What to See in New Rochelle - Top Sights and Attractions

Park in the Bronx, New York. Pelham Bay Park is a municipal park located in the northeast corner of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is, at 2,772 acres, the largest public park in New York City. The park is more than three times the size of Manhattan's Central Park. The park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Pelham Bay Park contains many geographical features, both natural and man-made. The park includes several peninsulas, including Rodman's Neck, Tallapoosa Point, and the former Hunter and Twin Islands. A lagoon runs through the center of Pelham Bay Park, and Eastchester Bay splits the southwestern corner from the rest of the park. There are also several recreational areas within the park. Orchard Beach runs along Pelham Bay on the park's eastern shore. Two golf courses and various nature trails are located within the park's central section. Other landmarks include the Bartow-Pell Mansion, a city landmark, as well as the Bronx Victory Column & Memorial Grove.

Before its creation, the land comprising the current Pelham Bay Park was part of Anne Hutchinson's short-lived dissident colony. Part of New Netherland, it was destroyed in 1643 by a Siwanoy attack in reprisal for the unrelated massacres carried out under Willem Kieft's direction of the Dutch West India Company's New Amsterdam colony. In 1654 an Englishman named Thomas Pell purchased 50,000 acres (200 km²) from the Siwanoy, land which would become known as Pelham Manor after Charles II's 1666 charter. During the American Revolutionary War, the land was a buffer between British-held New York City and rebel-held Westchester, serving as the site of the Battle of Pell's Point, where Massachusetts militia hiding behind stone walls (still visible at one of the park's golf courses) stopped a British advance.

The park was created in 1888, under the auspices of the Bronx Parks Department, largely inspired by the vision of John Mullaly, and passed to New York City when the part of the Bronx east of the Bronx River was annexed to the city in 1895. Orchard Beach, one of the city's most popular, was created through the efforts of Robert Moses in the 1930s.^[1]

Museum in New Rochelle, New York. The Thomas Paine Cottage in New Rochelle, New York, in the United States, was the home from 1802 to 1806 of Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense and Revolutionary War hero. Paine was buried near the cottage from his death in 1809 until his body was disinterred in 1819. It was one of a number of buildings located on the 300 acre farm given to Paine by the State of New York in 1784, in recognition of his services in the cause of Independence. It was here in August 1805 that he wrote his last pamphlet, which was addressed to the citizens of Philadelphia on "Constitutional Reform".

The cottage has been owned by the "Huguenot and New Rochelle Historical Association" and has been operated as a historic house museum since 1910. The cottage is open to the public most Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays 10–5 p.m. There are numerous weekend events scheduled at the cottage throughout the year including their Colonial Fair in the spring and Colonial Tavern night during ArtsFest in October and a Toys for Tots drive in December. The cottage hosts many local school field trips.^[3]

Movie theater in Pelham, New York. The Picture House Regional Film Center, formerly known as the "Pelham Picture House", is a historic movie theater located at Pelham, Westchester County, New York. The rectangular building was built in 1921, in the Spanish Revival style and is oriented at an angle at the northwest corner of Wolf's Lane and Brookside Avenue. It features angled end bays, a distinctive round arched entrance, tiled hoods over the large windows on the end bays, and a wood open truss ceiling in the auditorium. The building typifies early 20th century commercial architecture of New York City commuter suburbs with its eclectic style reflective of the Mission style.

The theater was privately owned until it was put up for sale in 2003. Fearing that the historic building would be torn down, concerned Westchester citizens formed a nonprofit (originally Pelham Picture House Preservation, the name was changed to The Picture House Regional Film Center in 2005) and bought the building. The Picture House operates with film and education programming at the 175 Wolfs Lane location and in area schools. The theater also hosts birthday parties.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.^[6]

Episcopal church in New Rochelle, New York. Trinity-St. Paul's Episcopal Church in New Rochelle in Westchester County, New York was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. It is located at the northwest corner of Huguenot Street and Division Street. This church represents the body of the majority group of New Rochelle's founding Huguenot French Calvinistic congregation that conformed to the liturgy of the established Church of England in June 1709. King George III gave Trinity its first charter in 1762. After the American Revolutionary War, Trinity became a parish of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America.

