Hopkins Garage Property Became Trestle Field Park on Pelhamdale Avenue in the Village of Pelham Manor

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Trestle Field is a lovely small park in the Village of Pelham Manor located just southeast of the New Haven Branch Line tracks now used by Amtrak and various freight services.  The park once was the location of “Pelham Manor Garage,” a business operated in its early days by George Hopkins, President, and Lee Gregory.  Often referenced as “Hopkins Garage” and, later, the “Pelham Service Center,” the business opened on the site in 1931 with the address of 1100 Pelhamdale Avenue and the phone number of Pelham 1700.  The business offered complete automotive services as well as towing services and taxi services.  Cf. Pelham Manor Garage [Advertisement], The Pelham Sun, Jun. 22, 1934, p. 3 (but pages unnumbered), col. 2.

The Pelham Manor Garage was a two story brick building with a one-story set of three service bays attached to it.  It stood on Pelhamdale Avenue directly opposite today’s Manor Circle.  Today’s posting to the Historic Pelham Blog details a little of the history regarding how Hopkins Garage eventually became the Village of Pelham Manor park known informally as “Trestle Field.”

Hopkins Garage, 1100 Pelhamdale Avenue in an Undated

Photograph Taken in About 1952.  Photograph Courtesy

of The Office of The Historian of The Town of Pelham.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Advertisement for the Pelham Manor Garage Published in the

Nov. 3, 1939 Issue of The Pelham Sun.  Source:  If Your Car

Could Vote? [Advertisement], The Pelham Sun, Nov. 3, 1939,

p. 7, cols. 5-8.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Partial View of Village of Pelham Manor Park Known

as "Trestle Field Park," Shown in August 2012.  The

Split Rail Fence Since Has Been Removed.  Source:  Google

Maps Street View Image.  NOTE:  Click Image To Enlarge.

For many years, the park informally known today as Trestle Field was owned by the County of Westchester.  The County’s acquisition of the property appears to have been part of the early planning for the development of the major thoroughfare that eventually became I-95 (the New England Thruway).  As early as 1925, Westchester County proposed a “Pelham-Port Chester Parkway” along today's New England Thruway route in lower Westchester County, established a commission, and appropriated some funds.  The commission then began to acquire land.  

The property known today as Trestle Field was acquired by the County and became part of the anticipated right-of-way of the Pelham-Port Chester Parkway.  By at least 1931, the lot had been leased and an automotive garage had been built on the property  – Hopkins Garage.

Despite the Great Depression, the little garage thrived over the next fifteen years.  By the mid-1940s, however, Pelham Manor was facing a crisis due to a lack of parks and recreational properties at a time it also was facing an exploding population during the post-war, baby-boom years.  During the tenure of Pelham Town Supervisor George Lambert, a proposal to have the Town of Pelham acquire the Hopkins Garage property from Westchester County for recreational purposes began to gain steam.  Because three municipal bodies were involved – the County of Westchester, the Town of Pelham, and the Village of Pelham Manor – the issues surrounding such a transaction were somewhat thorny.  The parties worked to address those thorny issues for five years – from 1946 until 1951 (well into the tenure of Gordon Miller who succeeded George Lambert as Town Supervisor).

What seems to have broken the three-way log jam?  It turns out that the Town of Pelham and the Village of Pelham Manor had something that the County wanted – slivers of land near the Hutchinson River Parkway and Boston Post Road that the County wanted to take for improvements to allow ingress and egress from the Hutchinson River Parkway at that location.  While the Town of Pelham wanted to turn over the property to the Village of Pelham Manor, it wanted to condition that transfer on a requirement that the Village of Pelham Manor make the property available only for recreational purposes. 

By the spring of 1950, the likelihood of a three-way deal seemed so certain that the Village of Pelham Manor included in its budget for the upcoming fiscal year $1,000 to fund demolition of the Hopkins Garage.  One year later, during the spring of 1951, architects’ sketches depicting the proposed park development were submitted to the Westchester County Park Commission for consideration in connection with the proposed transaction which required approval by the Westchester County Board of Supervisors.  Interestingly, plans in 1951 called for installation of tennis courts and handball courts on the property.  During a meeting held on Monday, August 6, 1951, the County Board of Supervisors approved the proposed transaction. 

