On the Streets Where I Lived.
When we think back on our growing up…
for most of us,
our “world” was rather confined.
We pretty much spent our lives in our individual neighborhoods,
sometimes within in a radius of very few streets.
For me, that was certainly the case.
The center of my universe was unquestionably
Buchanan Place.
A four-block-long stretch in the West Bronx.
My house was there.
PS 91, my elementary school, was literally around the corner.
(I was actually a AAA Student Crossing Guard,
complete with a plastic sash and silver badge.
Talk about being a power player!!)
Creston JHS, (no “middle school” in the ‘50’s) was also in walking distance.
Even my high school, Bronx Science, was a couple of subway stops away
(or walking distance if I deliberately wanted to be late and miss a class).
My mom and dad’s floor covering store was 5 blocks away.
Most of my friends lived within a couple of blocks of me.
My sister Ellen’s boyfriend ( my future brother-in-law) lived 6 blocks away.
My Aunt Leah was 3 blocks away.
My Grandparents were a short hike away.
I mean…what else did I need?
Slightly beyond Buchanan place…
were several nearby “major streets” that did play important roles in my life:
The Grand Concourse .
The “Champs Elysee” of the Bronx.
(Actually, designed in its likeness by a French developer).
A wide 5.2 mile boulevard extending from 138th street to Moshulu Parkway.
My parents used to tell me that was “where the rich people lived”.
Some called it “the Park Avenue of the Bronx”.
Big, beautiful Art Deco buildings. Some with circular driveways.
The Loew’s Paradise was there.
So was my Dollar Savings Bank,
(where I dutifully deposited my $5 a week and proudly saw it in my bankbook).
Krums Candy & Ice Cream.
My BFF Heintz’s apartment.
Many a grand journey and adventure began on The Grand Concourse.
Jerome Avenue
One of the longest streets in The Bronx – 5.6 miles!
It was also the street that separated the East Bronx from the West Bronx.
(Kind of our Berlin Wall…without the wall.)
For years, it was also one of the last cobblestone streets in the city.
”Jerome” was mostly commercial businesses…
including University Linoleum Mart, my parents’ store.
Also, the El was there (the elevated subway train),
travelling from the tip of The North Bronx all the way to the end of Manhattan.
The rumbling of the El was LOUD!
Often, when having a conversation while walking on Jerome…
one would have to pause until the train passed.
At some point, Jerome Avenue magically turned into River Avenue…
And you know what’s there?
YANKEE STADIUM!!!
It was a long walk from Buchanan Place…
but I made it almost every Saturday to get pre-game autographs.
Fordham Road
Shopping with Mom at Alexander’s. (Bor-ing!)
Going to the movies at the RKO Fordham, The Valentine, The Lido.
Riding the bus line that transported me to…
The Bronx Zoo, The Botanical Gardens, Orchard Beach.
Most importantly, Fordham Road was the center of my social life.
We had no malls,
so on any given Friday or Saturday night,
hordes of young teens would take their raging hormones
and “head up to Fordham”,
to check out kids from their own schools and neighboring Bronx schools.
We’d walk back and forth, back and forth,
covering the same 3 blocks over and over again,
the annoyed beat cops herded us like cattle and chased away again and again.
We’d often end up in front of the Armed Forces Recruiting Center.
(No fear of getting recruited at 13-16 years old!)
University Avenue
Located in the heart of my ‘hood, University Heights.
It got its name because that’s where NYU Uptown used to be.
(with the famous Hall of Fame located on campus!)
The avenue also was the location of the Francis Martin Library,
a great place to goof off, meet girls and…
oh yeah, I think they had books there.
On the north end of University was the Resevoir (near Bronx H.S.l of Science),
and on the south end, was Sedgwick Avenue (near Yankee Stadium).
(Kind of my personal version of “The Agony & The Ecstasy”).
But, it was Buchanan Place where I lived my life.
From after-school until I had to come home for dinner…
I would be “out”, on the street.
Playing with friends and neighbors.
Stickball, Ring-A-Levio, Tag, Johnny-on-the-Pony.
Non-stop running, laughing, getting into mischief.
Buchanan Place itself hosted a mix of apartment buildings and private houses.
Just about all of my friends lived in apartments.
But we were at 60 Buchanan Place,
a rather “quirky” private house that was around since 1901.
(More about the house in future writings).
There were a few other private homes:
Our next-door neighbors were the Hamiltons.
Landers Hamilton was a police detective.
Billy Hamilton, the son, somewhat older than my sister and me,
was known for being the smartest genius in school…
(AND the inventor of a not-so-intellectual yard game called “Piggy Wiggy 1,2,3”).
Across the street were the Yallows,
a somewhat mysterious family…
mostly known for having a terrifying, giant white dog, Frosty.
Frosty was locked behind a huge wooden gate, leading to an alleyway,,,
and much like in the movie, The Sandlot…
when a ball went into the alleyway…
only the most intrepid would dare to try to retrieve.
At one end of Buchanan Place, was Aqueduct Avenue
and a long narrow park referred to by all us locals as “The Ackie”.
It had a small rocky hill, with smattering of grass,
(which was good/dangerous for rolling down or some very short sledding).
It also had The Cage,
an enclosed concrete “field” that had a basketball court,
and a bit of open space for a variety of street games…
like Skully, Hit the Penny, Running Bases.
The Ackie featured an 8-block-long walkway with several wooden benches.
It served as a romantic venue for young couples to walk hand-in-hand…
and perhaps stop for an impromptu “make out session”.
Buchanan Place also had “The Lot”.
A wide-open hill/mound/dump right across from our house.
It was filthy dirty, had lots of random rocks and debris,
and a constant helping of dog-doo.
But, it did serve its “purpose” of being another location for kid adventures.
(During a naughty period of my life, my friends and I would start small fires)
Stickball was the major activity on Buchanan Place.
(More on stickball in a future posting)…
but, as a “field”, the important feature to note…
was that it was fairly narrow, with parked cars on each side…
AND…some large trees extending over the street.
So…when hitting a ball, all the kids in our ‘hood quickly learned
how to hit line drives to straight-away “centerfield”,
or risk losing the Spauldeen.
I liked living on Buchanan Place.
I liked that it was only four blocks long…
and not a lot of people lived there.
Made me feel special.
I also liked that it was named after a president…
Even though I later learned that James Buchanan was considered one of
our worst-ever presidents, responsible for setting the stage for The Civil War.
He was also the only “bachelor-president”…and the first (only?) gay president
(which was kinda cool).
I went back to Buchanan Place recently.
Sadly, it was not quite as magical as I remembered.
“The Lot” was gone, replaced with some kind of small industrial looking structure.
Some of the big overhead trees were chopped down.
The Hamilton house was now a childcare center.
There were no stickball games going on.
BUT…
60 Buchanan Place was still there,
painted a dark pink(??).
Our “front garden” was now basically a pile of dirt enclosed in concrete.
Still, it was the nicest house on the block.
They say “you can’t go home again”.
I say…sure you can…
Just close your eyes and remember.
Would love to hear about the streets where you lived.
The Bronx…or elsewhere.