The present building is the third church erected by the conformist congregation. It is the immediate successor of a wooden church building erected in 1823 - 1824. It stands on land that was conveyed to the church wardens by Aman Guion in 1743. The cornerstone was laid on August 13, 1862, the church was opened for worship September 13, 1863, and the tower completed November 30, 1864. The church was designed by Richard Upjohn & Son, known for their gothic revival architecture.

A parish house was added on the western side of the church in 1892. Constructed of the same granite and brownstone materials as the church, the structure was designed by architect Frederick Carles Merry, who also designed the New Rochelle Trust building on Main Street.^[7]

St. John's Wilmot Church is an Episcopal parish in New Rochelle, New York. Located at the intersection of North Avenue, Mill Road and Wilmot Road, the church anchors the 17th - 19th century satellite hamlet of Cooper's Corners.

Officially founded on May 1, 1858, the Alexander Durand designed Carpenter Gothic church was completed in 1859 to serve as a "chapel of ease" for people who found it too difficult to travel five miles to Trinity Church on Huguenot Street in the southern part of town and St. James-the-Less in Scarsdale. Soon it was an independent church, incorporated under the laws of New York State December 8, 1860, serving parishioners in the northern reaches of New Rochelle and beyond. The church is built on a foundation of Tuckahoe marble, while the building’s interior retains such original details as 19 mahogany pews and chandeliers.

St. John's was the location of the first public school in New Rochelle. It was established under the provisions of the Act of April 9, 1795, the first public school law passed by the State of New York. The school house was built between 1830 and 1840, replacing an original single room school built in 1795. In 1922, the New Rochelle School Board transferred its students to the Roosevelt School. The Church purchased the property in 1943 for use as a Sunday school and clergy offices.

Artist Norman Rockwell was a member of the St. John's congregation. His children were baptized in the church.

The Rev. Jennie Talley was called as the 20th rector of St. John's on June 5, 2016, and is its first woman rector.^[10]

Pelham is a suburban town in Westchester County, approximately 10 miles northeast of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 12,511, a 0.96% increase from the 2010 census. Historically, Pelham was composed of five villages and became known as "the Pelhams". Pelham currently contains two independently incorporated villages: the Villages of Pelham and Pelham Manor.

Approximately 28 minutes away from Grand Central Terminal by the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line, Pelham is home to many New York City commuters and has an active social community for its residents. The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge is approximately 8.5 miles (14 km) south of the town. It is also 13 miles (21 km) northeast of LaGuardia Airport and 19.5 miles (31 km) north of John F. Kennedy International Airport.^[11]

Building in New Rochelle, New York. Trump Plaza New Rochelle is a 40-story luxury condo located in New Rochelle, NY. The Trump Organization no longer manages the property after their services were rescinded by the Condo Board in October 2021, and is now managed by AKAM Associates.

Trump Plaza New Rochelle was built by Cappelli Enterprises, the same developer that built Trump Tower at City Center in nearby White Plains. Trump Plaza was the tallest building in Westchester County and the tallest building between New York City and Albany until the completion of the 44-story, twin-towered Ritz-Carlton hotel in White Plains.

Trump Plaza is part of a massive downtown redevelopment project that began with the construction of New Roc City in 1999. The project encompasses Parcel 1A and the Lawton Street Redevelopment block known as Le Count Square. Located at 175 Huguenot Street, Trump Plaza is built on the 2-acre (8,100 m2), Parcel 1A site which the City of New Rochelle had sought to redevelop for more than 30 years. In 2008 Cappelli Enterprises will begin development of 'Le Count Square' opposite Trump Plaza, adding 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) of hotel, office, retail and residential space to the area. With the development of Trump Plaza and LeCount Square, Cappelli's total investment in downtown New Rochelle will exceed $1 billion.

