Tracey Towers | |
---|---|
General information | |
Status | Completed |
Type | residential Co-op |
Architectural style | Brutalist |
Location | Jerome Yard, Jerome Park |
Address |
|
Town or city | The Bronx, New York City |
Country | US |
Coordinates | East Tower 40°52′45″N73°53′10″W / 40.87927°N 73.88622°W , West Tower 40°52′48″N73°53′11″W / 40.87987°N 73.88631°W |
Completed | 1972 |
Opened | 1974 |
Technical details | |
Material | concrete |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Paul Rudolph |
Other information | |
Number of suites | 871 |
Tracey Towers refers to two twin buildings designed by architect Paul Rudolph, located in the Jerome Park neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. [1] They are a predominant feature of the Bronx's mainly flat skyline. [2] [3]
The buildings were created as a result of the Mitchell-Lama program, in addition, air rights of neighboring properties, including those of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Jerome Yard, were purchased to allow for construction. Intended to be a luxury condominium, [4] the buildings were completed in 1972 and opened in 1974 as subsidized housing. Combined, they have 871 units of various sizes, including one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. [2] [5] The towers became the tallest in the borough when completed, at 400 feet (120 m), although the 404 feet tall River Park Towers took the title just three years later. [6] They were and remain the second-tallest cooperative housing development in the Bronx, behind Co-Op City, which is the largest of its kind in the world. [7] Amenities, however, have been on a slow decline in quality. In particular, tenants complain about the inconsistencies of the towers' boilers, and hot water is frequently shut without prior notice. [8]
Tracey Towers consists of nine windowless concrete tubes built with grooved blocks and without any setbacks. These blocks create asterisks which are divided by white slabs relative to each floor. Unlike most buildings in the city, the windows and balconies are placed in between the gaps formed by the concrete tubes. These tubes are also designed to spiral around a central keystone-like structure on a square-shaped plot. This design was chosen in order to align with Rudolph's vision for a futuristic obelisk. This architectural style which the towers employ is known as brutalism, with some postmodern elements added. [9] The plot of land which it sits on is mostly resembles a trapezoid and takes up the majority of the land on the block. [10] The inside is similarly as complex; tenants and visitors alike are confused at the various openings and exits. Although they may appear identical at first, one is taller and has three more floors than its shorter counterpart. The complex sits on the Jerome Yard, which forces the heights of the buildings to differ by a significant margin. [11]
The parking lot of Tracey Towers maintains the same design as the towers proper. About a story tall, an ear-shaped route which ramps downward toward the intersection at Mosholu Parkway and Paul Avenue is necessary for vehicles. Cars loop around on a curved, slightly elevated route to enter the lot which starts on the intersection with Mosholu Parkway and Jerome Avenue. The entire route is one-way only, and it goes under the East Tower at one point. The route is mostly separate from the parking lot except for where cars exit/enter it. A blue basketball court is present on the building. [12]
The Jerome Yard is located under the parking lot, which stores the rolling stock of the New York City Subway's 4 train. [13] A yellow, blocky maintenance building cuts through some of the parking lot space. A stub of the IRT Jerome Avenue Line diverges from the main line heading west, sloping down until the tracks travel under the parking lot. [14] [15] Another, human-accessible entrance exists at Paul Avenue below the exit ramp mentioned below. It also handles vehicles. [16] [17]
Like the rest of the complex, the parking lot has been tampered with by both natural and man-made sources. This includes graffiti and vines stretching through all of the parking lot's walls. [18] [19]
The Belt Parkway is the name given to a series of controlled-access parkways that form a belt-like circle around the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The Belt Parkway comprises three of the four parkways in what is known as the Belt System: the Shore Parkway, the Southern Parkway, and the Laurelton Parkway. The three parkways in the Belt Parkway are a combined 25.29 miles (40.70 km) in length. The Cross Island Parkway makes up the fourth parkway in the system, but is signed separately.
The Mosholu Parkway station is a local station on the IRT Jerome Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Mosholu Parkway and Jerome Avenue in the Bedford Park and Norwood neighborhoods of the Bronx, it is served by the 4 train at all times.
The Bedford Park Boulevard–Lehman College station is a local station on the IRT Jerome Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Bedford Park Boulevard immediately west of Jerome Avenue in the Bedford Park neighborhood of the Bronx, it is served by the 4 train at all times. It is also the only station on the Jerome Avenue Line north of 170th Street that is not located above Jerome Avenue. This station was constructed by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company as part of the Dual Contracts and opened in 1918.
The North Bronx is the northern section of the Bronx, one of the five boroughs of New York City. It is bordered by Westchester County to the north, the South Bronx to the south, the Hudson River to the west and the Long Island Sound to the east. The western part is more urbanized and hilly than its eastern counterpart, just like the rest of the borough. Despite being recognized as different from the South Bronx, the actual borders of the North Bronx is undefined. One commonly set border is Fordham Road/Pelham Parkway, the upper limit for widespread poverty and arson during the 1970s and 1980s.
The Concourse Line is an IND rapid transit line of the New York City Subway system. It runs from 205th Street in Norwood, Bronx, primarily under the Grand Concourse, to 145th Street in Harlem, Manhattan. It is the only B Division line in the Bronx, and also the only line in the Bronx with all stations underground.
