8. Shakespeare Avenue and School, The Bronx

According to McNamara’s Old Bronx, Shakespeare Avenue was named after the Shakespearean Garden that could be found on the former Marcher estate. According to John McNamara, The Shakespeare Garden “was a formal garden containing many of the flowers mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays, and embellished by marble busts of the Bard himself, and some of his creations, such as Puck, Romeo and JulietHamlet, Shylock and Portia. Other statues were placed in arbors and along the footpaths. Rebecca Marcher, averred the old watchman, pursued the theme by naming her horses and dogs Macbeth, Pyramus and Thisbe, and Falstaff.”
It is unknown what happened to these statues. Eventually the estate was subdivided and Marcher Avenue was created. In 1901, the Board of Public Improvements resolved to rename Marcher Avenue, Shakespeare Avenue, which was then ordained by the Municipal Assembly. Today, there is also a Shakespeare School located there.