Eastchester Playground

Adee Ave. at Tenboeck Ave.

Bronx

Directions via Google Maps

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

This playground bears the name of one of the earliest settlements to have existed in the Bronx area. Eastchester was originally the name of the second English community, after Westchester, to be founded in what was considered the Dutch colony of New Netherland.

Situated next to the playground are Eastchester Houses, a complex built for veterans of World War II, that can accommodate 874 families totalling about 3,445 people. Tenants were originally charged a rent of only $12.50 a month. In February 1948, the architects Harrison & Abramovitz completed preliminary plans for the housing project and on September 28, 1948, construction began with Mayor William O’Dwyer (1890-1964) sinking a silver-plated shovel into the ground at the groundbreaking ceremony.

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