North Riverdale is the northernmost part of the Riverdale neighborhood of the borough of the Bronx in New York City, particularly above 254th Street. It is a residential sub-neighborhood, and shares its northern border with Yonkers, New York in Westchester County.
Bedford Park is a residential neighborhood in the northwest Bronx, New York City, adjacent to the New York Botanical Garden. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are: Mosholu Parkway to the north, Webster Avenue to the east, East 196th Street to the south, and Jerome Avenue to the west.
The IRT Jerome Avenue Line, also unofficially known as IRT Woodlawn Line, is an A Division New York City Subway line mostly along Jerome Avenue in the Bronx. Originally an Interborough Rapid Transit Company-operated route, it was built as part of the Dual Contracts expansion and opened in 1917 and 1918. It is both elevated and underground, with 161st Street–Yankee Stadium being the southernmost elevated station. The line has three tracks from south of the Woodlawn station to the 138th Street–Grand Concourse station. The Woodlawn Line also has a connection to the Jerome Yard, where 4 trains are stored, just north of the Bedford Park Boulevard–Lehman College station.
The Norwood–205th Street station is the northern terminal station on the IND Concourse Line of the New York City Subway. Located in Norwood, Bronx, it is served by the D train at all times. Due to changes in the street grid of the neighborhood, the station has exits to East 205th Street and Perry Avenue, as well as to East 206th Street and Bainbridge Avenue.
The Bronx and Pelham Parkway, also known formally as the Bronx–Pelham Parkway but called Pelham Parkway in everyday use, is a 2.25-mile-long (3.62 km) parkway in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. The road begins in Bronx Park at the Bronx River Parkway and U.S. Route 1 and ends at Interstate 95 (I-95), the New England Thruway, in Pelham Bay Park, hence the roadway's name. The parkway is designated as New York State Route 907F (NY 907F), an unsigned reference route, by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT).
Mosholu Parkway is a 3.03-mile-long (4.88 km) parkway in the borough of the Bronx in New York City, constructed from 1935 to 1937 as part of the roadway network created under Robert Moses. The roadway extends between the New York Botanical Garden and Van Cortlandt Park. The New York City Department of Transportation is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the roadway while the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is responsible for the surrounding rights-of-way. The parkway is designated as New York State Route 908F (NY 908F), an unsigned reference route, by the New York State Department of Transportation.
Van Cortlandt Village is a subsection of the Kingsbridge neighborhood in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 8. Named after Van Cortlandt Park, it is bordered by the Major Deegan Expressway to the west, the Jerome Park Reservoir to the east, West 238th Street to the south, and Van Cortlandt Park to the north. Its ZIP Code is 10463.
The West Bronx is a region in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The region lies west of the Bronx River and roughly corresponds to the western half of the borough.
Jerome Park Racetrack was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility from 1866 until 1894. It was located in a part of Westchester County, New York that was annexed into the city of New York in 1874. Jerome Park Racetrack was the home of the Belmont Stakes from 1867 until 1889. Today, Jerome Park is the name of a neighborhood adjoining the Jerome Park Reservoir, Bedford Park and Norwood in the northern Bronx.
Gun Hill Road is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The road stretches for 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from Mosholu Parkway in Norwood to Stillwell Avenue in Baychester, near an exit for the Hutchinson River Parkway. Van Cortlandt Park and the Mosholu Golf Course are both located at the western terminus of Gun Hill Road.
Jerome Avenue is one of the longest thoroughfares in the New York City borough of the Bronx, New York, United States. The road is 5.6 miles (9.0 km) long and stretches from Concourse to Woodlawn. Both of these termini are with the Major Deegan Expressway which runs parallel to the west. Most of the elevated IRT Jerome Avenue Line runs along Jerome Avenue. The Cross Bronx Expressway interchanges with Jerome and the Deegan. Though it runs through what is now the West Bronx neighborhood, Jerome Avenue is the dividing avenue between nominal and some named "West" and "East" streets in the Bronx; Fifth Avenue, and to a lesser extent, Broadway, also splits Manhattan into nominal "West" and "East" streets.
Webster Avenue is a major north–south thoroughfare in the Bronx, New York City, United States. It stretches for 5.8 miles (9.3 km) from Melrose to Woodlawn. The road starts at the intersection of Melrose Avenue, East 165th Street, Brook Avenue, and Park Avenue in the neighborhood of Melrose, ending at Nereid Avenue in the neighborhood of Woodlawn. There are no subway lines along this thoroughfare, unlike the streets it parallels—Jerome Avenue, The Grand Concourse, and White Plains Road, which all have subway lines —but until 1973, Webster Avenue north of Fordham Road was served by the Third Avenue Elevated, served by the 8 train.
Sedgwick Avenue is a major street in the Bronx, New York City. It runs roughly parallel to Jerome Avenue, the Major Deegan Expressway, and University Avenue. Sedgwick Avenue is one of the longest streets in the western part of the Bronx, running from Mosholu Parkway at the north to Macombs Dam Bridge at its southern end, about 800 feet west of Yankee Stadium.
The Bx28 and Bx38 constitute a public transit line in The Bronx. These routes primarily run on Gun Hill Road between the northern part of West Bronx and Co-op City.
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