On December 8th, late Bronxite and DeWitt Clinton alumni Bill Finger and co-creator of Batman will have justice with a Bronx street renamed after him.
For years, many only knew Bob Kane as the creator of Batman but it was actually Bill Finger who gave Bob Kane not only the idea of how Batman should look but also created his origin story and wrote many of the stories during the beginning of the rise of the Dark Knight.
Born Milton Finger in Denver, Colorado on February 8, 1914, eventually he and his family moved to The Bronx where he was raised and went to DeWitt Clinton High School (where Bob Kane went as well).
Kane was trying to come up with a character to compete with the craze created by Superman but was stuck in a rut when he asked Bill Finger for some advice. The two would meet up at Poe Park on the Grand Concourse to come up with ideas and it was Finger who told him to change his costume into what became the Batman we know today.
But Bill never received any credit for this. The struggle to give him the credit he deserved even became the subject of a documentary on Hulu
Sadly, he passed away in 1974 so he never got to receive the credit or fame for his contribution but at least history has been corrected.
So it’s only fitting that E 192nd Street at Grand Concourse, just at the southern end of Poe Park, will be renamed for Bill Finger to honor yet another great Bronxite. Someone who helped create a character loved by millions.
