Page 46 - Bronx Chamber of Commerce - 2019 Business Directory & Resource Guide

THE NEW BRONX CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
The Bronx is the only part of New York City that is connected to the mainland of the United States. It is the only borough with the word "The" placed before it. "The Bronx" originated from the name of The Bronx River which received its name from an early European settler named Jonas Bronck.
The Bronx has more parkland than any other borough in New York City. 25% of The Bronx is natural forest. Three of NYC’s ten largest parks are located here: Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx Park and Pelham Bay Park, which is the largest park in NYC at 2,772 acres (more than 3 times the size of Manhattan’s Central Park).
Van Cortlandt House, at 269 years, is The Bronx’s oldest house located in Van Cortlandt Park which is also the home of the country's oldest municipal golf course.
More bridges connect The Bronx to Manhattan than any other borough! One of those bridges, the High Bridge over the Harlem River, is the oldest stand-
ing bridge in the city (1843) – which is older than the Brooklyn Bridge!
The Bronx is a borough of colleges with 13 colleges and universities. Additionally, it has over 60 landmarks and historic districts.
The Third Avenue Business Improvement District at The Hub in Melrose is The Bronx’s oldest shopping district and the busiest intersection outside of Times Square with over 200,000 pedestrians walking through each day!
The Bronx Zoo is the country’s largest metropolitan zoo, with more than 6,000 animals spread across 265 acres in Bronx Park. Before its opening in 1899, the space it occupies was sold to the city of New York by Fordham University for only $1,000!
The Woodlawn Cemetery is more than a graveyard
it's a designated landmark, a bird sanctuary and home of the largest mausoleum in the United States. It is the final resting place of more famous people than any other place in the world. Among the most notable names are: Bat Masterson, Fiorello LaGuardia, Rowland
H. Macy, James Cash Penney, Celia Cruz, F.W. Woolworth, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis.
Hart Island in City Island served as a prison camp for Confederate soldiers. Today, it is known as Hart Is- land Cemetery and it is the largest potter's field in the United States.
The Bronx’s Co-op City is the largest housing complex in the world.
Both John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald lived in The Bronx at one point.
The Bronx has their own arts ensemble, Bronx Arts Ensemble, their own opera company, The Bronx Opera Company, and their own symphony, Bronx Symphony.
The Bronx is responsible for the cultural introduction of rap, salsa, and break-dancing.
Edgar Allan Poe called The Bronx home and you can still visit his cottage. It was here that Poe wrote Annabel Lee, Bells, and several other of his famous poems. It
is rumored that “Bells” was inspired by a big bell that would ring from what is now Fordham University. You can still visit Poe Cottage at 2640 Grand Concourse.
Batman is a Bronxite. Yep, the Dark Knight was born right here in The Bronx by cartoonist Bob Kane who with fellow Bronxite Bill Finger created Batman’s background story. Both Kane and Finger were DeWitt Clinton High School grads.
Speaking of comic book heroes, probably the most iconic name in this genre was Stan Lee who, although born on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, was raised in The Bronx. Lee was also a DeWitt Clinton graduate.
The Bronx High School of Science is an alma mater to more Nobel Prize laureates than any other high school in the U.S.
The iron dome of the U.S. Capitol was cast by the foundry of Janes, Fowler, Kirtland & Company, owned by Adrian Janes in The Bronx.
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2019 BRONX BUSINESS DIRECTORY & RESOURCE GUIDE | THE NEW BRONX CHAMBER OF COMMERCE