The Bowery Boys: New York City History
Best unlaid plans: (Above) The aborted additions to the New York City subway system, illustrated on the coolest subway map ever, from 1968. [Map from Second Avenue Sagas] Exploring, with old maps: The remains of old trolley tracks, the home of Louis Armstrong, and the memories of old North Beach amusement park. [Forgotten New York]… Read More
Every Monday I’ll try and check in with the Mad Men episode from the night before and focus in on one or two historical references made on the show. Spoilers aplenty, so read no further if you don’t want to know…. New York’s fascination with Japanese culture has never been because of a particularly large… Read More
The subway in 1951, a bevy of new lines thanks to the unification of the IRT, the BMT and the IND, a consolidation we live with today. (Pic courtesy of NYC Subway) PODCAST The amazing New York City subway system travels hundreds of miles under the earth and elevated through the boroughs. In this episode,… Read More
The first subway into Brooklyn — not a product of Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT), but of an extension of the original Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) — terminated at what is today the Atlantic Avenue-Pacific Street Station, at the crossroads of several streets and a hub for the Long Island Railroad and a station for the… Read More
Behold, Meryl Streep on the subway, August 1981 Streep lived in SoHo at the time this picture was taken. Perhaps she was on her way to do a little promo work for ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’, which hit theaters in September? Streep has aged gracefully. The subway? Needed a whole lotta work done…. Oh, and… Read More
A postcard from Jim Downey’s showing a plethora of theatrical faces who frequented the place. Every Monday I’ll try and check in with the Mad Men episode from the night before and focus in on one or two historical references made on the show. Spoilers aplenty, so read no further if you don’t want to… Read More
I feel as though I am partly responsible for the death of actress Patricia Neal, who passed away this past Sunday. Last Wednesday I was finishing up Sam Wasson’s indulgent little “Fifth Avenue 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast At Tiffany’s, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman” and admired the author’s anecdotes about Neal, who… Read More
Every Monday I’ll try and check in with the Mad Men episode from the night before and focus in on one or two historical references made on the show. Spoilers aplenty, so read no further if you don’t want to know…. Last night’s episode of ‘Mad Men’ spent one half of the episode in California… Read More
PODCAST In the fourth part of our transportation series BOWERY BOYS ON THE GO, we finally take a look at the birth of the New York City subway. After decades of outright avoiding underground transit as a legitimate option, the city got on track with the help of August Belmont and the newly formed Interborough… Read More
Two forlorn shots of the IRT’s 28th Street Station, utterly untouched by throngs, 1904. One hundred and six years later, hundreds boarding the 4 and 6 trains would enter here. Photos courtesy LOC
I’m pretty sure I’ve posted this video before, but as a preparation for tomorrow’s new podcast, I thought it was worth another look. A rather tranquil look down the subway tunnels, 105 years ago…. June 5, 1905: the Interborough Rapid Transit line from 14th Street to 42nd Street, not yet in operation a year.
Like the set of a future German expressionist film, the brand new power station for Interborough Rapid Transit’s underground train service sits ready for use, 1904. (Actually the station isn’t ‘underground’; it sat on the far west side on 58th Street and 11th Avenue) The gleaming yet strangely spooky City Hall Station, still under construction… Read More
Two images of New York subway tunnels from 1904, before regular service began in October. Original photos courtesy Library of Congress, cleaned up editions at Shorpy (The top one is 14th Street station)
Every Monday I’ll try and check in with the Mad Men episode from the night before and focus in on one or two historical references made on the show. Spoilers aplenty, so read no further if you don’t want to know…. It’s Christmastime, December 1964, and our favorite upstart ad agency, in order to impress… Read More
A special illustrated version of our podcast on the Pan Am Building (Episode #61) is now available on our NYC History Archive feed. Today it’s the Met Life Building. It’s been called the ugliest building in New York City. It sits like a monolith behind one of the city’s most enduring icons Grand Central Terminal.… Read More