When Did the Last Trolley Car Make its Final Trip in Pelham?

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A quirky "funeral" cortege passed through Pelham on that day long ago.  Bedecked with crepe, the somber procession traveled slowly from the New Rochelle border on Boston Post Road until it reached Pelhamdale Avenue where it turned there toward Colonial Avenue.  

Sadly, few cared.  

Among the few who cared was a handful who understood the significance of the procession.  Others, however, were along for the ride.  They didn't care.  They just wanted to ride the trolley car rather than walk to their destinations. . . . . 

The "cortege" that day was the last trolley car ever to make a trip on Pelham streets.  The date was December 16, 1950.  Thankfully, the press of those days recorded the event for prosperity -- even if only briefly.

Did our forebears truly understand the significance of that day?  Of course.  A photograph confirms that on the final ride of the trolley through Pelham streets, an important sign hung on the car's side.  It read:  "A STREET CAR NAMED EXPIRE."  

A Streetcar Named Desire, of course, was a play written by Tennessee Williams.  Tennessee Williams was one of a handful of the foremost American playwrights of the 20th century.  His play, A Streetcar Named Desire, opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947.  It closed more than two years later.  The work received the Pulitizer Prize for Drama in 1948.  For the next few years, it was an important part of American lore, Broadway legend, and artful drama.  

Everyone that day knew of "A Streetcar Named Desire."  That, of course, is why someone -- no one knows to this day who -- hand-lettered a sign to hang on the side of the A-Line trolley on its last ride through Pelham.  The sign read:  "A STREET CAR NAMED EXPIRE."

The author of the sign showed wit.  Apparently, operators of trolley lines throughout the United States agreed.  

For years thereafter, as trolley cars ended their runs across the United States., the last cars to run often carried a familiar sign that read "A STREET CAR NAMED EXPIRE."  Among many examples was the supposed last trolley car in Los Angeles that ran in December, 1952.  It carried a sign reading "The Street Car Named Expire."  So did the last trolley car that ran in Indianapolis about a month later in early January, 1953.   

Once again, Pelham found itself among the nation's leaders. . . . . .

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Below is the text of a number of brief items relevant to today's posting.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"Last Trolley Ends It All

New Rochelle, Dec. 16 (U.P.) -- This suburban town's last trolley car made its final run today.  It carried a sign that read:  'The Streetcar Named Expire.'"

Source:  Last Trolley Ends It All, Brooklyn Eagle, Dec. 17, 1950, 110th Year, No. 346, p. 3, col. 5.  

Photograph of the Last Trolley To Pass Through Pelham

from New Rochelle to Mount Vernon Proceeding West from

New Rochelle, Through Pelham, to Mount Vernon.  In Pelham
the Trolley Passed Along Boston Post Road to Pelhamdale
Avenue and Then Onto Colonial Avenue to Wolfs Lane and
to Mount Vernon.  Caption for the Photograph Appears 
Immediately Below, Followed by a Citation and Link to
its Source:  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

"LAST LONG MILE looms for carbarn-bound 'A' trolley as it starts final leg of run to oblivion, appropriately decked in crepe and prophetic sign, 'A Street Car Named Expire.'  There were few mourners at obsequies here Saturday morning, the principal ceremonies having taken place in New Rochelle. -- Staff Photo."

Source:  LAST LONG MILE, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Dec. 18, 1950, p. 23, cols. 3-5.  

"So from 1930 to 1950 automobile and bus commuters entering New York from Westchester and Fairfield, counties traversed by Route 1, rose by roughly 167 percent, while railroad commuters rose less than 4 percent.  By the end of 1950 a trolley emblazoned as The Streetcar Named Expire made its final run on the Boston Post Road, west from New Rochelle to Pelham, to be replaced thereafter by buses." 

Source:  Jaffe, Eric, The King's Best Highway - The Lost History of The Boston Post Road, The Route That Made America, p. 221 (NY, NY: Scribner, 2010).

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Village of Pelham (Pelham Heights) Bought the Last Property in 1950 to Complete Today's Wolfs Lane Park

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Wolfs Lane Park is a beautiful village park on the east side of Wolfs Lane extending from First Street to Boulevard in the neighborhood of Pelham Heights in the Village of Pelham.  In addition to offering a lovely park for Pelham residents, the little oasis was intended as a buffer between the commercial district along the west side of Wolfs Lane and the quiet residential streets of Pelham Heights extending between First Street and Boulevard.

