A Weekend in Morrisania: Hager in the Bronx

For over eight months, I have lived in the Bronx, specifically the neighborhood of Morrisania. Nothing is quite as exciting and inspiring as living in a historic neighborhood that is of specific interest to you. I am very thankful for this privilege, and am proud to say that the first place I will have lived in New York was in the Bronx. While there is still a lot of its history intact, much of it is buried underneath the modern paved streets, much like the rest of New York City. One thing, however, that is still intact somehow is the amphitheater where weekend band concerts happened in St. Mary’s park. Fred Hager and his full orchestra played here between 1896 and 1901, and, while the gazebo no longer exists, the space was returned to an open air theater within the last few decades. As in every city in the United States in the latter 19th century, weekend band concerts were very popular, especially after the tours of Gilmore’s band during the Reconstruction era. I have previously written an article about Hager’s band concerts, but now that I live very close to where they happened, I have more items to add. St. Mary’s park is an interesting one, it isn’t particularly large, but it does make some impact on the map. It actually used to be a bit smaller than its current size. When looking at it on a map, it has a distinct curved border that follows its east side. This act