BRONX, N.Y. — Jackie Ross makes a habit of taking a walk with her dog Max along Mosholu Parkway near Bainbridge Avenue. She calls the green spaces of the parkway a great asset to those living in the neighborhood.
"It's like having your own paradise and a backyard," said Ross about the the landscaped roadway which is around three miles long.
It dates back to the 1880s, designed to connect Van Cortlandt Park to Bronx Park, which is home to the New York Botanical Garden and Bronx Zoo. It was reconstructed in the 1930s. How about the name Mosholu? Angel Hernandez of the Huntington Free Library and Reading Room, which focuses on Bronx history, said it comes from the Native Americans who first lived in the area.
"The name Mosholu is an old Lenape term, an Algonquin term, and it means smooth stone, or small stones, and the reason why, it used to be a brook." said Hernandez, referring to Tibbets Brook, which runs through lower Yonkers and northern Bronx.
The parkway runs through the Norwood, Bedford Park and Bainbridge neighborhoods, including under the elevated Number 4 train stop at Jerome Avenue. Along the way there are plenty of places to sit, walk, and check out the trees and flowers.
One debate over the years in the pronunciation of Mosholu. Some say Mosh-a-loo. Others Mosh-shoo-loo. And then others have called in Mosh-shoo-la. We asked some Bronx residents and visitors what they thought.
Yakira Kellman was visiting her brother on the parkway. She says it’s Mosh-aloo, and complained about arguing with a delivery car driver who disagreed with her.
“It's an O and then a U, so it works for me” said Kellman.
Her brother Jacob says Mosh-a-loo, but admitted to hearing Mosh-shoo-la. He said it all depends on who you talk to.
"When I'm telling my grandkids, I tell them Mosh-soo-la Park," said Mar Fore, a longtime Bainbridge Resident.
So what’s the answer?
"The correct way to pronounce this beautiful parkway, the way I would say it, Mosh-oh-loo, or Mo-shoe-loo, it's Lenape and there's many interpretations, there's some variations of the pronunciations," said resident Angel Hernandez.
“I will tell you one thing, there's one thing that's not correct, Mo-shoo-la, there is no A at the end, let's pronounce it the way it's spelled, it's Mosh-a-loo Parkway," Hernandez added.