The Beautiful Bronx 1920-1950 [Hardcover]

Lloyd Ultan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 1988

A native Bronxite takes us back to the heyday years of the Bronx.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

A native Bronxite takes us back to the heyday years of the Bronx.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Crown; First Edition edition (December 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517548003
• ISBN-13: 978-0517548004
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 0.8 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #768,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent text and pictorial review., December 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Beautiful Bronx 1920-1950 (Hardcover)

The Beautiful Bronx brings back to life many beautiful memories. It is truly an excellent text and pictorial review of what was once home for so many people. The words and pictures give the reader a feeling of going back into the past. Life in the Bronx from the Roaring 20's to the beginning of the Kennedy Presidency certainly experienced many changes,good and bad,like the rest of our beloved country. The book describes events and locations perhaps forgotten by many people because so much time has passed from the time period examined. To study the many pictures is tantamount to looking at a time capsule. This book is "must reading" for those folks who never lived in the Bronx during this era and also for those folks who did. Yes, you can go home again.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Born There, March 18, 2000

By 

MURRAY APPEL (Long Island) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beautiful Bronx 1920-1950 (Hardcover)

Born 79 years ago on Bway. near Van Cortlandt. Lived in Kingsbridge & Mosholu areas 27 years. Drove the trolley cars, Bx.& Van Cort., University, Webster, 167 st. xtown, etc. after WW2. Fordham Rd.,3 movies and the Windsor within a few blocks. Loews Grand, Paradise and 1 more few blocks east. What an era! Skinny dip & sleep out in Botanical Gardens. De Witt Clinton Grad. 1938. Jacob H. Schiff center. Brought back many memories. Only complaint, didn't cover enuff. Faded roses are almost impossible to revive. Still a few childhood friends left from those years. Going back brought a mixture of emotions, so many are gone. [e-mail]

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Bronx History and Photos, January 8, 2012

By 

Bradley Feld (Eldorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Beautiful Bronx 1920-1950 (Hardcover)

My mom and dad have a wonderful gift coming to them this week. Yesterday evening I read The Beautiful Bronx 1920-1950 and The Bronx: It Was Only Yesterday, 1935-1965. Well - I mostly looked at the pictures and read the descriptions of the pictures, as that was the meat of each book, but the intro sections were also very cool.

My parents were each born in the Bronx and lived there until they moved to Blytheville, Arkansas in 1965 for a year. Growing up, my brother Daniel and I visited the Bronx periodically, as that's where our grandparents lived (until my dad's parents moved to Ft. Lauderdale) and we often heard tales of their time growing up in the Bronx.

I discovered these books a few weeks ago at my close friend Len Fassler's house. Len is key mentor of mine who has had a profound influence on me both personally and professionally. I was scanning his bookshelves during a break in the evening and noticed these two books. He noticed me noticing them and told me to borrow them. Instead, I emailed myself their names and bought them later that night on Amazon.

They are beautiful books about a different time in America. The Bronx was growing fast during the time period and was a magical place to live. It was close enough to Manhattan to get to use the New York, NY mailing address, yet far enough away to be its own place. It has huge ethnic diversity that was integrated in many ways, but also organized around the notion of neighborhoods. I recognized some of the street names, neighborhoods, and buildings from conversations with my parents and the few times that I've been through the Bronx in recent years. But mostly I just tried to transport myself back to a different time in our country.

I've encouraged my dad to write more about his childhood in the Bronx on his blog. He's written a few, like Punch Ball In Claremont Park, The Bronx (NY) 1945-1953, Jake the Pickle Man, Summer of '47, and StrikeOuts: A New York City Street Game. But he's got a ton more in him so I hope these books inspire him.