15.3 miles north of Grand Central on the Harlem Line, lies the station of Bronxville – located in the village of Bronxville, and the town of Eastchester. It is one of the more heavily used stations on the line, only Scarsdale and White Plains get more commuters. The railroad has had a presence in Bronxville since 1844, and like many of the suburbs along the line, grew significantly because of it. Bronxville is relatively small – the village is only one square mile, and has a population of around 6,500. It is not only one of the most affluent areas on the Harlem Line and Westchester, it is certainly one of the more affluent areas in the entire country.
Architecturally Bronxville’s station is very different than the tudor-style stations seen at other locations such as Hartsdale and Scarsdale. It was built in Mission Revival style, taking after the Hotel Gramatan, which was built in Bronxville in 1905. Mission Revival is more common in the west and specifically in California – and now that the hotel it was modeled after was torn down in the 1970’s – Bronxville station looks a little bit out of place stylistically. Nonetheless, it is still a beautiful building, and although the inside has seen many changes, the outside is very similar to how it was when completed in 1917. Unfortunately the Saturday I visited the station building was not open, so I never got to see how exactly that inside looked.
The architect for the station was A.F. Haldeman, and not much is known about him. It is possible that he was an architect on the staff of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. The only other projects I have seen him referenced in are a freight house in Manhattan, which most likely no longer exists, work on the Port Morris railroad yard, and stairwells for the Harlem station.
For an amusing bit of history, be sure to check out this newsreel video of Bronxville from 1933, Loving husbands face jail for kissing wives:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZfUa4pj-eM]
And here are a couple of views of the station in 1988:
Bronxville is a lovely station! I wish some of the other Harlem line stations were so pretty.
When passing through Bronxville I always notice the elevator.
The western part of the village is up on a hill (a cliff, really) and there’s an elevator shaft from the lower level to the upper. I wonder, is it operational 24 hours a day? By seven days? Do they charge a quarter to use it? Did Joseph P. Kennedy (Jack’s dad and a former Bronxville resident) ever ride that elevator?
This is why I don’t read while riding the Harlem line.
Ooops! Sorry! It’s on the EASTERN part. Well, I’m left-handed.
What’s the source of the 1988 photos?
The Library of Congress’ Historic American Buildings Project. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/habs_haer/
Thank you for the anrtical and pictures.
I am trying to do some research on the hanging metal wall plaque depicting farmers, cattle and wind mill.that you took a picture of in Bronxville. I’m hitting dead ends. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Richard Gerchak