Eastchester Road and Mace Avenue—at these crossroads you could find so many of life’s necessities, from a box of Band-Aids to a pair of socks, from a meatball hero to infant wear, from an egg cream to a real estate agent to a head of lettuce to a haircut or a wash and set.
It was a frequent if not daily destination for anyone living nearby, many of whom came on foot. (In the 1960s most families in this neighborhood owned one car only—the one your father drove to work.) A typical round of errands could include going to the bank, getting your hair done, buying shoes, and picking up groceries, all in the space of a few steps. Eastchester and Mace is where commuters caught the Number 9 bus to Westchester Square (and later the Express Bus to Manhattan), where the boys played king, queen, jack against the wall of the deli on the southwest corner, where kids bought a piece of Bazooka at the candy store, where teenagers met up for pizza.
In the 1930s and ’40s, Tom and Louie Forte established truck farms on undeveloped land from Westervelt and Mace Avenues south toward Pelham Parkway. (Local kids recall carrying salt shakers in their pockets for their tomato-pinching forays.) Their fertile fields yielded such abundance that they opened their own vegetable store near the northeast corner of Eastchester Road and Mace Avenue, right between a real estate office and a vacant space that later became Frank’s butcher shop.
After World War II the Kruger family purchased the grocery store on the other side of the real estate office, next to the vacant corner lot. Eventually they purchased the vacant lot as well, expanding their store to the corner. As ownership changed over the years the store came to be known by different names: Associated, Pioneer, C-Town, Met Foods…
The Forte brothers made a significant impact on the shopping district at Eastchester Road and Mace Avenue. In 1941 they broke ground for an apartment building on the southeast corner of the intersection. But the enormous, fenced-off hole in the ground was to languish under four years’ worth of rain, snow, mud, and dust. For four years, patrons of the neighborhood bar or Pete’s drugstore, located just south of the excavation site, had to pass the gaping eyesore to reach their destinations. The U.S. entered World War II, and work on the building that would become 1500 Mace Avenue halted until the war ended in 1945.
The residential entrance to the three-story building faced Mace; the side that faced Eastchester Road offered retail space for six stores. The Forte brothers moved their vegetable store to their new building, expanding it into a general grocery store.
Other original merchants are unknown to me, but I can tell you about the ones that I came to know well in the 1960s and ’70s.
Next: Vinnie’s Candy Store
© Barbara Cole 2020. All Rights Reserved.
Spending my young year on Westervelt Ave I recall attending a nursery school around Eastchester Rd and Mace. In addition, I also recall a pizza shop and a Buster Brown shoe store. I, too, attended Holy Rosary School on Arnow Ave. I recall a Sister Mary Shiela and a Sister Mary Francis.
This blog is truly an inspiration and warms my heart like you wouldn’t believe. I grew up in Baychester, just north of Gun Hill Road on Eastchester Road and currently live in Pelham Gardens. When I was a child, my mom would take me to the playground at the intersection of Gun Hill and Eastchester Road. We would often take walks to and through Pelham Gardens. If I recall correctly, one of my neighbors took me out for ice cream at a small place that was on the corner of Eastchester Road and Schorr Place. I THINK there used to be an ice cream shop there, I could be misremembering.
As an adult, I take daily walks through the neighborhood and take pictures because I adore the beauty here. I wish there was a way to bring back the old glory and neighborhoody feel you describe on Eastchester Road between Mace and Waring. I wish there was still some sort of Luncheonette where folks can gather. We have 2 pizzerias now, which are great.
Thank you so much for this blog. I read your entries with a huge smile on my face. I love this neighborhood so much.
Thank you for your kind and wonderful words! I’m so happy you’re enjoying this blog.
I know the playground you mention above and played there many times myself. I even remember when it was being built, along with the other two close by. One was meant to be the playground, another had handball and basketball courts, and if I remember correctly, the third was more like a park with grass and benches. I went to Holy Rosary School across the street. As eighth graders, we were permitted to spend recess in those parks–but only in those final weeks before graduation. It was a very big deal that the sisters would allow us that privilege.
Thank you again for taking the time to comment, and for your kind remarks.
Barbara
Quick question — you say that most families owned a car for commuting, but also that there was a commuter bus. Who took the bus?
Hello and thank you for your question. Members of the family who couldn’t rely on the family car to get around took the bus. That could be teenagers going to school (we didn’t have school buses) or to summer jobs, going shopping or running errands. Young adults still living at home (which was common back then) took the bus to work or to one of the subway lines if they were going into Manhattan. Some of the mothers worked, so they relied on the bus. Older people who no longer drove also got around by bus. I hope this answers your question. Thank you for visiting the blog.
So essentially, every family owned a car?
I can’t think of any family that didn’t have one.