Move over, Spider-man: Robert Moses hits the stage!

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “You know, that Robert Moses, I wish he were even more larger-than-life,” then your wish may be granted this Wednesday, April 27, when the Artists Playground Theatre launches into a staged reading of Robert Moses “three-act, historical fantasy” titled “World of Tomorrow.“ On top of more traditional dramatic moments recounting… Read More

South Bronx and the days of new American aristocracy

What you think about when you think about the South Bronx: the Morrisania estate built by Gouverneur Morris. (NYPL) NAME THAT NEIGHBORHOOD Some New York neighborhoods are simply named for their location on a map (East Village, Midtown). Others are given prefabricated designations (SoHo, DUMBO). But a few retain names that link them intimately with… Read More

New York’s flag day: The Civil War rally at Union Square

Throngs gather in Union Square in support of the Union cause, April 20, 1861. Just in case you’re slightly confused by the placement, the crowd is standing on Fourth Avenue (Park Avenue South) facing into the east side of the park; the Washington equestrian statue once stood at the southeast corner. Look here for comparison.… Read More

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Notes from the Podcast (#122) The Manhattan Grid Plan

From H.S. Tanner’s ‘The American Traveller; or Guide Through the United States’, 1836 (book published book 1840) Stuyvesant Street is mentioned as one of the few streets in New York that was allowed to break the grid, and its diagonal path between Second and Third avenues is a reminder of the original farm grid of… Read More

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Health and Living Podcasts

Building Blocks: The Commissioners Plan of 1811, inventing a New York grid of streets and avenues

The simplicity of the New York grid system, seen overhead in a 1939 classic photo by Margaret Bourke-White. PODCAST The Commissioners Plan of 1811 How did Manhattan get its orderly rows of numbered streets and avenues? In the early 19th century, New York was growing rapidly, but the new development was confined on an island,… Read More

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“Nexus Of The Universe”

In honor of tomorrow’s cartographic-flavored podcast, I present to you a classic clip which begins in that most mysterious of Manhattan locations. Well, at least according to Kramer*: *If this blew his mind, imagine had he stumbled upon the intersection of 4th Street and 10th Street, two streets that logically should never cross paths.

Cheers, College Point; A tribute to kooky Casey Stengel

I love this picture. There are so few century-old images of actual saloons that look like places you’d actually want to go into. This image, from 1905, of a handsome bar and its attentive staff was taken in College Point, Queens. Notice the beautiful cash register, the deer head overlooking any patrons and the food… Read More

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True Crime

William ‘Boss’ Tweed meets his end on Ludlow Street

Today is a day of big historical remembrances, from the 150th anniversary of the first battle of the Civil War to the 50th anniversary of man’s first entry into space. But to me, April 12th will always be the day that William ‘Boss’ Tweed died in his cell at the Ludlow Street Jail in 1878,… Read More

Bridge Whist Club: The worst booze your taxes can buy!

Just a barrel of laughs: Prohibition agents dump illegal containers of wine into the streets. FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER To get you in the mood for the weekend, on occasional Fridays we’ll be featuring an historic New York nightlife haunt, from the dance halls of the old Bowery, to the massive warehouse clubs of the mid-1990s.… Read More

Dancing queens: Scenes from Bronx Park

A zesty group of ladies enjoy the beauty of Bronx Park in 1911 as they perform a Polish dance known as the Krakoviak according to the photo caption. I don’t really have much else to say about this picture other than to say it really makes me wish it weren’t below 50 degrees right now.… Read More

Stories from Midtown: The journey of an old church, surviving Civil War riots to become a garage

Drive-in salvation: the former All Souls church welcomed automobiles into the fold in 1908. (Courtesy Shorpy) Another story of a long-gone, forgotten building and one that would have celebrated its dedication 150 years ago this week. This time the story has a strangely sacreligious twist! It’s safe to say that most Americans were extremely anxious… Read More

An ode to Sbarro Pizza, a long way from Bensonhurst

On the grim news today that Sbarro Pizza has filed for bankruptcy, I thought I would reprint my article from July 2009 on the Brooklyn origins of this fast-food slice joint. The Sbarro family in their original salumeria in Bensonhurst In my July 2009 roundup of famous New York-style pizzerias, I left out the one… Read More

With the state capitol on fire, a wealth of history lost

This is not New York City related, but it pertains to the state capital. New Yorkers woke up this morning 100 years ago to see the haunting portrait above in the morning papers. The state capitol building in Albany , completed just 12 years before, caught fire on the evening of March 29, 1911, destroying… Read More

Other scary animals that have escaped the Bronx Zoo

These 1906 Bronx zoo employees won’t let this snake out of sight. (NYPL) Escapes from the Bronx Zoo are relatively rare today, so news of a 20-inch Egyptian cobra slithering away last Friday — its current whereabouts unknown — struck fear and excitement in the hearts of Bronx residents. The slithery beast has even inspired… Read More

Worldwide Plaza, all business in a scruffy neighborhood

New York’s PBS affiliate WNET tonight debuts the documentary ’50th & 8th: A Skyscraper Story’ about the construction of One Worldwide Plaza, the complex of buildings in Hell’s Kitchen that fashioned itself as an architectural pioneer of midtown’s west side. I would not have thought this exemplar of 1980s architecture, a modern try at replicating… Read More