By the spring of 1952, the transaction was nearly complete.  The Village of Pelham Manor included in its budget for the following fiscal year an appropriate of $5,000 “for improving the Hopkins garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue for a recreation area.”  On July 21, 1952, the Town of Pelham received title to the Hopkins Garage property from Westchester County and promptly transferred the deed to the Village of Pelham Manor “on the condition that the 187-by-200 foot area south of the New Haven Railroad Hellgate Division tracks be used for recreational purposes,” among other conditions. 

The following month bids were received for demolition of the Hopkins Garage facilities.  By August 20, 1952, demolition was underway and was completed within weeks, as required by the bid request and contract.

By December of that year, however, plans for the park had changed.  There no longer was talk of tennis courts or handball courts.  Rather, in response to a question from a citizen attending a Village Board of Trustees meeting in December, 1952, Pelham Manor Mayor Chauncey Williams stated that “We intend to plant some grass seed and allow children to play there, but it won’t be an organized place with swings and such.”  Village Trustee C. C. Clavin added that the Village Planning Board unanimously favored an “informal park.” 

An informal park, of course, is precisely what the Hopkins Garage property became.  The tiny little park is still used today for informal touch football games, Frisbee fun, and Tee-Ball practice.  It has become a tiny little oasis adjacent to railroad tracks on an elevated embankment – a place to be enjoyed.

*          *          *          *          *

Below is transcribed text from a large number of articles addressing the issues that are the subject of today’s posting to the Historic Pelham Blog.  Each is followed by a citation and a link to its source. 

“PELHAM MANOR GARAGE IS MOST COMPLETE IN TOWN

-----

George Hopkins Has Always Found That Motorists Appreciate Good Service.

-----

Garages Are So Numerous throughout Westchester County that only one that can offer a service that is above the average will appeal to the motoring public.  To be successful in this business today a garage must offer the best in service and equipment.

At the Pleham Manor Garage located at 1100 Pelhamdale avenue, patrons not only get the best courteous service – they also get the lowest prices available and the very best of expert workmanship.

Mr. George Hopkins, under whose management the Pelham Manor Garage is operated has always maintained his establishment along lines that appeal to the exacting motorists.  For general repairs to any make of car this garage has long been considered one of the best equipped in town and also one that employs expert mechanics, men who thoroughly understand the repairing of motors, and who can do the job correctly and promptly.

Pelham Manor Garage has in stock a large assortment of all automobile accessories, tires, etc., is fully equipped for battery service and ignition work, and is known to do a very complete and satisfactory job of greasing and washing of cars. 

George Hopkins has long been known for the efficient and courteous taxicab service he offers the public which is available day and night regardless of weather conditions.

Here is a garage that can be depended upon at all times for the many services that a real garage should offer the motoring public.  George Hopkins has won numerous friends throughout the community by his conscientious and satisfactory methods of doing business.  His advice on automobiles is worth listening to and equally worth hearing.  Close personal attention and supervision to every detail of the business has attributed much to his past success with the Pelham Manor Garage.”

Source:  PELHAM MANOR GARAGE IS MOST COMPLETE IN TOWN --- George Hopkins Has Always Found That Motorists Appreciate Good Service, The Pelham Sun, May 18, 1934, p. 16, col. 6.

“NEON EYE TELLS YOU ALL SAYS HOPKINS

-----

Faulty wheels and bent axles will soon be a thing of the past for Pelham’s autoists, according to an announcement made this week by George Hopkins, proprietor of Pleham Manor Garage.

Mr. Hopkins has installed, at considerable expense, two gilgadgets which promise to make any car tread the straight and narrow path.

The first, and most intriguing to this reporter, is a machine with a neon eye.  Said eye unerringly points out any spot on any wheel which is out of balance.  In other works sight unseen it can tell you there’s a blowout patch in that right front tire and it is causing the annoying shimmying that suddenly developed out of nowhere.

The second installation is an axle press.  We hadn’t known before, but Mr. Hopkins explained that when an axle is damaged, customary procedure is to remove the axle from the car, heat it, and then straighten out the kinks by hand.

Mr. Hopkins’ new machine grabs the care in a giant grip and straightens the bent axle without heat and without removing the axel from the chassis and what’s more, says George, it dos the job to the same close tolerance as the original factory specifications. 

Aside from the safety factor which these two machines increase, Mr. Hopkins sounds an economy note by pointing out that tires and axles properly lined up, result in almost twice as much tire mileage as is possible when a car has defective wheels and axles.

Mr. Hopkins’ garage is a Pelham Manor landmark at 1100 Pelhamdale Avenue where he has made plenty of friends during the last nine years.”

