Andrew Freedman Home

Andrew Freedman Home
General information
Type	House
Location	1125 Grand Concourse, The Bronx, New York City, New York
Coordinates	40°49′58″N 73°55′13″W / 40.832742°N 73.920142°WCoordinates: 40°49′58″N 73°55′13″W / 40.832742°N 73.920142°W
Construction started	1924
Design and construction
Architect	Friedlander Jacobs

The Andrew Freedman Home is a historic building constructed for Andrew Freedman that has been renovated into a hotel.^[1] It is a New York City Designated Landmark. The money to build it was bequeathed by Freedman. Located at 1125 Grand Concourse in The Bronx, New York City, New York, the Andrew Freedman Home was designed as a retirement home for wealthy individuals who had lost their fortunes.

The trust that operated the Andrew Freedman Home ran out of money in the 1960s. The home was reopened in 1983 for all elderly individuals, regardless of past financial status. As of 2012, the Andrew Freedman Home serves as a day-care center and event space.

Background

During the Panic of 1907, Andrew Freedman, a self-made millionaire, came to the realization that he almost lost his entire fortune. He feared what would have happened to him in his later life without his wealth. As a result, he developed the idea of a charitable trust to build a home for older individuals who had lost their fortunes, where they could live in their retirements.^[2]

When Freedman died in 1915, his estate was worth over $4 million ($93,600,000 in current dollar terms). Samuel Untermyer served as executor of his estate.^[3][4]

In his will, Freedman bequeathed money to build the Andrew Freedman Home at 1125 Grand Concourse in The Bronx. The home was intended to serve as a retirement home for "aged and indigent persons of both sexes", who had formerly been of "good circumstances" financially.^[4][5] Each resident lived at the Andrew Freedman Home rent free, and received free servants.^[2]

Construction

Plans were filed in 1922 to build the home as a four-story brick building. Untermeyer purchased the plot of land on Grand Concourse. Architects Joseph H. Friedlander and Harry Allan Jacobs estimated the cost of construction at $500,000 ($7,068,588 in current dollar terms).^[5][6] The Home was built as a four-story building in a French and Italian Renaissance style with soft gray and yellow limestone.^[2][7] The building cost approximately $1 million ($13,810,000 in current dollar terms) to build.^[8]

The Andrew Freedman Home opened in 1924.^[8] The building was expanded between 1928 and 1931,^[5] adding two new wings.^[2] The building included formal English gardens, a well-manicured lawn, and public rooms with fireplaces and oriental rugs. Each private residence contained a white marble shower stall.

Retirement home

The Home could accommodate 130 residents at a time.^[2] Although the first guests to move into the Home did not have the intended cultural background, many wealthy individuals who lost their fortunes in the Wall Street Crash of 1929 moved into the Home in the 1930s. After World War II, various Jews of European descent moved into the home.^[2]

At dinner, formal dress was a requirement. People were forbidden to sleep on couches or put their feet on the furniture in the public areas.^[2]

Just as with its beneficiaries, the trust's money ran low by the 1960s. By 1965, residents were required to pay rent. People began to move out of the Home as the area around Grand Concourse declined.^[2]

Recent developments

The Mid Bronx Senior Citizens Council purchased the home in 1982, and relocated the remaining 30 residents. They reopened the Home in 1983 as a residence for the elderly and poor.^[2]

The Andrew Freedman Home was named a New York City Designated Landmark in 1992.^[5]

As of 2012, the Andrew Freedman Home serves as a daycare center and event space.^[9] After undergoing renovations, it reopened on April 4, 2012 as an art space, organized by No Longer Empty.^[10]

References

In-line citations

1. Samuels, Tanyanika (December 7, 2012). "Old Bronx mansion turned haven for former socialites gets partial makeover as bed & breakfast". Daily News (New York).
2. Stewart, Barbara (September 14, 1997). "Making it Work; Where the Ex-Rich Lived". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
3. "THE MAYOR RETORTS – ASSAILS UNTERMYER – Hylan Calls Attorney a "Notorious Trust Organizer" and"Handy Man" of the Rich.BRAZEN, ARROGANT, HE SAYS; Charges the "Traction Twins," Sam and Bill, Are Again Working For the "Old Crowd" (pdf). New York Times. November 1, 1921. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
4. "UNTERMYER PASSES THE LIE TO HYLAN – Accuses Mayor of "More Falsehoods to the Square Inch" Than All Candidates in City's History. DEMANDS STAND ON TRANSIT Charges Hylan With Throwing Out "Smoke Screen Behind Which To Dodge Traction Issue"". The New York Times. November 2, 1921. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
5. "Neighborhood Preservation Center (pdf)" (PDF). 1992. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
6. "File Plans for Andrew Freedman Home" (pdf). The New York Times. July 12, 1922. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
7. "A Home for Bankrupt Millionaires! You Must Once Have Been as Rich as a Croesus and Now as Poor as Job's Turkey to Qualify for Admission to the Unique New York Institution Known as the Andrew Freedman Home". Evening Tribune. November 23, 1924. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
8. "Dedicate a Refuge for Cultured Poor – Andrew Freedman Home, Which Cost $1,000,000, a New Idea in Philanthropy. Aged Couples Not Divided; Are Maintained Together in Luxurious Surroundings – Open to All Creeds". The New York Times. May 26, 1924. p. 17. Retrieved May 7, 2012. (subscription required)
9. Patrick. "Andrew Freedman Home – "This Side of Paradise" Project | Street Art Revitalization". FreshnessMag.com. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
10. Tanyanika Samuels (2012-04-04). "Grand Andrew Freedman Home mansion on Grand Concourse inspires vast exhibit of 32 artists – New York Daily News". Articles.nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2012-05-07.

External links

• "Emergency Preservation Grants: Andrew Freedman Home, 1125 Grand Concourse, Bronx". The New York Landmarks Conservancy. March 2012.