| La Bella Strada No matter what they tell you, there are no
roundtables - or turntables - behind Arthur Avenue's name
Maria A. Castro
Bronx Journal Staff Reporter
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Everyone seems to have a theory
about Arthur Avenue’s name. “Well, it might
have been named after one of those kings of the medieval
times - one with a round table, and all those knights,
whose name was Arthur,” says Erika Medina, 18, who
works a full time job at Sun Deli on 184th Street as a
counter person. Marcello Mazzella, a 62-year-old retired
resident of 187th Street is convinced his grandfather
knew the correct origin. “It was named after an
Italian music director, Arturo Toscanini, who came to New
York during the early 1900’s. He was very famous, so
his name had to be honored by the Italian community in
New York,” Mazzella explains with a pleasant voice.
Located near the Fordham section of the Bronx in a
neighborhood called Little Italy, Arthur Avenue isn’t
named in honor of any historical or mythological king.
And as great of a talent as Arturo Toscanini was, the
street isn’t named after the famous Italian musician
and director, either.
Instead, the main drag in Bronx’s Little Italy was
named in honor of the twenty-first American President,
Chester Allan Arthur.
That’s a surprise to Mazzella, who after a couple of
seconds bursts out in laughter. “Are you sure?”
he asks. “So all these years I have been wrong about
my history? I can’t believe it.”
It is very likely that many others share Mazzella’s
story of how Arthur Avenue got its name -after Mazzella
mentioned that his grandfather told the same story to all
his grandsons. However, many other people just don’t
know the history of Arthur Avenue and do not try to guess
it either. Christina Lepora, a 21-year-old student of
Lehman College, says she doesn’t know much about the
street, but it certainly reminds her of home. Lepora has
worked and lived in Little Italy in the Bronx since she
immigrated from Molise, Italy just two years ago.
“Here, I’ve found a little piece of Italy,”
she says, “That is why I love it.”
Indeed, Arthur Avenue is filled with Italian restaurants,
cafes, gift shops, liquor stores, bakeries, a library, a
park, a clothing in-door market place, and many other
very Italian shops that would make any modern-day Roman,
Milanese, or Venetian feel welcomed. And although, “Little
Italy” in the Bronx is less known than "Little
Italy" in Manhattan, the neighborhood has preserved
most every Italian tradition and custom over the years.
According to the Bronx Mall, a web page where you can find
anything about the Bronx, many of the restaurants in the
area of “The Little Italy” continue to offer
some of the best food in town – even outdoing some
of the best Italian establishments in the city. The
Belmont Italian American Theatre produces the finest
quality classical Italian and contemporary
Italian-American theater. Another noted attraction is a
shopping district that extends from 187th Street to
Arthur Avenue. In fact, the “Retail Market”
built on Arthur Avenue in 1940 is still considered the
heart of Belmont, where out of approximately 62,133
residents, about 20,740 are of Italian origin.
Arthur Avenue’s Italian flavor dates back to the
early 1900s. Before World War I, many Italians were
forced to live in the section south of the “Five
Points” near Mulberry Street in Manhattan. They grew
tired of living in substandard tenements, and some of
them discovered The Bronx as a better place to live. It
was then, when many Italian immigrants moved northward to
the neighborhood of Belmont, which at the time consisted
of small tumble-down houses. By 1913, however, Italian
contractors built enormous, modern, elegant apartment
houses with electricity, telephones, steam heat and
bathrooms. Italian merchants also came to the area of
town.
Hail to the Chief
Arthur Avenue was in fact named after Chester Alan
Arthur, the 21st President of the United States of
America. Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont in 1829,
and died in New York City in 1886.When he was
23-years-old, he moved to New York City and became a
prominent lawyer, taking particular interest in civil
rights cases. His success in the case of Jennings vs.
Third Avenue Railroad helped end segregation on passenger
railroads in the city in 1855. Vice President of the
nation, Arthur was appointed President of the United
States when James A. Garfield was assassinated in 1881.
He served until 1885.
Despite all of President Arthur’s successes before
and during his presidency, his name would have probably
never been considered by anyone for a street name in the
Bronx, New York. Actually during the late 1890's, the
owner of Belmont (which is the area where Little Italy is
located) proposed naming a street in President Arthur's
honor.
According to A History in Asphalt, written by the Bronx
Historian John McNamara, the area of Belmont was once
part of the extensive territory called the Lorillard
Lands, which were inherited by Catherine Lorillard
Wolfe, the niece of the wealthy family who owned the
property. Miss Wolfe was an ardent admirer of the
President of the United States Chester A. Arthur, and in
Madison Square-where the Lorillards once had a town
house-there is today a statue of President Arthur that
was donated by the heiress in the 1890’s.
When Wolf requested that one of the new streets in
Belmont be named for Arthur, it was accepted. The city
fathers, in fact, felt indebted; Wolf had launched many
worthwhile civic projects and had a hand in starting a
number of municipal charities.
So, even though knights, roundtables or Grammies and 78
rpm recordings have nothing to do with Arthur Avenue’s
past, the street’s history and its connection to an
American president is worth knowing. “You know, you
just made my day. For years I have been misinformed, but
today, I’ll go tell the real story to all my
grandchildren, and that’ll be one of my many
legacies,” says Mazzella with a smile.
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