Poe Park

What was here before?
Poe Cottage originally occupied a triangular plot where Kingsbridge Road turned east on the hill above what is now Fordham Road. Across the street was an apple orchard on land that is now Poe Park.

The white frame farmhouse was built as a laborer's dwelling in 1812. Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849), poet and creator of the American Gothic tale, rented the cottage for $100 a year in 1846. He moved there with his 24-year-old wife, Virginia, in the hope that the Bronx country air might cure her tuberculosis. Despite his literary success with "The Raven," which he had written while living at his former residence on West 84th Street, Poe's stay in the country was marked by poverty and loss until he left in 1949.

An 1896 bill saved the cottage from demolition and relocated the house across the street and established a public park around it. Soon "Fordham Village" was no longer a rural escape; the construction of trolley lines and elevated railways brought the area within commuting distance of Manhattan.

How did this site become a park?
The park opened in 1902 but it was not until 1913 that the cottage was finally moved to its present site, about 450 feet north of its original location.

In 1909, the Bronx Society of Arts and Sciences presented a bronze bust of Poe by sculptor Edmond T. Quinn (1868-1929) to the City to commemorate the poet's 100th birthday. The sculpture was vandalized soon after its installation and subsequently moved inside the cottage.

When the circular bandstand was erected in 1925, the park became a community hub, with regular classical music concerts drawing large crowds. In the 1940s and 1950s, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and other jazz musicians played in the park.

The cottage fell into disrepair in the 1970s, and the Bronx County Historical Society became its permanent custodian in 1975. On the National Register of Historic Places, and a city landmark, the cottage’s interior and exterior restoration was completed in 2011 and in 2022, its surrounding landscape was upgraded, and an accessible ramp was added.

The surrounding park was updated with new play equipment and utilities in 2001. The Poe Park Visitor Center by Toshiko Mori opened in 2011. The contemporary building echoes the form of a raven and hosts regular exhibitions and public programs. In 2023, NYC Parks expanded park’s green space with added lawns and trees around the southern plaza, which is actively programmed with dancing, community events, and children’s programs. A new ramp encircling the bandstand provides ADA access to performers and the public.

Who is this park named for?
Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts to parents who were both actors. Before he was three, his parents died and he was raised by John Allan, an exporter from Richmond. He briefly attended University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1825 before leaving for financial reasons and later enlisted in the army, where he published his first collection of poems. He continued to publish after he left the army and moved to New York City and Baltimore, but his literary efforts were largely disregarded.

His prominence in American literature started with an editorship at The Southern Literary Messenger, the first of several journals he oversaw. He continued to write poetry and fiction, as well as literary criticism—finally gaining notoriety by the 1830s. However, his earnings were meager, and he continued to take roles at literary publications to support himself and his young wife, Virginia, which brought him to this small cottage in the Bronx.

In addition to writing "The Bells," Eureka," and "Annabel Lee," Poe spent his time gardening and discussing scholarly matters with the Jesuits at nearby St. John's College (now Fordham University). After Virginia died in 1847, Poe remained at the cottage for a year before traveling along the East Coast indulging in several romantic relationships. Shortly after arriving in Baltimore in 1949, Poe was found unconscious and died several days later.