Mount Eden-Claremont

Understanding Mount Eden-Claremont

The traffic islands on Mount Eden Parkway commemorate Rachel Eden, who bought the eastern slope of Anderson Farm in 1820. Older sections of the parkway were called Wolf Street, Jane Street and Walnut Street, linking the present corridor with its farm-era landscape.

The planning study places Mount Eden within the older residential communities along Jerome Avenue. The street and its cross streets form a commercial corridor through the apartment neighborhoods.

Claremont Park preserves the hill setting of a former estate. Its mansion once stood above terraced lawns descending toward Mill Brook, now Webster Avenue. The present park and the residential neighborhood have different boundaries.

New Settlement’s housing and community work grew out of efforts to rehabilitate buildings after the disinvestment of the 1980s. Its school and community campus opened in 2012, adding a pool, dance spaces and rooms for neighborhood programs. This is a more recent layer than the old estate names preserved by the parkway.

Places to explore

• Mount Eden Parkway malls

  Mount Eden Parkway between Weeks and Walton avenues

  Read the parkway and its traffic islands as part of the neighborhood's older street pattern. Use the public sidewalks and marked crossings; these small islands do not establish a continuous park walk.

• Jerome Avenue

  Commercial spine of the area

  Explore the public street and compare the shops with the surrounding apartment blocks. An older planning study explains the pattern of uses; it is not a current shop directory.

• Claremont Park

  Adjoining park on the eastern side

  Choose the park’s open grounds and recreation areas as a separate stop. The mansion is no longer standing, so this is a landscape-history visit rather than a house tour.

• New Settlement Community Center

  1501 Jerome Avenue at West 172nd Street

  Choose a swimming class or another scheduled program. Some classes accept nonmembers; general pool and fitness access uses membership or guest arrangements.

Planning a visit

New Settlement requires registration, advance class arrangements and entry credentials. Its policies restrict photography without permission. Ask the operator about the chosen room and approach if you need step-free access; no complete accessible route has been checked.