BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) — One neighborhood was the hardest hit when the South Bronx burned in the 1970s.
Melrose.
Now, Melrose residents are celebrating another step in the rebirth of Melrose with the opening of the Bronx Music Hall.
Opening night at the music hall was a tribute to past, present, and future with performers Grandmaster Caz, MC Sha-Rock, Uptown Vinyl Supreme, and Kongo, an Afro-Haitian group.
This 250-seat performance space in the heart of Melrose was just a dream 30 years ago.
“The Bronx has been a bedrock of music for all genres,” Davon Russell, the president of Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation, told PIX11 News. “We typically talk about hip-hop, but there’s also Latin jazz and salsa. It’s been the seat of music and culture across New York City.”
Russell, the president of WHEDco, gave PIX11 News a tour of the 14,000-square-foot facility, which includes a state-of-the-art performance space, a multi-use classroom and dance studio, a green room, a recording studio, and a lobby for interactive exhibits.