The park long was known as "Pelham Heights Park" because it is entirely located within Pelham Heights.  See, e.g., THE SITUATION, The Pelham Sun, May 19, 1933, p. 2, cols. 1-2 ("If you are in the habit of taking exercise walks, and wish to walk amid pleasant surroundings, include in your route the Pelham Heights Park along Wolf's lane.").

As early as 1914, the Village of Pelham (today's Pelham Heights) was engaged in efforts to assemble plots to develop park land.  That year, for example, the Village of Pelham scheduled a referendum for voters to authorize issuance of bonds to purchase land along 1st Street between Corlies Avenue and Pelhamdale Avenue not only for recreational purposes, but also to serve as a buffer between the New Haven Line railroad tracks and the residences in Pelham Heights.  See Pelham Heights -- Park Referendum, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 15, 1914, p. 7, col. 1.   

In 1925, there was a major project to widen Wolfs Lane in the area along today's Wolfs Lane Park.  As the project was being completed, the local newspaper reported as follows:  "Wolf's lane, particularly now that it is widened, presents business opportunities that will probably result in the creation of  long 'white way' through this village, continuing on into Fifth avenue, in North Pelham."  See Further Progress On Widening of Wolf's Lane, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Sep. 24, 1925, p. 18, col. 3.  Comments such as these seem later to have prompted local leaders to move toward assembling plots on the east side of Wolfs Lane to serve as a buffer between the planned commercial district along Wolfs Lane.

To create Wolfs Lane Park, however, the Village of Pelham (Pelham Heights) had to assemble a number of parcels that made up the property.  The last property bought by Pelham Heights to complete an extension of the Park between 1st Street and Boulevard was a home that stood at 228 Wolfs Lane owned by Mr. and Mrs. Marvin L. Griffith.  That home once was located roughly across the street from today's Villagio Ristorante and Pizzeria at 229 Wolfs Lane.

The Village acquired that property in November 1950 for $18,800, long after the establishment of Wolfs Lane Park.  In addition to a $1,600 down payment, at the time the Village also paid $2,700 due to a budget surplus, leaving $14,500 due over the following two years.  See Pelham Heights Shows Finance Gain Despite Cash Shrinkage, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Mar. 8, 1951, p. 3, cols. 5-6.  

The Village did not move or tear down the building immediately.  For a time, a proposal to move the building across Wolfs Lane and use it as a Teen Recreation Center for the youth of Pelham.  Nothing, however, came of that proposal.  See Teen-Age Recreation Center Site On Wolf's Lane Debated, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Apr. 3, 1951, p. 3, cols. 3-4. 

Shortly after acquiring the home, the Village agreed to allow the tenants to remain on a month-to-month basis.  The village also rented the second floor of the house for use by a Civil Defense organization that served all three villages as the Cold War intensified, at least until 1953.  See Pelham Village Board Studies Proposed New Traffic Light, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Jun. 20, 1951, Second Section, p. 3, cols. 3-4.  

Within a few years, the home at 228 Wolfs Lane was gone and the entirety of lots between 1st Street and Boulevard had been cleared to make way for Wolfs Lane Park as we know it today.


For the last three years the Village of Pelham and its residents have been working hard to redesign the park in a way that would allow its use in a more dynamic way.  A portion of the redesign is being funded by a $647,000 grant facilitated by State Senator Jeffrey Klein from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), New York State's facilities finance and construction authority.  As part of the redesign, a new, recently-completed children's play space designated "Woodland Park" has been donated by the Junior League of Pelham.

To learn more about the proposed redesign of Wolfs Lane Park, see the following:

Wolfs Lane Park Redesign Master Plan (May 2016) (visited Jul. 2, 2016).

Wolfs Lane Park Redesign Detailed Drawings by Area (May 2016) (visited Jul. 2, 2016).

Wolfs Lane Park Redesign Timeline (visited Jul. 2, 2016).  

Saratoga Associates Presentation on Redesign of Wolfs Lane Park (Mar. 3, 2015) (visited Jul. 2, 2016).

Saratoga Associates Presentation on Redesign of Wolfs Lane Park (Oct. 21, 2014) (visited Jul. 2, 2016).

Village of Pelham, New York Wolfs Lane Park Redesign Page (visited Jul. 2, 2016).

