Exterior Globe for the historic Women's Club of Bronxville 

The south entrance to the Women's Club of Bronxville, where many a young man and miss have trotted inside for their dancing and etiquette lessons with Miss Covington, (now Miss Barkley), is graced once again with a beautiful globe in its curved archway. The Bronxville Historical Conservancy financed the restoration of the original fixture as an 80th anniversary gift to the clubhouse and in recognition of its placement on the National Register of Historic Places. "I don't think any of us knew the real beauty of the fixture," noted Joyce Balint, president of the Club. Star cut-outs on the ironwork embracing the frosted globe give a magical twinkle to the lady in her eighties.

Bronxville Veterans Memorial

For the past three years, the Bronxvill e Historical Conservancy has funded a special exhibit at the Bronxville Women's Club created to bring the true spirit of Memorial Day to Bronxville. The Bronxville Veterans Memorial features a Scroll of Honor -- a list of over 1,400 men and women from the area who have served their county.  It also includes personal and civic memorabilia from Bronxville veterans and residents, a gallery of photos and stories of MIA/KIA servicemen representing Bronxville, Tuckahoe, and Eastchester, and an original painting by local artist William Q. Dowling comme morating the role of our community. 

If you are a current Bronxville resident or have lived in Bronxville in the past and would like your name added to the Veteran’s Scroll, or should you like to contribute pictures or personal memorabilia from your service abroad or on the home front, please contact Cindi Callahan at cindi3475@aol.com or (914-450-0399).

Artwork for Village Hall

Bronxville Historical Conservancy's Art Collection

To honor and remember Bronxville’s well-known Lawrence Park art colony, the Conservancy is collecting representative examples of the artists’ works. Whether the art was created while the artist lived in Bronxville, depicts local scenes, or is simply illustrative of the artist’s craft, this growing collection is part of an on-going research effort by the Conservancy’s Art Committee.

The collection includes two Sheldon Parsons landscapes, a spring scene by Walter Clark, a colorful allegorical watercolor by Will Hicok Low, an autumn landscape by Bruce Crane, a Spencer Baird Nichols still life, and Mary Fairchild Low’s charming painting of toy sail boats on Bronxville Lake. Generous gifts have added several paintings -- the most recent was given by longtime Bronxville resident Chris Eldridge --  W. T. Smedley's "Lady with a Parasol."  Other gifts include a painting of the Dusenberry barn, an etching by Otto Henry Bacher, an oil by Charles L. Hinton and a portrait of William van Duzer Lawrence, founder of Lawrence Park.

Two paintings were executed by Sheldon Parsons while he lived in Bronxville and represent a more traditional style than the one he adopted after settling in Santa Fe in 1913. 

Walter Clark's spring landscape reflects the artist's enthusiasm for painting the local scenery, especially the woodlands along the Bronx River. 

A beautifully painted watercolor by Will Hicok Low epitomizes his mastery of allegorical subjects.

A charming scene of toy sail boats on the Bronxville pond was painted by Will Low's wife, Mary Fairchild Low, who presented it as a wedding gift to Fanny Ellsworth and Robert Scannell, a noted village architect, in 1925.

A large and splashy still life of peonies by Spencer Baird Nichols, departs from the landscape subjects that are a large part of the Conservancy's growing collection.

Additionally, as part of its mission to foster awareness of the Village’s architectural, artistic and cultural heritage, the Conservancy has placed period prints throughout the building, framed a photo collection of Bronxville in the 21st century and reframed formal portraits of all of our Mayors and Justices through the years. All of these initiatives further the Conservancy’s goal to afford all residents the opportunity to enjoy the artwork and share in the Village’s heritage. Click here to view the art collection.

Bronxville Artists & Friends:  An impressive catalogue of Bronxville artists’ works

As a tenth anniversary gift to the community, an art catalog was created to accompany the Bronxville Artists & Friends: Legacies Past and Future exhibit held in the fall of 2008 at the OSilas Gallery at Concordia College.  It is one of the most comprehensive publications ever on the works of Bronxville artists.Its detailed research and writing is truly a treasured gift to this former art colony.