Source:  NEON EYE TELLS YOU ALL SAYS HOPKINS, The Pelham Sun, Feb. 23, 1940, p. 8, cols. 6-7. 

“Manor Board Adopts Budget Of $341,871

PELHAM MANOR – A gross budget of $341,871.17 for the coming year was adopted unanimously by the Village Board of Trustees last night after a public hearing . . . [Portions of article omitted]

The only special appropriations for the coming year are purchase of a leaf loader for about $3,000, and allowance of $1,000 for demolition of Hopkins Garage when the ‘clover leaf swap’ is realized, the Mayor said. . . .”

Source:  Manor Board Adopts Budget Of $341,871, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Apr. 25, 1950, p. 4, cols. 3-4.

“Pelham Nears Victory In Long Campaign For Playfield Space

PELHAM – Nearly five years of effort to obtain transfer of County-owned land in Pelham Manor to the Town of Pelham for recreation purposes was believed to be approaching fruition today. 

Architects’ sketches showing proposed development of the Hopkins Garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue adjacent to the New Haven branch line, have been submitted to the Westchester County Park Commission. 

The request for transfer will go before the County Board of Supervisors in about a month’s time and the grant should be obtained before the end of the year, County officials estimated today.

After existing buildings on the property are demolished, plans call for installation of tennis and handball courts on the 200-by-200-foot area to be acquired from the County, with the additional utilization of an adjacent plot 25-feet wide owned by the Town and Village.

Action on the long-delayed transfer is the second recreation project to be crystalized within the past two weeks.  Last week the Board of Education announced plans to purchase and acre-and-a-half of land fronting on Wolf’s Lane, for the purpose of extending high school athletic facilities.

The Hopkins garage property would be the second plot acquired from the County.  Last year title to Parkway Field was received after similar negotiations.

The garage area is owned by the County as a portion of the former right-of-way of the Pelham Port Chester Parkway, and will be given to Pelham in return for land on Boston Post Road, Pelham Manor which is required for construction of a parkway clover-leaf.  The transaction involves three municipal bodies, the County, the Village of Pelham Manor, and the Town of Pelham.

Suggestion to acquire the area for recreation purposes was made when the late George Lambert was Town Supervisor, and negotiations have continued during Supervisor Gordon Miller’s term of office.

The County had been awaiting actual field plans for development of the land because the transfer was dependent upon approval of its use by the Parkway Commission, George Haight, superintendent of parkways, explained today.”

Source:  Pelham Nears Victory In Long Campaign For Playfield Space, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], May 25, 1951, p. 14, cols. 3-4.

“Second Playfield Planned . . . .

The latest undertaking is expected to be completed very soon.  This is the five-year effort to have the county-owned Hopkins Garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue adjacent to the New Haven branch line, transferred to Town ownership.

The request for transfer is due to come up before the County Board of Supervisors next Monday.  This would be the second plot acquired from the county.  Last year, title to Parkway Field was received after similar negotiations.

After existing buildings on the property are demolished, plans call for the installation of tennis and handball-basketball courts on the 200-by-200 plot.  It will be the first playfield for Pelham Manor.”

Source:  Second Playfield Planned, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 1, 1951, p. 12, col. 1.

“North Pelham – Town Board Feud on B-W Rubble On New Tack

*     *     *  [Portions of article omitted.]

The so-called Hopkins Garage transaction is on the agenda for action by the County Board of Supervisors next Monday, Supervisor Miller reported.  At the same time the board acknowledged a formal request from the Village of Pelham Manor to turn that section over to the Town.

The area, a 200-foot plot fronting Pelhamdale Avenue just east of the New Haven branch line in Pelham Manor is slated for use as a Town recreation area with facilities similar to those at Sixth Street field, North Pelham.  The land will be deeded to Pelham by the County in exchange for another area in Pelham Manor required by the County for construction of a Hutchinson River Parkway clover-leaf. . . .”

Source:  North Pelham – Town Board Feud on B-W Rubble On New Tack, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 31, 1951, p. 1, cols. 1-2.

“Manor Budget Of $409,213 Set – Tax $11.75

PELHAM MANOR – The Pelham Manor Village Board adopted a gross budget of $409213.77 with a tax rate of $11.75 . . . [Portions of the article omitted].

The budget also allots $5,000 for improving the Hopkins garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue for a recreation area. . . .”

