Van
Cortlandt Park
The Friends of Van Cortlandt Park
Recreation
Facilities
Van
Cortlandt House Museum’s corner of Van Cortlandt Park has many recreation
facilities and attractions of note, among them:
Van
Cortlandt Park Golf Club
House 718-543-4595
Opened
in the Summer of 1895, the Van Cortlandt Park Golf Course is America’s first
public course.
The original course of 9 holes was concluded with a conversation piece -
a hole 580 yards long.
The tradition of extreme length has passed the test of time at Van
Cortlandt: The
present course includes two 600-yard par fives, the 2nd and the 12th,
situated side by side, with the 12th hole recreating the original 9th.
In 1899, the course was expanded to 18 holes by Tom Bendelow.
In the 1930’s players arrived by railroad using the old Putnam line, or
by subway exiting within one block of the first tee; a season’s pass cost $10
and a weekend round took six hours - after a five-hour wait!
Today the Van Cortlandt Park Golf course remains an affordable and
accessible option for metropolitan area golfers.
For information on greens fees please call the Golf House at the number
listed above.
Riverdale
Equestrian Center 718-548-4848
Riverdale
Equestrian center is located in Van Cortlandt Park just north of the Broadway
exit off the Henry Hudson Parkway and is easily accessible to public
transportation.
Managed by Rusty Holzer and Ashley Nicoll two former Olympians, the
Equestrian Center offers a wide variety of services including stabling, indoor
and outdoor riding rings as well as leasing and sales of horses.
Program offerings include classes appropriate for young riders, adults at
skill levels from beginner to advanced, refresher classes, and special programs
such as camp -
offered on
weekdays of all major school holidays.
Private, semi-private, and group lessons are also available.
Van
Cortlandt House Museum’s Neighbors
Wave
Hill -
718-549-3200 249th
Street and Independence Street
This
28 acre public garden overlooks the Hudson River and Palisades.
Formerly a private estate, Wave Hill is now one of New York’s 32
city-owned cultural institutions.
Features include gardens, greenhouses, and woodlands.
Services include a café, gift shop, and picnic area.
Walks, workshops, lectures, exhibitions, and performances are all
offered.
New
York Botanical Garden
- 718-817-8700
200th Street at Kazamiroff Blvd.
Explore
250 acres of attractions which include 27 outdoor gardens and plant collections.
Family activities are offered every weekend April through October.
Specials activities include the new 8 acre Everett Children’s Adventure
Garden.
The
Bronx Zoo -
718-367-1010 Bronx
River Parkway exit 6
The
Bronx Zoo is the largest urban zoo in the United States. It is home to more than
5,000 wild animals; many of the endangered or threatened in nature.
They can be seen in spacious naturalistic surroundings which duplicate
their habitats in the wild.
A rehabilitated gorilla environment opened in June of 1999.
Specials programs include guided tours on the Bengali Express monorail
and a holiday illumination in December.
Edgar
Allan Poe Cottage/Valentine Varian House
- 718-881-8900
These
two historic houses are operated by the Bronx
County Historical Society which is headquartered across the street from
Valentine Varian House at 3266 Bainbridge Avenue.
Poe Cottage is the 19th century farmhouse that served as home
to Edgar Allen Poe from 1846 - 1849.
It was here Poe wrote “Annabel Lee” and “The Bells”.
Valentine Varian House is a pre-revolutionary Georgian house, dating
from 1758.
Solidly built of
fieldstone, it houses the Museum of Bronx History.
Bartow-Pell
Mansion - 718- 885-1461
895 Shore Road, Pelham Bay Park
The Bartow-Pell Museum and Historic Site exemplify a type of country living that existed in the northeast Bronx in the early 19th century. Although the mansion’s architect remains unknown, the gracious proportions, richly crafted Greek Revival details, and elegant elliptical staircase suggest the work of a master. Among the names associated with the construction of the house are Minard Lafever, an architect, and John Bolton, a local carpenter, both friends of the Bartow family. The International Garden Club, founded in part to save the Bartow-Pell Mansion, continues to be responsible for all of the interior restoration of the building, its collections, its terrace garden, and its operation as a museum.