The 353,600-square-foot (32,850 m2) Trump Plaza consists of 138,000 square feet (12,800 m2) of retail space on two levels at its base, topped with a luxury condominium tower. Trump Plaza rises more than 435 feet (133 m) over downtown New Rochelle. The retail portion of the project is linked to New Roc City by an enclosed pedestrian bridge.^[14]

Wildcliff, also referred to as the Cyrus Lawton House, was a historic residence overlooking Long Island Sound in New Rochelle in Westchester County, New York. This 20-room cottage-villa, built in about 1852, was designed by prominent architect Alexander Jackson Davis in the Gothic Revival style. The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 2002.

The unoccupied mansion was destroyed by a suspicious fire on the evening of November 26, 2018. The house was a total loss. On December 12, 2018, four 13-year old, middle school boys (all local, New Rochelle residents) were arrested and charged in connection with the fire. All were charged as juveniles with misdemeanor third-degree criminal trespass, while one faces a felony charge of fourth-degree arson.^[16]

Building in New Rochelle. The First Presbyterian Church and Lewis Pintard House is a pair of adjacent historic buildings in downtown New Rochelle, New York, United States. The church and its adjoining manse, the Pintard House, are on a 3-acre lot. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The First Presbyterian Church had its origins as the French Church formed by New Rochelle's early Huguenot settlers. The church is a Colonial revival structure with granite quoins, designed by John Russell Pope, architect of the Jefferson Memorial. Completed in 1929, it replaced the congregation's first church, which had been destroyed by fire.

Adjacent to the church building is the Pintard House, one of New Rochelle's oldest remaining houses. It was constructed in part by Alexander Allaire sometime before 1710. In 1765 it became the home of a prominent New York City merchant named Pierre Vallade who came to New Rochelle on his retirement. After Vallade died in 1770, his widow married Lewis Pintard, whose name came to be associated with the house. Pintard was a local merchant and Revolutionary War patriot who was appointed by the Continental Congress to provide assistance to American prisoners held in the City of New York during British control. The Pintard House was moved to its current location in 1928.^[17]

The Jacob Leisler Monument is a bronze sculpture created by American artist Solon Borglum and located in the city of New Rochelle, in Westchester County, New York. The monument was erected by the Huguenot Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Huguenot Association of New Rochelle to the memory of Jacob Leisler, 17th-century advocate of the Huguenot settlers and said to be the first chief executive of the province of New York to draw his power directly from the people. The unveiling of the statue on June 24, 1913, was the principal event in the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of New Rochelle. The monument, cast by the Roman Bronze Works, is the only existing statue of Leisler.

Jacob Leisler was German-born and came to North America in 1660 as a soldier in the Dutch West India Company's service. Settling in New Amsterdam (New York), he left the company and prospered in the tobacco and fur trades, becoming a wealthy merchant and being appointed to several public offices in the city, such as justice of the peace and judge. Beginning in 1689, following the English Revolution in 1688 and accession of the Protestant rulers William III and Mary II, he led an insurrection dubbed Leisler's Rebellion, with popular support among the common people, ultimately seizing control of the city and colony from Jacobite officials previously appointed under the deposed King James. He appointed himself as acting Lieutenant Governor of the Province until the governor appointed by William and Mary finally reached New York in March 1691. During this period, he had purchased land from Pelham Manor, reserving a portion to help create the Huguenot settlement of New Rochelle in 1689. He refused to turn over power to a newly appointed lieutenant governor in 1690.

Leisler in 1691 was arrested and tried by his personal and political enemies on charges of felony and treason to William III and Mary II, for refusing to give up power to their appointed Lieutenant Governor before the full governor arrived several months later. He and his son-in-law were both executed. Many thought the trial was unjust. Four years later, Parliament reversed the conviction, clearing Leisler's name and restoring his estate to his heirs. They exonerated the late friend of the Huguenots.^[19]