STAIR STREETS: Orloff Avenue to Bailey Avenue, Van Cortlandt Park South, West 238 Street at Cannon Place, Bronx
START: Mosholu Parkway subway station (4 train)
FINISH: 238 Street subway station (1 train)
DISTANCE: 2.1 miles (3.4 kilometers)
Photographs by Michael Cairl
Map of today’s walk, courtesy Google Maps. On the map: 1 - Orloff Avenue to Bailey Avenue stairs; 2 - Van Cortlandt Park South stairs; 3 - West 238 Street stairs.
A green belt runs across the Bronx. Van Cortlandt Park in the west is connected to Bronx Park in the middle, and Bronx Park is connected to the city’s largest park, Pelham Bay Park, in the east, by a pair of wide parkways: Mosholu Parkway and the Bronx and Pelham Parkway. This system of parks and parkways, first proposed by Frderick Law Olmsted in the 1870s, came into being as a result of New York State’s New Parks Law of 1884. It is in its way this city’s analogue to Boston’s “Emerald Necklace.” Today’s walk started at the elevated Mosholu Parkway subway station and went west toward Van Cortlandt Park. On other walks, with stair streets or not, I will explore and write about different parts of the Bronx’s Emerald Necklace.
The green belt across the Bronx.
I started out walking along Mosholu Parkway for a short distance, to Sedgwick Avenue. This street borders the north and west sides of the Jerome Park Reservoir, part of the city’s Croton water system, the others being the Delaware and Catskill watersheds in upstate New York. I continued on Sedgwick Avenue, Van Cortlandt Avenue East, and Orloff Avenue to the first of the three stair streets on today’s walk, from Orloff Avenue down 112 steps to Bailey Avenue. I climbed up these stairs some months ago; see my post entitled “Manhattan College Steps + 1.” These steps are unquestionably in better condition than the other two, having been rebuilt in recent years and including handrails at a comfortable height.
Left to right: No optical illusion - these twin towers are in New Jersey near the George Washington Bridge (photo from Mosholu Parkway and Sedgwick Avenue), view from the top and bottom of the Orloff Avenue - Bailey Avenue stairs.
From Bailey Avenue I crossed to the next set of stairs, nearby on Van Cortlandt Park South, 81 steps up with an uncomfortably low railing. These stairs appear to be well used and should get new handrails at the very least. Van Cortlandt Park South is a quiet, pleasant street with the park on one side and nice apartment buildings on the other.
Left to right: the Van Cortlandt Park South stairs looking up and looking down; Van Cortlandt Park South from the top of the stairs.
I headed back toward Sedgwick Avenue and the trail through Fort Independence Park. This memorializes another of the Continental Army’s defensive positions as it fled north from the British in November 1776. See more about this in my previous post, “West Bronx Mix.” From there I turned west on West 238 Street, down one steep block, down a steep set of 61 steps (low handrail again), and down another steep section of West 238 Street until arriving at the Riverdale Diner for lunch, across the street from the subway home.
View down Van Cortlandt Avenue East, a hill I’ve biked up and down many times; roundel in the pavement entering Fort Independence Park; selfie taken in the park; West 238 Street stairs looking down and up; end of the trip at the 238 Street subway station.
Profile of today’s walk, courtesy Google Maps.
Stair total: 81 up, 173 down, total 254. The last two sets of stairs were made difficult by their condition, and the last set by how steep they are. These plus the steep hills characteristic of much of the Bronx made this walk a good workout, and I had to do a lot of the walking with care. (It’s harder to negotiate hills than stairs, and steep downhills are hardest of all, having to walk carefully to keep my balance. Much of the walk was away from traffic and amid a lot of trees, making it pleasant. This walk certainly fulfilled the dual purpose of fun and physical therapy.