The Bowery Boys: New York City History
(ABOVE: Metropolitan Hospital, at the turn of the century, the former site of Blackwell Island’s asylum) Is there anything more frightening than a insane asylum on fire? Nope. Welcome to America’s first municipal lunatic asylum, its home — you guessed it — on Roosevelt Island in the 19th century. The 1839 facility was designed by… Read More
Before going any further, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention its most famous monster man, the godfather of Roosevelt Island and one of the most original New Yorkers who ever lived – Al ‘Grampa Munster’ Lewis. Perhaps these days it’s difficult to understand a man like Al. He’s a crusty mix of old… Read More
With apologies to the people who reside there, I must admit that Roosevelt Island has always freaked me out. Which is why I like it actually. Over the next few days, I’ll highlight some of my favorite Roosevelt Island places and people, some familiar to New Yorkers who have never ventured there. The “little Apple”,… Read More
To get you in the mood for the weekend, every Friday we’ll be celebrating ‘FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER’, featuring an old New York nightlife haunt, from the dance halls of 19th Century Bowery, to the massive warehouse spaces of the mid-90s. Past entries can be found here . To stick with our morbid spooky theme this… Read More
From the podcast: David Belasco and some his feminine daliances. Belasco is still believed to haunt his theater on 44th St. A city this size certainly has its share of ghosts, and the Bowery Boys spend the spooky season with some of the most famous — a suicide showgirl, a grumpy landowner, a womanizing theater… Read More
The ground underfoot downtown Manhattan gave the developers of the new federal courthouse in 1991 a rather morbid surprise — the remains of 415 people, in a burial ground for enslaved and free blacks in the 17th and 18th century. Unknown and unmarked for decades, the site was declared a national landmark in 1993, and… Read More
(the view of Columbus Circle and adjoining Merchants Gate to Central Park, from the second floor vantage of the Time Warner Center, click photo to see detail) The Columbus Day Parade yesterday sailed through midtown turning everyone Italian, with not too much focus on the man who, in 1492, ‘discovered’ America, or so they said… Read More
To get you in the mood for the weekend, every Friday we’ll be celebrating ‘FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER’, featuring an old New York nightlife haunt, from the dance halls of 19th Century Bowery, to the massive warehouse spaces of the mid-90s. Past entries can be found here . There are few nightclubs in the modern history… Read More
The New York Public Library may be one of the most revered libraries in America, but it took a farflung combination of bookworms, millionaires and do-gooders to make it into the institution it is today. Also: find out why the architectural style of the Beaux Arts sometimes reminds us of an old French prostitute. Listen… Read More
(picture courtesy the NY Post) Scandalous, I know, but I was out of town on Monday and missed the 100th anniversary party for The Plaza Hotel, the famous French Renaissance playground-lodge for the rich, very rich and famous. It seems wrong not to have had at least one Bowery Boy there. Oh well. The Plaza… Read More
The streets are getting particularly clogged these days with film crews in New York. According to the Mayor’s office, expect to see the following on your block: Gossip Girl, 30 Rock, What Happened In Vegas (Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher), Death In Love (Adam Brody and Josh Lucas), Burn After Reading (Brad Pitt and George… Read More
The baby walrus at New York Aquarium makes his debut![New York Aquarium] I can’t believe I’m getting so choked up about the closing of a midtown porn house.[Vanishing New York] But the Domino Sugar Factory gets a reprieve — landmark status.[Lost City] Robert Moses nemesis Jane Jacobs, saviour of the New York ‘neighborhood’, gets a… Read More
To get you in the mood for the weekend, every Friday we’ll be celebrating ‘FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER’, featuring an old New York nightlife haunt, from the dance halls of 19th Century Bowery, to the massive warehouse spaces of the mid-90s. Past entries can be found here . Bond International Casino — save for fifteen days… Read More
(Above: a boy delivers some very heavy looking hats through the city, circa 1910) Most photographers document history, but few actually change it. Lewis W. Hine entered the brand new field of photojournalism during the first decade of the new century but quickly found a use for it in social reform, particularly in documenting (and… Read More
Her torch may shine bright, but what story is she hiding under that copper-toned skin? The Bowery Boys bring you the story of the dinner party that created an American icon. Her official name is the Statue of Liberty Enlightening The World. You can find a full survey of her measures here. Two facts… Read More