Some scenes and buildings in Hunt’s Point. American Banknote printed travelers checks for American Express and currency for many countries. I used to work for Amex “Travelers Cheque” division back in the Eighties; by then American Banknote had moved their operations out of this building. It has since been converted to office space.

Were these original cobblestones? I think not. More likely they were laid down fairly recently, to improve the appearance of Hunt’s Point Avenue.

Joseph Rodman Drake was an American poet of the early 19th Century, who penned “The American Flag,” and achieved some modest fame in his day. He died at age 25 and was buried here, in the Hunt family burial ground. In his honor, several streets in the area were also named for American poets: Longfellow, Whittier, Halleck (a minor poet and a friend of Drake’s), Bryant, and Drake. More on Joseph Rodman Drake Park by the NYC Parks Dept. It’s somewhat sad to see the place now, as the monuments are worn and weathered; the plot is fenced-off, and, in the midst of an industrial/commercial area, almost abandoned.

One small part of this operation. Two large warehouses, hundreds of bags of redeemable bottles and cans spilling out everywhere, guys in forklifts moving them around, canners dropping off their day’s collection. Quite a sight. (Literally across the street from Drake Park.)

This area and this building were also low-rent and working class. Nonetheless, thoughtful detail went into the design and construction of the buildings. Not especially expensive, but just a little more human than modern apartment buildings.

• Bronx,
• Hunts Point