PUGSLEY Creek, an inlet of the East River, forms a fork with the much longer and deeper Westchester Creek in Clason Point, Bronx, with Castle Hill Park at the foot of Castle Hill Avenue in the middle. It’s relatively short, with the surface waters penetrating only to Lacombe Avenue at Stickball Boulevarrd (Newman Avenue); north of that, it was diverted into the sewer system several decades ago. On either side of the creek is a marshy area that in 1989 was formalized as Pugsley Creek Park, with walking trails added. You can see it on this 1901 Bronx map, where it’s called Barrett’s Creek; according to the late Bronx historian John McNamara in History in Asphalt, it’s also been called Cromwell’s Creek, Wilkins Creek, Clason’s Creek and West Creek. The Pugsley family was prominent in the Unionport area in the 19th Century. NYC water master Sergey Kadonsky has the full Pugsley Creek story over at Hidden Waters.
The creek has lent its name to Pugsley Avenue, which runs from the East River at Clason Point with an interruption by the creek to McGraw Avenue at the eastern end of Parkchester. Additionally, Pugsley Pizza, on East 191st Street in Fordham, just south of the campus, one of my favorite pizza joints seen on this FNY page, was founded by Sicilian immigrant Salvatore Natale in the early 1980s, a former jazz saxophone who had arrived in the States in 1967. It was originally located on Pugsley Avenue in Castle Hill but moved when Natale purchased a junkyard on East 191st and moved the pizzeria there.
For years, I had thought the street and the creek had nothing to do with Pugsley Addams, the cherubic, good-natured striped-shirted scion of the Addams Family, played by the late Ken Weatherwax in the 60s TV show. But I was wrong. When cartoonist Charles Addams, who helped develop the show, was looking for appropriate names for the characters, he happened on a Bronx map, saw the name and made up his mind then. That’s the story MeTV is providing.
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5/14/24
9 comments
Interesting, I have Pugsley ancestors! Offhand I remember they mostly lived in Kittery, Maine in the 1700s.
As a former Parkchester kid, I can recall expeditions to Pugsley Creek. In the spring & summer months, after it rained, the marsh would flood & it was easy to find & catch frogs, proving that not only do “Kids Say the Darndest Things” (Art Linkletter), they also DO the darndest things too).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_Say_the_Darndest_Things
The City reduced combined sewer overflows to the Creek by 98 percent recently:
https://www.nyc.gov/site/ddc/about/press-releases/2020/pr-102620-pugsley.page
I thought he was called that because he looked kind of pudgy and numb inside.
Charles Addams’ own names for his characters were used for the TV series except for the young boy– Addams called him “Pubert” (which name did NOT fly with Network Standards and Practices!) and so he looked for another name that started with “P,” “Pubert” would be used as a name in the 1990’s Raul Julia/Anjelica Huston iteration for a different character. At least that’s what I’ve read.
And Lisa Loring, who played Wednesday Addams, was a song contender for the title of The Most Famous Person Ever Born on Kwajalein Atoll.
I grew up on Pugsley Creek and that’s not Pugsley Creek.
It’s Pugsley Creek.
“The Addams Family” sitcom theme music written by Vic Mizzy who is also composer of my current earworm:”Don’t Cross in the Middle, in the Middle, in the Middle, in the Middle of the Block”‘ (A well known tune to New Yawkers of a certain vintage>)