Source:  Manor Budget Of $409,213 Set – Tax $11.75, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Apr. 8, 1952, p. 13, col. 5.

“Pelham Gets Hopkins Property From County, Deed To Manor

PELHAM – The Town of Pelham received title to the Hopkins Garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue from the County yesterday and transferred the deed to the Village of Pelham Manor. 

Action was taken by the Town Board on the condition that the 187-by-200 foot area south of the New Haven Railroad Hellgate Division tracks be used for recreational purposes.  The land was acquired from the County in return for property at the Boston Post Road and Hutchinson River Parkway to be used for a traffic clover-leaf.

The Town also imposed the conditions that the Village of Pelham Manor pay the Town $5,943.26, which is its share of the profit from the sale of property on Secor Lane; that the Village release its interest in certain lots along Eastchester Creek, and that the buildings on the Hopkins Garage property be demolished within 90 days. 

Supervisor Gordon Miller said that he will recommend that the property on Eastchester Creek be set aside for public use, preferably a town dock.”

Source:  Pelham Gets Hopkins Property From County, Deed To Manor, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 22, 1952, p. 3, cols. 6-7. 

“Post Road Repaving Delayed, Work To Start After Sept. 1

PELHAM MANOR – . . . [Portions of article omitted].

Bids also will be received Saturday for the demolition of buildings on the Hopkins Garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue, adjacent to the Hellgate Branch of the New Haven Railroad.

The area, which was acquired recently from Westchester County, will be developed as a park.  Specifications call for the present buildings to be razed within 60 days of the awarding of the contract.”

Source:  Post Road Repaving Delayed, Work To Start After Sept. 1, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 5, 1952, p. 11, cols. 3-4. 

“Manor Starts Work On Park, Approves Site For Another

PELHAM MANOR – Village plans for two new parks moved closer to reality this week as work was started on one project and the Planning Commission gave preliminary approval for acquisition of land for the second.

John P. Batchelder, Village Clerk, reported yesterday that demolition of the buildings on the Hopkins Garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue is underway.  The 187 by 200-foot area south of the New Haven Railroad Hellgate Division will be converted into a park. 

The Town of Pelham, which first acquired the property, turned it over to the Village on the condition that it be used for recreation. 

Plans for acquiring a 10 by 200-foot lot on the northwest corner of Esplanade and Boston Post Road were approved by the Planning Commission Monday.  Final acceptance will be made at the Sept. 8 meeting of the Village Trustees. 

The Post Road park proposal was included in plans for subdivision of a portion of the property owned by Mrs. R. C. Black, whose 40-room mansion is being torn down to make room for a new development.

Included in the plan is the construction of one-family homes by dividing the 375 by 838-foot tract into seven lots, and building a new street from the Esplanade into the interior of the development.

At the Planning Commission’s public hearing, Harry D. Wright of 640 Esplanade advocated purchase of an adjacent lot at the site to give the Village additional park space.  The Village acquired land on the two east corners of the intersection several years ago.”

Source:  Manor Starts Work On Park, Approves Site For Another, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 20, 1952, p. 3, cols. 5-6.

“Manor Extends Concession On Plant Bus Stop

PELHAM MANOR – Fordham Transit Company buses wil be allowed to pick up and discharge passengers at the corner of Pelham Parkway and Boston Post Road for another six months.

The Village Board of Trustees extended permission, which was first granted July 10 for the benefit of defense workers employed by East Coast Aeronautics, Inc. and Rusciano Construction Company on Pelham Parkway.  The Board agreed that defense needs are continuing.

The trustees passed a resolution endorsing a bill being submitted to the State legislature by the Mayors Conference of the State of New York, and supported by the Westchester County Village Officials Association, authorizing study of the relationship between town and village governments.

The study is being made with a view to eliminating duplication of effort and expense often involved with overlapping governmental bodies.

A representative of the Pelham Citizens Committee who inquired what the village intended to do with the Hopkins Garage property on Pelhamdale Avenue was told it will be made into a park.  ‘We intend to plant some grass seed and allow children to play there, but it won’t be an organized place with swings and such,’ said Mayor Chauncey Williams.

Trustee C. C. Clavin said the village planning board unanimously favored an informal park.  The board emphasized that the property will remain under the direct jurisdiction of the village.  The Committee representative also described briefly plans for developing Parkway Field.”

Source:  Manor Extends Concession On Plant Bus Stop, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Dec. 23, 1952, p. 5, col. 6.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."