Detail from 1914 Map Showing Area of Today's Wolfs

Lane Park.  Note that in 1914, Only One Home Stood

on the East Side of Wolfs Lane at About the Very Location

of 228 Wolfs Lane, the Last Structure Acquired by the 

Village of Pelham in November 1950 to Complete the Park.

Source:  "Pelham" in G. W. Bromley & Co., Atlas of Westchester

County, N.Y. Pocket, Desk and Automobile Edition, Vol. I,

pp. 124-25 (NY, NY:  G. W. Bromley & Co., 1914).

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Below is the text of an article announcing the purchase of the last lot needed to complete the creation of Wolfs Lane Park.  It is followed by a citation and link to its source.  

"Pelham Buys Wolf's Lane Property For Park Extension

PELHAM -- 

The last threat of possible encroachment by commercial ventures on the east side of Wolf's Lane was removed last night when the Village Board of Trustees arranged for the purchase of the sole remaining house along a stretch of land extending from First Street to the Boulevard.  The entire area will be set aside for a municipal park.  

The property, sold to the village for $16,000 by Mr. and Mrs. Marvin L. Griffith is located at 228 Wolf's Lane and the house, reported by Trustee Dudley Wilson to be in good condition, will be resold if possible.  Bids will be taken in the near future, the Board indicated.

A down payment of $1,600 has been made, with the balance of the purchase price to be paid when title is taken on or about Dec. 12, and the $14,000 balance will be financed by a capital note, one-half payable within one year and the remainder over the succeeding two years.

Tenants Must Move

Tenants now occupying the house in which Mr. and Mrs. Griffith lived until they moved to Pennsylvania a year ago, will be notified that they must vacate by July 1, the Board indicated.  The structure if sold will be moved to another site, and the land will provide for the extension of the park development started by the village some years ago.

The Board also discussed the possibility of creating a single assessment roll for the three villages, and sked Clifton Hadley, Village Attorney, to confer with Town Attorney Emanuel Schwartz.  Mayor Arthur Boal reported Pelham Manor had indicated its willingness to discuss the project if an entirely new assessment roll were prepared by a group of experts.

In a resolution directed to the New York State Liquor Authority, the Board opposed granting a liquor license to the Village restaurant at 105 Wolf's Lane, and urged the Authority to reject the application now pending.

Scout Program Set

Use of the Courtroom at Village Hall was granted to Boy Scout Troop 7 for a program on Dec. 6 upon the recommendation of Trustee Edward Freeman, and Trustee Wilson was given permission to use the room, for a weekly course in citizenship he will conduct for Boy Scouts beginning in January.  At least twenty Scouts have already signed up, he reported and the course will be of six weeks duration this year instead of three.

Walter Gruse, provisional chief of police, was appointed dog enumerator for the annual canine census to be conducted in December."

Source:  Pelham Buys Wolf's Lane Property For Park Extension, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Nov. 22, 1950, p. 5, cols. 4-5.  

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

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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.

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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.

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Town Board Considered Renovation of "Stink Field" to Create Parkway Field (Today's Glover Field) in 1952

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The field complex known today as "Glover Field" took many years -- and one failed school bond vote -- to plan and construct.  By 1935, additions to the original Pelham Memorial High School complex required the School Board to cannibalize the adjacent athletic fields.  Thereafter, the High School had no varsity sports fields whatsoever as the Great Depression roared. Indeed, for years, Pelham varsity teams played most games "away."  Occasionally, they played "home" games.  (Typically that meant that they played on fields in Mount Vernon.)  Additionally, varsity teams had to practice on fields in Mount Vernon.

During the 1940s, however, the Town of Pelham arranged with the Westchester County Park Commission to allow the use of a large swath of land sandwiched between the Hutchinson River Parkway and the Hutchinson River for athletic fields.  The acreage included a large swampy lagoon.  In addition, a Westchester County sewage pumping station stood directly across the Hutchinson River from the field.  Nearby there also was an incineration plant that routinely emitted noxious odors.  The lagoon, sewage pumping station, and incineration plant combined to give the land its time-honored epithet:  "Stink Field."  

The moniker "Stink Field" was first applied by the students attending Pelham Memorial High School during the 1940s.  Members of the Board of Education first learned of the "Stink Field" label during a School Board meeting held in April, 1945 when they asked the high school principal what the kids who used the field thought of it.  According to a published account, the principal "hemmed and hawed a little, then said, 'If you must know they call it Stink Field.'"  Apparently the name was accurately descriptive.  According to one published account, when the tide was out and, thus, the waters of the Hutchinson River were low, there was a stench in the area that made "passers-by retch and gawk."

