The Dittmars Powder Company was an explosives manufacturing company. It's products were used in the building industry as an explosive; and in the hunting industry in the creation of bullets. It was also known as Dittmars Powder Manufacturing Company. It was owned by Carl and Marea (Krueger) Dittmar.
It had been sold and bought back prior to its sale to DuPont, and in 1893 one newspaper article states the owner was Levi Mason. In Baychester it was situated at the corner of Palmer and Stillwell Avenues. On one corner a large mound of dirt was apparent, which is the bunker where they stored explosive materials. On another corner was a large metal building, where they stored their wagons and trucks. Elsewhere in the area is where they mixed the materials to create the explosives. The Dittmar factory had many explosions in it's life in Baychester, breaking windows in all the houses in the neighborhood, and for miles around. The picture on the upper right is of a can of powder used in the creation of bullets. Picture lower right is of a Dittmar truck transporting explosives, 1918 (courtesy E. Rees). For more details, click here. |
There were two places known as The Baychester Inn. The first one (Baychester Inn - Hotel) was across the railroad tracks in 1940. The second one (Baychester Inn - Tavern) was situated on the corner of Boller and Basset Avenues. The picture on the right shows the location of the original Baychester Inn, which was a hotel, in 1940 - see lower left-hand corner. It was owned in 1925 by Rudolph Hoffmann. The address was 2160 Baychester Avenue.
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There were two places known as The Baychester Inn. The first one was across the railroad tracks in 1940. This is the second one, at 2207 Boller Avenue, situated on the corner of Boller and Basset Avenues. It had been renamed Chez Bippy, probably in the late 1960s. This second one was part of the backdrop in the film "The Seven-Ups", in the last 15 minutes of the film. Right is a film still from that movie - commercial use prohibited. In 1942 it was owned by Baychester resident John Kuntner.
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The Hideaway Inn was situated at 2075 Bassett Avenue, between Palmer and Boller Avenues. It was a neighborhood tavern where the locals would spend an evening, as well as people who came to the neighborhood for fishing and boating. It provided for dining and dancing to orchestra music, and also had private catering rooms for weddings and parties. It's Grand Opening was January 31, 1947 by co-owners Joe Fitzpatrick and his partner John McVey. Joe Fitzpatrick was a playwright of over 50 Irish plays, and produced many of them.
In the 1950s-1960s it was open on Sunday afternoons where they hosted dances. Teenagers would come for dancing and drinking sodas. I do not have a picture of The Hideaway Inn. For some newspaper clippings about the cocktail lounge, click here. Joey O'Neil bought the Hideaway Inn in the late 1960s and renamed it The Valley Forge Inn (2200 Boller Avenue). (The address changed, but the building did not move. The original entrance on Bassett Avenue was no longer available as that section of Bassett Avenue no longer existed as a thru-street.) Several years later he sold the business and the new owners renamed it Red Cheetah (seen in picture at right, a clip from the film "The Seven Ups" - commercial use prohibited. |
Newspaper Ad from 1946 - How did anyone find it by that map? Bassett Avenue was parallel to Stillwell Avenue, not perpendicular to it! Note owner is Mr. J. Spero.
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Gus's Barge was a drinking establishment owned by Gus Erikson, a neighborhood resident. Below is an excerpt from an article copied from Wikipedia:
"A tidal estuary reached from the Hutchinson River at the New Haven Railroad along a route just north of Hunter and Boller Avenue to pass under the Hutchinson River parkway. The estuary was the site of boat yards and canoe rental sites in the 50s. A well known restaurant at that site was Gus's Barge, operated by Gus and Francis Erickson. Gus's Barge was a restaurant and a night club featuring jazz combos and other forms of live music. The Erickson's also operated a boat yard that not only rented slips but specialized in refurbishing wooden boats, primarily motor boats made from teak and mahogany. The Erickson's sold their property in 1961 or 62." |
Gus's Barge
Dine and Dance the Ship-Shape Way 2302 Boller Avenue Bronx, New York |
As the shape of Given's Creek changed, so did the location of Stark's. This picture is from the 1940 NY City Tax files. The address at that time was Wright Avenue. You can see the railroad tracks and bridge in the upper right. The bridge was raised (as it is in this picture) to allow barges to pass under it. The owner was a neighborhood man, Walter Stark.
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Nelson's Boats was located across the train tracks. The owner was Harry Nelson. No one named Nelson has been found to be living in a house in Baychester. However, he did live in a boat house and owned a marina situated in the Givan's Basin next to the Pelham Bay Bridge.
Picture, right, from 1940 NY city tax record. It is not a picture of the boathouse, but the sign for Nelson's Boats. |
The New York New Haven and Hartford Railroad ran along one side of Baychester village. There was a railroad station stop at the intersection of DeReimer and Bassett Avenues along Pelham Bay Park. It was called the Baychester Station.
Eventually the station was no longer used for passenger stops, and an iron/steel works factory was built on the platform foundation that was on the neighborhood side of the train tracks. For more information, click here. |
The iron/steel works factory was built over the old Baychester train stop platform located on the neighborhood side of the railroad tracks. It was an open-air factory, not an enclosed building. They built large oil tanks and oil tank caps. They ceased business in the late 1960s. The factory was demolished during the Co-Op City development, and it became part of what is now Erskine Place, sometime in the 1970s. The picture of the factory, right, is taken from a still photo from the movie "The Seven Ups". Commercial use of photo is prohibited. The car is turning onto Bassett Avenue from Palmer Avenue.
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