Ribbon Cut on Printers Park in the South Bronx

Printers Park pays tribute to the property’s 19th century estate owner Richard March Hoe (1812-1886). In 1846, Hoe patented the world’s first rotary printing press, commonly known as the “lightning press” for its remarkable speed. The rotary printing press placed the type on a revolving cylinder, which was more efficient than the traditional flatbed printing press. With subsequent improvements, this rotary press could handle continuous sheets of paper instead of single hand-fed sheets. As a result, the printing press worked faster, mass media newspapers proliferated and by 1850 there were more than 1,000 printers in the city. Hoe passed away in 1886, and was buried in the crypt at St. Ann’s Church in Old Morrisania.