The publication not only illustrated the special OSilas Gallery exhibit, it also includes the Conservancy's collection of Bronxville artists' works on permanent display at Village Hall. The 64-page full-color catalog by Jayne Warman, curator, and Marilynn Wood Hill, editor, gives descriptive characterizations of each painting, as well as biographies and lists of the former residents’ works. 

The exhibition itself made visual connections in style, medium, subject matter and across a 175-year timespan.  The catalogue, however, served not only as an aide-memoire of the exhibition, but it puts into historical perspective the many Bronxville artists who played such an important role in the life of the village -- and still do.

Avon Lanterns

When Bronxville resident Renee Byers learned that  graceful wrought-iron lamps once spanned the granite columns at the two main entrances to Avon Road, her thoughts turned toward re-creating history.  With help from the Village Historian Eloise Morgan, Renee found the originals in bits and pieces in a cob-webbed corner of the Village Hall basement.  Turning to the Bronxville Historical Conservancy for funding the effort, along with support from the Village of Bronxville, Renee embarked on the ambitious project of creating near-exact replicas, and on January 21, 2003, the lanterns were back in place, once again gracing the stately granite columns on Avon Road where it intersects with Midland Avenue and Sagamore Road. lt;/p>

Re-constructed by Jozef Witcowski of Jozef Custom Ironworks of Bridgeport, Connecticut, the approximately 18" high and have an antique bronze finish. With electrical connections and 3 candelabra bulbs, the fixtures will shine nightly, in concert with the village street lamps.  The Bronxville Historical Conservancy fully funded the fixtures’ re-creation, installation and electrical work at a cost of approximately $50,000.

Sound System for Traditional Village Christmas Pageant

When lack of a sound system gave a whole new meaning to “Silent Night,” the Conservancy researched a way to help this community with its beloved holiday tradition.

Our Village has several annual events that add to the richness of life during the year. The Memorial Day Parade & Cookout, the children’s Halloween Day Parade on Pondfield Road, and the High School Graduation Ceremony all come to mind. Our oldest tradition, dating back nearly 100 years, is the Christmas Pageant held every December 24th on the Reformed Church lawn. This past year it was apparent that the audio system, so vital to the enjoyment of the performance, needed renewing.

In keeping with its mission of preserving and strengthening cherished legacies, the Conservancy is researching the purchase of a new audio system for use by the Pageant as well as by any other civic organization that would benefit from its availability. In concert with this support, the creation of a booklet documenting the history of the Pageant has also been discussed as another means of contributing to this Bronxville tradition.

Restoration of Architectural Model of Bronxville Library

Thanks to the granddaughter of architect Harry Leslie Walker, a scale model of the Bronxville Public Library dating from the time of its original design has been donated to the library. 

Given by Elizabeth Mouzon, Walker’s daughter, the model bears the title “Study for Public Library Building, Bronxville, New York” and is signed “Harry Leslie Walker Architect.” It probably dates from 1940, since the Library construction was completed in 1942. 

After 60 years the model was in surprisingly good condition, but needed restoration which the Conservancy funded so that the model could be showcased in the Bronxville library as a reminder of its origins. Although labeled a study, it seems almost identical to the built design except for two details that were omitted: a retaining wall across the rear of the building parallel to Pondfield Road and a porch on the south side that instead became an open terrace. In addition to the library, Walker designed The Reformed Church and a number of village houses, and he was associate architect for the Bronxville School.  

Grants for the Bronxville Library Local History Room

A number of grants have been given to the Local History Room to further the work of the village historian.  Among these have been funds to archive the news pages of myhometownbronxville.com, create a 180-page index of the 1928 Bronxville Review weekly newspaper, re-frame Balderbrae, a painting by former Bronxville artist Anna Winegar, create a color portfolio of photographic images of Bronxville today for historians tomorrow by Judith Watts Wilson, as well as a series of black-and-white streetscape images by photographer Fielding Bowman, and the purchase of several historical books whose bookplates recognize major Conservancy supporters.