Bronx Apartment Rental Info:

Parkchester is a made-up word using the two names that were in use for this area earlier in the 1900s: Park Versailles (the name given to the area when the Mapes Mansion was sold and subdivided for development starting in 1893) and Westchester. The name was coined when the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company built a huge housing development in 1942. Home to 40,000 people, this 129-acre complex has many of its own amenities, and it has been a magnet for upwardly-mobile working-class folks. Storefronts in the complex feature the classic mid-century moderne style, with curving facades, art deco detailing, and stylized signage. In 1968, Met Life sold Parkchester to a real estate developer who converted some of the buildings into condos, but many remain rentals. In the 1980s many new immigrants settled in Parkchester, mostly from Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, and the Philippines. The Westchester Square part of Parkchester is one of the oldest in the Bronx. St. Peter's Church at the intersection of East Tremont and Westchester Avenues, was established in 1693 and was the old village's town center. The neighborhood is home to many medical facilities, including Einstein Hospital, Jacobi Hospital, Calvary Hospital, and Bronx State Hospital.