Ira Serkes - The Bronx Grand Tour - September 1998

Arthur Avenue Poultry Market

Friendly Folks on Arthur Ave! Don't they look like they've been friends for years?

Arthur Avenue NYC Market

Arthur Avenue NYC Market

Arthur Avenue Market Guard Cat

Fresh Fish

Inside Arthur Avenue Poultry Market It was closed that day (for Rosh Hashana? I doubt it)

Kingsbridge Armory

For Bob Eldridge

For Lillian, Steve & Arthur

Pelham Theater

Friends For over 50 Years

White Castle

White Castle

White Castle

White Castle

Christopher Columbus High School

White Plains Road/Lydig Ave Rail Work

So, my mom and I took off from her apartment on Bronx Park East, and did the grand tour of The Bronx yesterday.

Here's what we did!

Went down Fordham Road to find that advertisement of the Pelham & Luxor Theaters

First stop, White Castle for some belly bombers. World's 2nd slowest service (though not a slow as the Lobster House in City Island). Food was as remembered. Ambience same - a screaming kid and a guy who looked like he was having a very bad hair day. Mom asked three young kids on Roller Blades why they weren't wearing helmets. Said they lived right across the street.

Then... we circled around the old Cadillac dealership looking for the Pelham Theater ad - I was looking up on the walls, and mom saw the poster on the front door at street level. (see photo at http://www.home-buy-sell.com/images/newyorkcity/9809TheBronx/9809TheBronx.html)

Then off to Arthur Avenue and 189th Street, looking for an open bakery and a hardware store (to find a potato baker) No luck, everything closed. Drove down Arthur Avenue and made a left at the poultry market, and to find that old movie theater on the corner. It's now a library!

The plaza east of Sears at Fordham Road is now a bus plaza. Very nicely done. It's a across from the architectural mess (horror, in my mother's words) of the State/City office building.

Heading west, we drove up Fordham Road. Bobkoff's is no more, but the store that's now there still sells jeans. Fordham looks like a wonderful shopping area, lots and lots of people and stores, would have spent some time there but couldn't find a parking spot.

Further up the hill - Gormans' hot dog stand is no more, The Valentine Theater disappeared, and the RKO Fordham is now Lane Bryant? Alexander's - Caldor is now empty. The Dollar Savings Bank is Emigrant. Things change, things stay the same.

A quasi-legal left turn off Fordham got us to the Grand Concourse. The big sign on the corner said (Aprenda Ingles Aqui!) Loew's Paradise still is quite grand, but in disrepair. Looks like work may be underway.

Drove down the Concourse, past Tremont Avenue. All the synagogues are now churches. Got panhandled while waiting for a light. Defied my mom who wanted me to put the window up. Just told him no. Past Concourse Plaza (went to many a bar mitzvah there), Bronx County Courthouse, and Yankee Stadium (was there for a game a few months ago) then finally onto the highway and off for the Willis Avenue/3rd Avenue Bridge to Manhattan.

MANHATTAN

Couldn't find a parking space to save my life. Nearest parking spot for the NY Historical Society (77th & Central Park West) was 7 blocks away. Thought that traffic would be light on Sunday, but it was very heavy all day.

Mom said - stop already, I want a smoke! Finally stopped on 57th Street and West End Avenue, and parked right in front of the Copacabana. Did another UTurn, went east on 57th Street, passed Carnegie Hall (practice, son, practice) and the magnificent Carnegie Tower. The Art Deco Horn & Hardart is now a Planet Hollywood Type Place.

Drove down Park Avenue, tried the see the Villard Houses on Madison, but got stuck behind a tour bus (TourOntario) who couldn't make the turn... and ended up backing up. Decided to keep going south. Through the Helmsley Building, around Grand Central Terminal, down Park Avenue South, then finally, after several turns, made it to 42nd Street. Caught of glimpse of the Chrysler Building (one of the most magnificent buildings in the world - check out the main lobby and wonderful elevator doors by Van Allen?) and the News Building (Raymond Hood, same architect as Rockefeller Center). Down 2nd Avenue (42nd Street was blocked by a sand truck, in honor of President's visit to the Larry Flynt Hall Of Fame), then down to the Queens Midtown Tunnel.

QUEENS

Slow, slow, slow tunnel traffic. Tunnel cop has to be the one of the worst jobs ever. Drove East on the Long Island Distressway - heavy traffic, so went to the Grand Central, and finally to my brother's home for Rosh Hashana dinner with family and friends. My nieces are now pro's with the digital camera and Adobe Photoshop!

Family is off to services, and I'm sitting in the back deck with my mom on Mon, Sep 21, 1998 11:03 AM writing this up.

Welcome To The Serkes Berkeley Real Estate Search Engine We're Ira Serkes CRS, GRI, ABR and Carol Serkes CRS, GRI, local RE/MAX Realtors who have lived in Berkeley, California for over 25 years. We specialize in helping nice folks buy and sell wonderful homes in Berkeley, Albany, Kensington, El Cerrito, Piedmont, Oakland, and Emeryville's most livable neighborhoods. Our site is personally created, developed, and maintained by us - working, full time (and then some) Realtors with extensive experience on the ins and outs of buying and selling an East Bay home. Consider this your new "Home" Page! Our clients tell us they particularly value our site's enormous depth and fast navigation speed. We've added lots of photos and maps of our favorite places, and extensive links designed to to help you buy or sell a home or simply enjoy living in the unique Berkeley and nearby communities. Be sure to bookmark our web site for easy return, and let us know how we can even provide you even better service!
Serkes Berkeley Real Estate Search Engine http://www.home-buy-sell.com Email Berkeleyhomes@home-buy-sell.com or tell us what you want in a home Call Toll Free 800/887-6668, 888/Buy-Berkeley [888/289-2375] or 510/526-6668 RE/MAX Bay Area, 1758 Solano Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94707

Give us a call - we'll treat you like friends!
We'll find you a great place to live by making sure that you don't miss any homes which meet your needs! We specialize in helping nice folks buy and sell pleasant homes in the East Bay's most comfortable neighborhoods, and we offer FREE referral to other outstanding Realtors in the United States.

We Value Your Business And Appreciate Your Referrals
Almost all our clients have been referred to us by their friends, family, local neighborhood Realtor, or found us on the Internet. One of the nice benefits of a referral based business is that we get to work with people who are motivated, financially qualified, highly educated, decisive, pleasant, and have interesting backgrounds (one client won a Gold medal at the Olympics). What's particularly rewarding is how many of our buyers and sellers have become friends. If you're planning to buy or sell a home, we'd appreciate the opportunity to show you how you'll benefit from our services. And, if you know a friend, neighbor, or family member who is buying, selling, or relocating anywhere in the United States, we'll be happy to check our extensive database of highly qualified Realtors and refer you to a great local Realtor.

Ira & Carol Serkes & Nolo Press' "How To Buy A House In California"
Ira Serkes, GRI, CRS - Certified Residential Specialist, co-author of Nolo Press' "How To Buy A House In California," and Carol Serkes, GRI, CRS, are Realtors with the RE/MAX Real Estate network. Call us Toll Free 800/887-6668 or 888/Buy-Berkeley or 510/526-6668 Page design, text, and photos by Ira Serkes Copyright 1998 Maps by Vicinity Corp Copyright 1996 and Etak, Inc. Copyright 1984-1986