The Andrew Freedman Home, located on the Grand Concourse, has always struck my curiosity. Set behind a huge lawn, the four story terraced gray limestone palazzo style structure, takes up the entire block at 166th Street to McClellan Street.
Architects Joseph H. Friedlander and Henry Allan Jacobs completed the home in 1924. Its original purpose was to serve as a home to the formerly wealthy, those who were in good financial circumstance but had lost their means. It was to be a home for them to live the last years of life in the luxury they were accustomed to in their more fortunate days, all free of charge.
Freedman was born in New York, an American business man. He owned the New York Giants from 1895 to 1915 and served as the director of the New York City’s Interborough Rapid Transit Company. His fortunate was left for the construction of the home.
The home fell on hard times and was purchased by the Mid Bronx Senior Citizens Council in 1982. In 1992 is was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmark Preservation Commission.
Currently it houses a day care center, an after school program, an art residency, three event spaces and a ten-room lodging facility.
The bed and breakfast is that of the Residential Integrated Culinary and Hospitality (RICH) Initiative. Through this program, those looking into jobs in the field of hospitality can receive their training right here in the Bronx.
The rooms are decorated in 1920s décor, a glimpse into the home’s original grandeur, and the staff is courtesy, informative and professional.
The stay includes a continental breakfast served by a grand piano and floor-to-ceiling windows.
For more information on this Bronx gem, visit http://www.andrewfreedmancomplex.com
(single room lodging at the Andrew Freedman Home)
(double bed lodging at the Andrew Freedman Home)
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