Beauty, history and fun in the Bronx
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from June 2003.
Brought to you by
For visitors to the Bronx, there is a vast range of attractions _ from the aroma of Italian the Fordham University Church, the botanical garden and the Bronx Zoo.
Though most visitors tend to stay in Manhattan, these New York gems are just a short train ride away and well worth the trip. They're also an easy ride for metro day-trippers looking for a brief escape.
From Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, Fordham which comes three spots, some advance planning is necessary.
Fordham University Church, on the Jesuit school's campus, can be seen only via a free, prearranged tour that must be booked at least three weeks in advance.
A magnificent Gothic structure which became a New York City landmark in 1970, the church was built in 1845 as a parish bakeries on Arthur Avenue to the aroma of flowers at the New York Botanical Gardens, from Fordham University to the police station once known as "Fort Apache."
Tucked in a not-so-small corner of the Bronx is Fordham, a place where faith, flora and a flock of Chilean flamingos are all within walking distance. from the Dutch words meaning houses by wading place is five quick stops on the Metro-North rail line; by subway, the No. 2 train to Pelham Parkway is best. Metro-North also offers a package deal for the botanical garden that includes rail and general admission fees.
If you plan to hit all for a farming village founded in the late 1600s by Dutch tobacco merchant John Archer. It recently underwent a dlrs 1.5 million renovation to commemorate its 150th year.
The church's six circa-1846 stained glass windows, depicting St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Matthew, were given to the old St. Patrick's Cathedral in lower Manhattan by France's King Louis Philippe but wound up in the Bronx because they didn't fit.
There's also a story behind the church's famous bell. It reportedly inspired neighbor Edgar Allan Poe to write the poem, "The Bells," which begins extolling the glorious melody but descends into a nerve-racking madness. The bell is still referred to as "Old Edgar Allen."
After getting spiritual solace, visitors can walk several short blocks and drink in the beauty of the 250-acre (100-hectare) New York Botanical Garden, also a National Historic landmark.
The garden was founded in 1891 after Columbia University botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton toured the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, near London, and was inspired to create a similar oasis in New York.
Land that once belonged to tobacco magnate Pierre Lorillard was set aside by the state. Early benefactors included society philanthropists Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. Pierpont Morgan.
After all that serenity, it may be time to make like Dr. Doolittle and talk to the animals, next door at the famed Bronx Zoo, with its 6,000 resident fauna and exhibits like the World of Darkness, Himalayan Highlands and the 6.5-acre (2.6-hectare) Congo Gorilla Forest the next best thing to hopping a silver plane to see the jungle when it's wet with rain.
Stepping into the lush, tropical environment, visitors can mug along with the 300 lowland gorillas, check out African pygmy geese, snort along with Red River hogs and be on the lookout for White Spot Assassin bugs.
Go early if possible, as the Congo forest is among the most popular exhibits among the zoo's 2.2 million annual visitors.
So get out of Manhattan and mangia_or, as they say in the Bronx: Yo' yo, eat up._
