Thomas Garden Apartments

841 Concourse Vlg West | also 845 Concourse Vlg West, 829 Concourse Vlg West, 835 Concourse Vlg West | Concourse Village | built 1927

Open on the map4 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1926

    John D. Rockefeller Jr. picks Andrew J. Thomas to design garden apartments on the Grand Concourse

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    In 1926 Andrew Jackson Thomas, already known for garden apartments in Jackson Heights, was hired to design an apartment complex on the Grand Concourse that fills a whole block. John D. Rockefeller Jr., who had taken notice of Thomas's earlier work, chose him for this project and for the Dunbar Apartments in Harlem. Planned for 166 families as a non-profit cooperative, it stood apart from similar projects because a private capitalist paid for it rather than a workers' union or the residents.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1928

    A Japanese-style garden with an arched bridge over running water fills the courtyard

    Thomas built a U-shaped complex whose open side faces the Concourse, with a downhill slope hiding most of the courtyard until visitors reach the entrance. Stone Japanese lanterns lined the garden's paths, which met at the center on an arched bridge branching four ways over running water. Of all this, just the lanterns remain. Terra-cotta reliefs of an eagle, a peacock and a sailing ship decorate the entrances, and larger windows and extra ornament on the top floor were meant to win over renters facing six flights without an elevator.

    Source: lehman.edu

  3. 1931

    The Bronx County Courthouse cuts the garden's view of Franz Sigel Park

    When it opened, the courtyard of Thomas Garden looked straight across the street to Franz Sigel Park, a link the Landmarks Preservation Commission said added to the calm, protective feeling of the complex. Construction of the Bronx County Courthouse, built from 1931 to 1934, broke that strong visual connection between garden and park.

    “Prior to construction of the Bronx County Courthouse (1931-34), there was a strong a visual connection between the courtyard of the Thomas Garden Apar tments and Franz Sigel Park…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  4. 1936

    Thomas Garden is foreclosed on in the Depression and becomes a rental building

    Although 90 percent of its apartments had been sold when it was built, the cooperative was foreclosed on in 1936, at the depth of the Great Depression, and from then on the complex was run as rental housing. The Landmarks Preservation Commission cites a New York Times article of October 24, 1936, headlined "Apartments to be Sold."

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Nearby

All 85 buildings with stories in Concourse Village