The Bronx

Coming from the third-most densely populated county in the United States and a place not known for foliage, these images of The Bronx may be surprising.

East Coast color spotter Eugene Obermuller took them while out on a bike ride through Van Courtlandt Park in northwest New York City.

Today, the Bronx is mostly concrete, but at one time, of course, it was open, forested land. The Bronx gets its name from Swedish-born Jonas Bronck who established the first European settlement in the area, as part of the New Netherland colony in 1639.

Previously inhabited by the native Siwanoy band of Lenape Indians (known as the Delawares), it was called Keskeskeck. Dutch settlers bought tracts of land from local tribes and Bronck accumulated 500 acres between the Harlem River and Aquahung (later the Bronx River) to establish Bronck’s Land.

On Bronck’s Land, farms spread and manses were raised. One, built by mercatilist Fredrick Van Courtlandt in 1748 remains as a historical museum and as one of the nation’s finest best examples of Georgian architecture.

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If the metaphorical tree that grows in Brooklyn flourishes even in the midst of the inner city, then Van Courtlandt Park is The Bronx equivalent. Only, it’s real.

Score Peak color for one of the boroughs of New York City on an unusual visit to a forested corner of the home of the Yankees.

• The Bronx, NY (169′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!