At first, Stink Field was leased from the Westchester County Park Commission via five-year leases.  Slowly, Pelham organizations poured money into trying to maintain the poorly drained, swampy field to give high school athletes and the children of Pelham a place to play.  Citizens of the Town, however, began to complain about the money being spent to try to maintain fields that, essentially, could not be maintained in a playable condition.  Finally, in 1949, Pelham acquired the entire swath of land from the Westchester County Park Commission in the hope of improving the land for recreation.     

I have written about the history of the creation of Parkway Field, now known as Glover Field, before.  See Tue., Feb. 23, 2010:  A Brief History of the Development and Unveiling of Parkway Field in 1955 -- Known Today as Glover Field.  Part of that history includes the involvement of the Board of Education in the creation of The Pelham Citizens Committee, an advisory committee made up of representatives from virtually all citizen organization then in existence in the Town of Pelham.  

The Board of Education assisted with the creation of that Committee after the first failed bond proposal.  Thereafter, the School Board and members of that Committee worked tirelessly to gain passage of a second bond proposal to authorize the sale of $350,000 worth of bonds to fund development of a sophisticated athletic complex our of an area once described as a "barren, hilly strip of land with a 'field' which exuded rocks and broken glass -- a 'field' which became a swamp after heavy rains."  

The second bond proposal referendum was held on October 29, 1953.  The proposal passed by an overwhelming 6 to 1 margin in what was, at that time, the largest taxpayer vote turnout in Pelham's history.  Over the next two years, the School Board planned and constructed what was then considered to be a world-class athletic facility that opened on October 15, 1955.

Detail from First Page of the Program Issued on the Occasion

of the Dedication of "Parkway Field" (Today's Glover Field)

on October 15, 1955.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes a series of pertinent articles including one published in late 1952 describing an appearance of the Pelham Citizens Committee before the Town Board of the Town of Pelham to lay out the initial plans for the creation of Parkway Field.  Based on landscape designs prepared by landscape architect Webster Cosse and a contractor's estimate from a local builder named Carl Capra, the Citizens Committee estimated that work to construct the field would total $52,700, plus the expense of seeding the area.  The text of that article and others appears immediately below, each followed by a citation to its source.

"Committee Lays Parkway Field Renovation Plan Before Board

PELHAM -- The Pelham Citizens Committee laid its plans for Parkway Field before the Town Board last night.  William B. Shaw said the committee already has received one contractor's estimate to do the entire project for $52,700, and that the development when finished would be 'second to none in the County.'

Supervisor Gordon Miller and the town councilmen said they would review the drawings with members of the Board of Education at a joint meeting set for Tuesday, Jan. 6.

In particular, they queried Mr. Shaw and Carl Capra, builder, who assisted with the plans, about drainage problems at the field and the steps proposed to assure a firm base under the turf.  

'Drainage,' said Councilman Paul R. Larkin, 'has been the main problem on that field.'

Supervisor Miller reminded Mr. Shaw that the Westchester County Park Commission from whom the land was acquired in 1949, also must approve any improvements.  

Shaw Urges Speed

Mr. Shaw recommended that the work be done as soon as possible.  Contractors' prices are lower now than they will be in the Spring when firms are busier, he said.

He also said that Pelham residents will be made well acquainted with the Committee's proposal.  'We are going to appear before every official board and organization in Pelham,' he explained.

The plans aired for the first time last night were drawn by Webster Cosse, landscape architect, who is doing work in New York City and Yonkers.  He is giving his time to the project, Mr. Shaw said, because he subscribes to the belief of the entire committee that Pelham can have an athletic field with facilities for varsity sports and recreation and it need not be prohibitively expensive.

The $52,700 estimate, according to Mr. Shaw, covers everything but seeding.  Surface drainage will be utilized, and any existing problem will be turf over the whole area, he asserted.  

The plans call for grading the area, with considerable fill to be pushed into the lagoon which now is responsible for Parkway Field's time-honored epithet, 'stink field.'  Mr. Shaw said there would be 'about 10 acres on which you can put nearly anything you want.'

