The Bowery Boys: New York City History
There’ll be a new — shall I say, swashbuckling — new podcast on Friday afternoon. Have a great holiday everyone! And remember to vote in the 2009 Podcast Awards (see sidebar). Below: New Amsterdam becomes New York, from dead animal pelts to, um, a unicorn? Okay I have no idea what this print really means.… Read More
While walking around the Civic Center district this weekend, I stumbled upon this dedication to the original residents of Manhattan island, the Lenape, using some rather stiff, traditional images of a turkey, a turtle and a wolf. The circumference of the dedication features the inscription, “Hay-la-py-ee-chen-quay-hee-las, The Place Where the Sun is Born, Menesenek, on… Read More
Hovering over the Brooklyn Bridge, 1982, Jet Lowe photographer (Photo courtesy LOC) Click photo for larger view
The picture above, taken in 1855, may be the oldest existent photograph of New York’s City Hall building. This is three years before the famous fire, caused by celebratory fireworks, destroyed the cupola and crown. The year this picture was taken, Fernando Wood became mayor of New York’s, beginning a dominance of Tammany Hall that… Read More
One hundred and twenty-three years ago today, the 21st president of the United States, Chester A. Arthur, died in his Murray Hill home in New York City. That home, 123 Lexington Avenue, holds a unique distinction in American history; it’s the only extant building in New York City bearing witness to the swearing in of… Read More
Cleaner days: Far East Village, namely 10th Street and Avenue D, in a 1937 photograph by the always reliable Berenice Abbott [link: NYPL] Some neighborhoods change slowly but consistently throughout the decades. In the East Village, however, whole areas are entirely revamped while others seem frozen in time. Check some of those changes out here,… Read More
I would love to somehow display all of the fantastic photograph below, but cutting it in two does demonstrate an amazing change in the street scene of lower Manhattan. Just by looking at this photograph below (from 1905), can you tell which Manhattan corner this is? (Click to get a closer look) This is the… Read More
The following posting is littered with television spoilers, so please avert your eyes if you’re a ‘Mad Men’ fan who hasn’t seen last night’s season finale. The show is always a scavenger hunt for New York history buffs, the dialogue sprinkled with famous locations and events, most notably an entire episode to the destruction of… Read More
“Gimme penny, poppy?” The desperate scene at the Randalls Island nurseries, circa 1867, according to Harpers Weekly journal. (image courtesy NYPL) Tom was hit with the flu this week (not the swine kind as far as I can tell) so we don’t have a regular podcast for you. It’ll be ready by next week! In… Read More
History is always easy to follow with the New York Yankees, because they always repeat it. This is their 27th World Series win — a streak which began 86 years ago. They will of course receive a tickertape parade down the ‘Canyon of Heroes’, a tradition which has feted astronauts, foreign dignitaries and concert pianists.… Read More
By the end of the day today, one person will be named the mayor of New York City and many other people will be named the losers. But take heart! Many fine people have lost the race for mayor. Today I focus on six rather interesting ones. Reverend Billy, take stock! If you lose today,… Read More
Tomorrow New Yorkers go to the polls to vote for mayor. Remember: don’t wear false disguises to vote numerous times. Don’t beat up poll workers or throw ballot boxes into the river. And don’t vote under your dead grandmother’s name. Or else, this could happen to you: “Imprisoning alleged illegal voters on election-day in United… Read More
Artist Charles Jay Budd depicts spectral lambs (?) terrorizing the New York Stock Exchange — Life Magazine, 1905 Slithering spooks: With ghosts all over the city, are you surprised that the Bronx Zoo may also be haunted, by ghost reptiles? [Virtual Dime Museum] Rewinding Rosemary: WOW. Scouting NY takes a look at Rosemary’s Baby and… Read More
Above: 782 Eighth Avenue, the caption reads: “House in which Miss Sigel was killed.” Who is that person standing right next to the handwriting? According to Shorpy (where you can find the full-sized picture), Miss Sigel “was found in 1909 bound in a trunk in her lover Leon Ling’s fourth-floor apartment at 782 Eighth Avenue… Read More
Showtime in the Hudson River Valley has begun in earnest, with the change in season transforming New York in splatters of colorful chaos. You could simply wonder a city park of course, but I again recommend New York City’s two best options — the New York Botanical Garden and Wave Hill, both in the Bronx.… Read More