WEIHER COURT, MORRISANIA

by Kevin Walsh

WEIHER Court is a narrow alley just south of East 165th between Washington and Third Avenues in Morrisania. Though a Bromley 1911 atlas shows a number of small brick residences on each side, only two of them remain today. I’m not sure whether the name is pronounced “weigher” or “wire.” According to John McNamara the street, and its original homes, was built in 1908 and remembers contractor William Weiher. 

It’s short and narrow enough to rate only one streetlamp, which means the alley must be quite dark and forbidding at night, especially if you’re a resident of one of the remaining two apartment buildings.

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What puzzles me about Weiher Court is its depiction in the old hand-drawn Hagstrom map, which shows an odd unnevenness to Weiher Court’s width, as if it was widened in the center. When I inspected it, no such widening could be seen. Hagstrom has long since ditched its ‘analog’ map, and besides, anyone who had depicted it this way has been in map heaven for many years by now. Forever a mystery, I suppose.

On the lower right, note Teasdale Place, which has long since been eliminated. Or…has it?


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10/9/24

3 comments

Zalman Lev October 10, 2024 - 9:23 am

According to the City’s maps, there is, officially I guess, a 3-foot indentation on the south side of Weiher Court and a 7-foot indentation on the north side midblock. The indentations are in evidence on the Bromley map as well at the time that Weiher appears to have been a dead end that did not yet connect to Third Avenue.

Reply
Peter October 10, 2024 - 9:33 pm

On Google Street View you can see an indentation on the north side. It looks to be only about a foot or two deep, however.

Reply
P-j Greiner October 17, 2024 - 12:40 pm

In common German the second vowel is usually pronounced in long form. The German town of Weiherhammer is pronounced “wire-hammer”.

Reply

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