Mr. Cosse's plans call for a ball field, baseball and softball fields, a half-mile track with a 200-yard straightaway, a girls' hockey field and a parking space.  A wooded area at the upper end would be left as is.

The Board granted Supervisor Miller authority to obtain any suitable fill to be dumped in the portion of Parkway Field that the Town is attempting to fill in.  Specifically, Mr. Miller had asked permission to use debris from the Black mansion being demolished on Boston Post Road.  

Final payment on the Boston and Westchester demolition will not be made until the contractor removes his steamshovel from the site, Supervisor Miller declared.  He said an allowance of $500 has been made for work which could not be done because insurance coverage expired.  The contractor will allow $100 for ledge rock which remains between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, and $400 for an area not leveled to grade.  This makes $17,500 due on the initial contract of $36,000.

The Board also made two appointments for the coming year, voted its year-end transfer of accounts, fixed salaries for 1953 as covered in the new budget, and amended the town's compensation plan to cover the new pay scale.

Edward F. Hallahan was renamed town assessor and Haskins and Sells were appointed auditors."

Source:  Committee Lays Parkway Field Renovation Plan Before Board, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Dec. 23, 1952, p. 5, cols. 2-4.

"Hutchinson Field Appropriation Is Cause of Split
-----

There was a wordy interchange at the Board of Education on Thursday when the matter of expending more money on the $18,000 Parkway playground was discussed.

Trustee Wm. B. Shaw, chairman of the building and grounds committee, estimated $2,500 would be needed for seed, fertilizer, top soil, embankment and manpower to bring the field into condition and prevent Hutchinson river high tides from flowing over the field.

Chairman Bristol was against the expenditure of large amount.

The playground is leased from the county park commission on a five-year basis.  Across Hutchinson River, which borders it is the county sewage pumping station.  

Trustee Ken Kelly said he did not think much of the field and Trustee Zerbey wanted to call a halt to further expenditures on a dirty, muddy field.

Trustee McIntosh -- I'm not for it.

Trustee Shaw -- You never were for it.  I'm going to get off the Board.  I think I've been on too long.

Trustee Chenery was for putting the requested amount in the budget.  If engineering opinion is favorable to go on with the work.  

Trustee Connolly -- I think we're overlooking one thing.  What do the kids who use the field think?  You can tell us that, Fairclough.  He pointed at the school principal.

Principal Fairclough hemmed and hawed a little, then said, 'If you must know they call it Stink Field.'

'That settles it,' said Trustee Connolly.  'This is recommended by the committee.  Let's put it in the budget.  The budget is not passed yet.  It goes before the public meeting.'  

The Board agreed.  Trustees McIntosh and Zerbey noting an emphatic no."

Source:  Hutchinson Field Appropriation is Cause of Split, The Pelham Sun, Apr. 19, 1945, p. 1, col. 7.

"In The Mail Box

Use Travers Island

To the Editor,
The Pelham Sun,

Dear Sir:  

Much has been said in recent months about the plans for the improvement of the athletic field along the Hutchinson River Parkway in Pelham Manor where the high school athletic teams have been playing varsity games.  As I understand it, the school district has been put to considerable expense attempting to put that field in good condition.  However, no matter what the expense conditions never seem to get any better.  Many of the boys who use the field have suffered severe injuries due to the poor condition of the field.  It seems to me that in times such as these the public funds could be turned to much better use than to pour into a project that gets nowhere.

On the other hand Pelham is not without adequate athletic field facilities, which could be turned over to the school district for varsity athletics with little trouble, it seems to me.  I refer to the athletic field formerly used by the N. Y. A. C. teams at Travers Island.  Here is an athletic plant without equal in this part of the country.  For years the athletic club teams drew large attendances not only from the Pelhams but from all over the metropolitan area.  The Travers Island athletic field is not being used at all now, and I am sure that the Board of Education could with little difficulty, arrange with the athletic club authorities for the temporary use of Travers Island pending other suitable post war arrangements for an athletic field closer to the high school.  True it's not next door to the high school, but it's closer than the athletic fields of many hundreds of other schools or colleges for that matter.

Let's not waste any more money on 'Stink Field.'  In wartime until we can get a new athletic field closer to the school, let our varsity contests be played at Travers Island.  Many champions have been made there.  It will have added inspiration for our young athletes.  Let's get our teams out of the mud and onto a decent playing field.

FORMER PELICAN."

