began plans for a new church. Instead of building a new structure on existing lots in their possession, the congregation decided to sell the land to purchase and renovate this church on Washington Avenue. Upon learning of the efforts made by the son of their late Pastor, Rev. George Potts D.D, the congregation of the University Place Church in Manhattan made a donation of $9,000 ($167K today) to help with the repairs. This included the addition of a new spire, a bell, and changes on the finish both of the exterior and interior. The church’s name was changed to “Potts Memorial Presbyterian Church”, as a tribute to their Pastor. In 1967, the building was purchased by the Evangelical Church of God.

1198 Franklin Ave
1894, Michael J. Garvin

During the late-19th century, Franklin Avenue was one of the most prominent residential streets in Morrisania. The area was once part of the Bathgate Estate, which in 1888 was developed to create the Crotona Park. Many mansions were built on the surrounding streets, although almost none of them survive today. This Queen Anne three-story structure was designed by noted American architect and Bronx resident Michael J. Garvin. A graduate of Manhattan College, Garvin served as the first Building Commissioner of the borough from 1897 to 1903, and its first Under Sheriff. His prolific career coincided with the borough’s growth at the turn of the 20th century, and he was best known as the architect of record for the Bronx Borough Courthouse, the Haffen Building and the Fire House, Hook and Ladder 17, all designated as a NYC Landmarks. He also had to face a series of controversies surrounding the authorship of his work and political influences. The house is set back from Franklin Ave, with a large front yard framed by a stone wall with an iron picket fence. It features a tower at the southwest corner, capped by a conical roof and weathervane, and a mansard roof with dormer windows. The main façade has a porch with a front facing gable and decorative spindlework. The first residents were Conrad Müller and his family, who had emigrated in 1872 from Switzerland. He was a steam engineer, and lived at the house until the 1930s with his youngest son Frederick, a teacher, and his wife. The house would later become a multi-family residence.

1300 Southern Blvd.
Ca. 1920

El Maestro Inc. is a community organization focused on the social and cultural development of the Puerto Rican, Latin American, and Caribbean community of the South Bronx. Through sports and cultural activities and programs, the organization provides support to people of all ages and advocates for improving their quality of life. The center first opened as a boxing gym in 2003 by Fernando “Ponce” Laspina, an aspiring boxer who was sent to prison before he could start training. After Ponce’s release, he became involved in education and social justice, and by 1987 he had received a Master’s Degree and was a lecturer at Hostos University. While working for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), Ponce was hired as director of an afterschool boxing initiative in 1997. The success of this program motivated him to create his own, and in 2003 he rented a space at Elton Avenue and 156th St. Ponce chose the name El Maestro in honor of Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, the first Puerto Rican to graduate from Harvard University. Over the years, rent increases have forced the club to relocate to smaller venues. Their latest efforts have been focused on purchasing the two- story commercial building they currently occupy at Southern Boulevard. This, however, has not hindered the growth of the club’s cultural work, expanding their scope of work to community engagement and education. El Maestro has become a stabilizing institution, helping to preserve and revitalize the local community. Photos: (top) exterior view of El Maestro. (bottom) Training session, courtesy of Place Matters.