Historic House Trust Festival, Bronx Borough

In 1836, Pell family descendant Robert Bartow and his wife, Maria Lorillard, purchased part of the old manor and built a fashionable three-story Greek Revival mansion, with a dramatic freestanding spiral staircase connecting the elegant parlors on the ground floor with the bedrooms above. The Bartow-Pell Mansion was surrounded by pastureland, orchards, and lawns sloping down to the bay.

The family lived in the house for 50 years, until the Bartows’ children sold the estate to the City of New York in 1888 as part of the new Pelham Bay Park. In 1914, the International Garden Club adopted the Mansion as its clubhouse, restoring and enlarging it. The Club installed the elegant terraced gardens in 1916.

In 1936, during one of the hottest summers on record, Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia moved his staff north to Bartow-Pell Mansion and directed the affairs of the City from a phone bank in the basement. Ten years later, in 1946, the Garden Club opened Bartow-Pell Mansion to the public as a museum.

Today, the interiors have been restored to their 19th-century appearance and feature important period furnishings by New York cabinetmakers and painters. Bartow-Pell Mansion is a National Historic Landmark and a New York City Landmark.

Bartow-Pell Mansion is owned by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, operated by the Bartow-Pell Conservancy, and is a member of the Historic House Trust of New York City.

Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum
Pelham Bay Park
895 Shore Road
Bronx, NY 10464
(718) 885-1461

Directions
Subway: #6 subway to Pelham Bay Station, then #45 Westchester Bee Line bus to museum gates (no bus on Sundays)

Hours
Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday: 12pm - 4pm.

Isaac Valentine, a prosperous blacksmith and farmer from Yonkers, built the two-story Georgian house out of the native stone on his land. The House’s location provided Valentine with access to crop markets in New York and with plenty of business as a blacksmith as carts and carriages flowed steadily past his door on the way to the King’s Bridge and Manhattan. During the Revolutionary War, however, a different sort of traffic swept through the neighborhood as the British and Colonial armies contested possession of the bridge and road.

Isaac Varian bought the House and 260-acre farm from Valentine’s creditors in 1792. After Varian’s death in 1820, his son Michael took over; in 1893, Michael’s son Jesse became the third generation to own and operate the farm.

By the end of the 1890s, rapid development made it nearly impossible to farm in the area. In 1904, Jesse Varian sold his lands to a developer. William F. Beller bought the House and the small parcel of land surrounding it at auction in 1905, and maintained the House on its original site for 60 years. To preserve the House, Beller’s son, William C. Beller, donated it to The Bronx County Historical Society in 1965.

The Bronx County Historical Society restored the Valentine-Varian House and continues to operate it as the Museum of Bronx History. Exhibitions and public educational programs focus on the borough’s changes over time.

Valentine-Varian House is owned by the Bronx County Historical Society and is a member of the Historic House Trust. Its operation is made possible in part by public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Valentine-Varian House
Varian Park
3266 Bainbridge Avenue at East 208th Street
Bronx, NY 10467
(718) 881-8900

Directions
Subway: D to Bainbridge Avenue and 205th Street or #4 to Mosholu Parkway.
Bus: Bx10, Bx16, Bx28, Bx30, Bx34, Bx38; from Manhattan, MTA Express Bus BxM4.

Hours
Saturday, 10am - 4pm; Sunday, 1pm - 5pm. Groups by appointment.

Admission
Adults $5; Seniors, Students, & Children $3.

**Poe Cottage is presently closed to undergo an extensive restoration**

During the restoration, you are invited to visit the exhibition

“Edgar Allan Poe – The New York Years”

The Valentine-Varian House
3266 Bainbridge Avenue at East 208th Street,
The Bronx

Museum Hours
Saturdays: 10AM-4PM, Sundays: 1PM-5PM
Weekdays and group tours by appointment

Admission
Adults: $5, Students/Children/Seniors: $3

Directions
D Train to Bainbridge Avenue and 205th Street
or 4 Train to Mosholu Parkway
Bus: Bx10, Bx16, Bx28, Bx30, Bx34, Bx38
or the BxM4 express from Manhattan

For additional information or to schedule a group tour call (718) 881-8900

Merchant Jacobus Van Cortlandt began purchasing land in the Bronx in 1694. Gradually, he developed the property into a wheat plantation with extensive milling operations. Jacobus’ son Frederick inherited the estate and commissioned the present house in 1748. The House was built in the Georgian style out of native fieldstone, and its elegant interior speaks to the family’s wealth and refinement.

During the Revolutionary War, the House’s location between Broadway and the Albany Post Road gave it a strategic position in the conflict. The House and plantation were occupied by Colonial and British armies in turn. General George Washington is known to have stayed in the House at least twice, as did British General Sir William Howe.

Van Cortlandt descendants lived in the House until 1886, when they sold the entire estate to the City of New York for Van Cortlandt Park. In 1896, The National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York restored the House as a museum of 18th-century life. As New York City’s first historic house museum, Van Cortlandt House contains an outstanding collection of furniture and decorative arts, including many heirlooms donated back to the house by members of the Van Cortlandt family.

Van Cortlandt House Museum is a National Historic Landmark and both its interior and exterior have been designated New York City Landmarks.

Van Cortlandt House Museum is owned by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, operated by The National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York, and is a member of the Historic House Trust.

Van Cortlandt House Museum
Van Cortlandt Park
Broadway at West 246th Street
Bronx, NY 10471
(718) 543-3344

Directions
Subway: #1 to 242nd Street
Bus: Bx9 to West 244th Street

Hours
Tuesday - Friday, 10am - 3pm; Saturday & Sunday, 11am - 4pm. Visitors should arrive at least a half an hour before the posted closing time so they may fully enjoy their visit.

Admission
Adults $5; Students & Seniors, $3, Children under 12 are free.
Admission is free on Wednesdays.