Pelem Bay Park

The first European owner of the land where the park is now located was a certain Englishman, Thomas Pell. In 1654, he bought about 20 thousand hectares of land from local Indians . The Pell family eventually sold most of the possessions. In 1836, the descendant of Pella, Robert Bartow, bought part of the territory and in 1842 built a mansion on it ^[1] .

In 1776, a battle broke out between British and Hessian infantry under the command of William Howe on the one hand and American troops led by Colonel Glover on the other. Although the British won a tactical victory, the battle allowed General Washington to withdraw the bulk of the troops from the encirclement in Manhattan at White Plains .

In 1888, 7 years before the Bronx became part of New York, the territory of the future park was purchased by the state legislature . In those years, there were many mansions on the coast of the future park. Of these, only one has remained in our time - . Since 1974, it is included in the US National Register of Historic Places ^[2] .

Over time, the infrastructure of the park expanded. It was divided into two golf courses: "Pelem Bay" in 1914 and "Split Rock" ( born Split Rock ) in 1936.

In the mid-1930s, an ambitious project by the town planner Robert Moses was embodied in the park, which largely determined the modern look of New York. As part of the project, a strait was filled in between Hunter Island and the Peninsula. For this, about 3 million cubic meters of sand were removed from the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens . 115 acres of land (about 47 hectares) were added to the park’s area ^[3] . The cost of work amounted to 8 million dollars ^[4] . In 1937, the public beach Orchard was opened in the park. ^{[5] [6]}

Pelem Bay Park covers an area of ​​2764 acres (1120 hectares ), being the largest park in New York and one of the largest in the region. It is only that encompasses the north of New Jersey and parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn . ^[6]

The main geographical features of the park are Hunter Island, Orchard Beach and the lagoon.

Hunter Island

The island is located in the northeast of the park, near Orchard Beach. The island received its name in honor of John Hunter, who died in the middle of the XIX century. His family owned it for half a century.

Initially, the area of ​​the island was 87 hectares. As a result of the implementation of the project of Robert Moses, the island opened Orchard Beach and parking for 6800 cars, baths and a promenade. Hunter’s mansion was demolished. In 1967, the island was declared a zoological and geological reserve . Nowadays, rare oak species grow in it, as well as species such as heichera and geranium ^[4] .

Rodmans Nek Peninsula

is located south of Orchard Beach between and City Island . He got his name by the name of the landowner Samuel Rodman, who lived here in the XVIII century.

At the beginning of the 20th century, baths and picnic areas were opened on the Rodmans Neck. During World War I, the U.S. Navy used the peninsula as a training ground. Throughout the 1920s, Rodmans Neck was again used for recreational purposes. In the early 1930s, the New York Police Academy conducted summer training in the south of the peninsula. At the end of that decade, Rodmans Neck was connected to Hunter Island, which thus became a peninsula. In 1950, US Army barracks were built on the territory occupied by the Academy. They stood for several years, after which in 1960 the Academy arranged a permanent shooting range on the peninsula ^[7] .

Orchard Beach

At the beginning of the 20th century, the area now occupied by the beach has become a popular camping site. Over time, there has developed its own infrastructure, including street cleaning and garbage collection, fire department and even ice delivery.

The place was liked by the town planner Robert Moses, who decided to establish a city beach here in the mid-1930s. As a result, a promenade about 15 wide and about 430 meters long was laid along the lagoon.

The grand opening of the beach took place on July 25, 1936. It was visited by more than 18,000 people. In total for the first weekend the beach received more than 50,000 vacationers.

In 1947, as a result of falling asleep between the islands of Hunter and Twain, the coastline of the lagoon and, accordingly, the beach was significantly increased. It was about 1.8 km.

By the 1970s, as a result of insufficient funding, the beach was desolate. Since the 1980s, however, its restoration began. In the mid -1990s, Mayor Giuliani and Bronx President Fernando Ferrer adopted a multi-million dollar beach development program. As a result, game zones in the southern and northern sections and a covered porch were restored, new pavilions and baths were opened, new lighting was carried out ^[8] .

Lagoon

The Pelem Bay Park lagoon is located between Rodmans Nek and the former Hunter Island. It acquired its modern form as a result of the implementation of the project of authorship of Moses, during which the lagoon lost many islands.

In 1964, qualifying competitions in rowing for the Olympics in Tokyo were held in the lagoon of Pelem Bay Park. ^{[6] The} American rowers brought from Japan two gold and one silver and one bronze medals each.

In 2000, in order to restore the natural barrier environment of the lagoon , New York Mayor Giuliani allocated about half a million dollars to restore its salt marshes . As a result of the work, the ecosystem of the lagoon has significantly enriched ^[3] .

Other Attractions

Glover's Stone

Glover's Rock is located on the west side of Orchard Beach entrance. Before the Europeans arrived, the Indians used it as a natural observation post. At this place on October 18, 1776, a battle was held at Pells Point ^[9] .

Bronx Victory Memorial

The memorial was erected in 1933. It is dedicated to 947 Bronx soldiers who sacrificed their lives in World War I. The monument was designed by architect John Sheridan and sculptors Belle Kinney and Leopold Scholz. The memorial is made of limestone . The dominant feature is the Corinthian column , which is crowned by a gilded figure made in the antique style ^[10] .

Dissected Stone

The split stone ( English Split rock ) is located in the western part of the park near the Thomas Pell Wildlife Sanctuary. It is an ice boulder. According to legend, in August 1643, during an attack by local Indians in the crevice of this stone, religious activist Anne Hutchinson and her daughter Sasanna tried to find refuge. Ann could not survive, but Sassanne was spared, although she was held captive for several years. ^{[11] [12]}

Nearby there is a golf course of the same name ^[13] .

Reserves

There are two nature reserves in Pelem Bay Park: Thomas Pell Wildlife Refuge and Hunter Island Wildlife Refuge. Their total area is 489 acres (about 198 hectares). The reserves are represented by marshy and wooded areas.

Thomas Pell Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the westernmost part of the park. In 1963, municipal services began to bring garbage to this territory. The landfill began to grow rapidly and began to compete with the Freshkills landfill, but thanks to protests by local residents, it was closed already in 1966. And on October 11, 1967, Mayor Lindsey signed a decree on the establishment of a wildlife sanctuary here. Among the animals that live in the Thomas Pell Wildlife Sanctuary are raccoons , herons , hawks , ibises and coyotes .

Hunter Island Sanctuary is located on the peninsula of the same name, as well as the islands of Tuin, Cat Briar and Tu Tris. It has many boulders that remained after the glacier disappeared 15,000 years ago. The reserve is remarkable for its unique ecosystem for the region ^[14] .

• The Sergeant Joyce Kilmer Triangle and Luke Lang Square are New York's smallest parks.

• Gary D. Hermalyn, Jonathan Kuhn. Pelham Bay Park // The Encyclopedia of New York City / Kenneth T. Jackson, Lisa Keller, Nancy Flood. - 2. - Yale University Press, 2010 .-- 1584 p. - ISBN 0300182570 .
• Barbara La Rocco. Going Coastal New York City. - Going Coastal, Inc., 2004 .-- 305 p. - ISBN 097298030X .
• Katherine Kirkpatrick. Trouble's Daughter, the Story of Susanna Hutchinson, Indian Captive. - New York: Delacorte Press, 1998 .-- ISBN 0-385-32600-9 .