I have an undying fascination with Parkchester — it’s not just another housing project, but a mini-city plopped in central Bronx, with its own shopping strip and movie theater. Some residents need not ever leave it for days at a stretch. You can get there by taking the #6 train to its namesake station.
It has its own whimsical art direction, as well, with numerous, playfully-executed terra cotta sculptures, most of them located high on buildings, so you have to look up to see them; but occasionally there’s one closer to the ground. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, which built Parkchester beginning in 1941, chose the Federal Seaboard Terra Cotta Corporation for the project. The company supplied over 500 statues of hula girls, accordion players, farm animals, and other unique accoutrements as doorway ornaments, as well as elaborate designs for theatres and storefronts, some by renowned sculptor Joseph Kiselewski.
For many more views of Parkchester’s sculptures, see this FNY page.
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