Source:  In The Mail Box - Use Travers Island, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 12, 1945, p. 2, cols. 2-3.  

"MUST BE REMEDIED QUICKLY
-----

It was our unpleasant experience to drive on Hutchinson River Parkway past the Colonial Avenue pond a few nights ago.  The tide was out and the pond was a mass of mud and worse.  From it there arose a stench that makes passers-by retch and gawk.  An open sewer could not have caused a more objectionable odor.

For a good many months The Pelham Sun has called attention to the disgusting conditions prevailing at this point whenever the tide is low.  

The pond adjoins the school recreation field of the High School.  The pupils call the spot Stink Field.  

Heretofore complaints have been met with a helpless gesture by county parkway authorities.  Nothing can be done, they said, until after the war.  Well, the war is over, and the odor remains.  It is a foul, unholy mess that must be remedied before a fearsome disease is bred in its filth.

The adjoining sewage pumping station, we are given to understand, has a bypass, by means of which raw sewage can be discharged into the Hutchinson Creek.  Our olfactory nerves lead us to believe that in some manner or other sewage IS emptying into the stream.  Only in a like manner could such a foul effluent be created.

How long have the residents of adjoining Pelham Manor had to submit to the stench of the pond adjoining Stink Field and the varied but all objectionable odors wafted over them from the Mount Vernon incineration plant?

The time is ripe now that the war is over for an emphatice demand that conditions now existing be remedied quickly.

People have rights and there are health laws on the statute books that guarantee them protection from health endangering conditions.  For years The Pelham Sun has advocated that a hard tidal barrier with an operating gate about six feet wide in the center be constructed in Hutchinson Creek so that a minimum depth of three feet of water could be maintained in Colonial Avenue pond at all times.  This, we believe, would eliminate the foulness of its present conditions.  Otherwise let's have it filled and the creek put into a condition that can be cleaned.

As to the incineration plant, the need for repairs is visible.  The need for better operation is obvious to those living in the vicinity whenever a westerly wind blows.

Both of these unhealthy forms of nuisances can be attacked and remedy demanded.  They are a menace to public health.  We look to the village fathers and the head of the town board to take action right away.  The war is over.  The remedying of these conditions should be the first post-war project."

Source:  MUST BE REMEDIED QUICKLY, The Pelham Sun, Sep. 6, 1945, Vol. 36, No. 21, p. 2, col. 2.  

"Students Urge Parkway Field Expansion In Recreation Parley

PELHAM -- 

Determined that their attempts to speed up action on developing Parkway Field be brought to the attention of all official bodies concerned, delegates from Pelham Memorial High School appeared before the Recreation Commission at its monthly meeting in Town Hall last night.  

The three students, part of a larger delegation which had approached the Town Board previously, indicated their intention of appearing before the monthly meeting of the Board of Education tonight.

Answering a question posed by Commissioner George Erickson, the students said they believed it was important to establish not only a football field but also a wider range of play area for girl students.  The Recreation Commission indicated that the matter would be considered by the joint committee of Town, School and Recreation officials. . . . "

Source:  Students Urge Parkway Field Expansion In Recreation Parley, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Nov. 9, 1950, p. 4, cols. 4-5.  

"Parkway Field Dedicated at Pelham

One of the most important days in recent school history occurred in Pelham during 1955.  

It was the dedication of the community's 11-acre recreation area, Parkway Field, in the process of completion during the past two years at a cost of $350,000.  

Subject of planning (and occasionally sharp public debate) for more than five years, the new field provides a much-needed football field, track, field house, tennis courts, baseball diamond and other facilities.

It was started in October, 1953, under Board of Education auspices and occupies a tract along Eastchester Creek opposite Hutchinson Field, Mount Vernon.  

In addition, the school board during 1955 spent approximately $17,000 for a girls' play area adjacent to Memorial High School.

This area, known as Franklin Field, will consist of two sections, the second scheduled for completion this year.

Building renovation at some schools may be considered, according to school officials, but these projects will not be clarified until preparation of the new budget begins.

A pre-school census recently completed and compiled by the office of Radcliffe Morrill, superintendent of schools, indicates that Pelham will experience a little growth in school population, but not sufficient to warrant expenditure for new buildings or additions."

Source:  Parkway Field Dedicated At Pelham, Yonkers Herald Statesman [Yonkers, NY], Jan. 17, 1956, p. 18A, cols. 5-8.

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