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Jan 5, 2016 · It's one of New York’s most impressive, historic thoroughfares—as the name suggests, it's a grand, wide roadway separated into different parts by tree-lined medians and flanked by apartment buildings, businesses, and imposing civic structures on either side.
- Early History
- First Residents
- Recent History
The idea of the Grand Concourse came from a French immigrant named Louis Aloys Risse who conceived it in 1890 as a way to connect Manhattan to the northern Bronx, which back then was known as the Annexed District. Risse envisioned a wide boulevard stretching for miles that would rival the Champs-Élysées in Paris which was his inspiration in designi...
The first residents were mostly Jewish and Italian residents, many with professional backgrounds from doctors to lawyers and just the average American upwardly mobile middle-class family. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission wrote: “During the 1920s, the Bronx, anointed as “the wonder borough,” emerged as New York’s fastest growing borou...
It wasn’t until the early 2000s, when crime began dropping, that things started to turn around. Interest in preserving the history of the Grand Concourse grew and in 2011, a large portion stretching from 153rd Street to 167th Street was designated as the Grand Concourse Historic District by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Sadly...
Aug 14, 2019 · Today we’re taking a stroll down the Grand Concourse, the beautiful and grand boulevard in The Bronx designed by French immigrant Louis Aloys Risse using Paris’ Champs Élysées as his inspiration.
3 days ago · It was conceived in 1890 by Louis Aloys Risse, a French immigrant and chief topographical engineer of New York City. Since its opening in 1909, it has become “ the Bronx’s most famous street ,”...
Mar 18, 2009 · To honor the centennial of the Grand Concourse, the Bronx Museum of the Arts has organized a yearlong, three-part exhibition. The first installment, “Intersections: The Grand Concourse at 100,”...
During the 1960s, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation removed the grass median on the Concourse and replaced it with cement that was painted green. By the 1980s, The New York Times characterized the Concourse as "a driver’s paradise".
The Grand Boulevard and Concourse in the Bronx has a history as one of New York’s most dazzling, stylish thoroughfares. Opened to traffic on November 25, 1909, the Grand Concourse was at the center of the economic and population boom that transformed the borough in the following half-century.
