The Bowery Boys: New York City History
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
Inside Steinway Hall 1890: the 14th Street concert venue could seat 2,000 and also functioned as a showroom for Steinway pianos Henry Steinway, a German immigrant who came to New York in 1850, made his name in various showrooms and factories in downtown Manhattan, enticing the wealthy with his award-winning quality pianos. At their grand… Read More
ABOVE: The long-gone Rockaway Playland, Queens answer to Coney Island at Rockaway Beach that was wiped away for condo developments in 1987. A friendly reminder of what could have happened to Coney Island. Look here for a huge selection of postcards remembering this forgotten Queens amusement park. Below: Color saturated nighttime, circa 1939
KNOW YOUR MAYORS Our modest little series about some of the greatest, notorious, most important, even most useless, mayors of New York City. Other entrants in our mayoral survey can be found here.Mayor Jacob WesterveltIn office: 1853-1855 Dutch-blooded Jacob Aaron Westervelt, 24th man to become mayor of New York since the British evacuation of 1783,… Read More
Today is the 150th anniversary of the raid on Harpers Ferry in West Virginia by radical abolitionist John Brown (at left), a failed attempt to free slaves and start a revolution. I recently found this article outlining John Brown’s various visits to New York City. Most notably, Brown met one of his lieutenants here, Hugh… Read More
No chance of this young lady floating away with her helium souvenir from the New York World’s Fair 1939-1940 [courtesy here]
ABOVE Broadway Scares: Wood engraving from 1871. “The ‘Pepper’s Ghost’ apparatus adapted for the stage. The actor’s illuminated shape is projected onto the stage via an inclined plate of glass.” (image courtesy NYPL) Surreal Estate: On this week’s podcast, we talked about the various ghosts supposedly haunting 12 Gay Street in the West Village. Well,… Read More
Yesterday’s news about a new Times Square flagship store for Disney had me wondering what influence if any New York had on the career of Walt Disney, arguably one of the most successful men in history to make his name on the West Coast. Come to find out, the world might never have had Mickey… Read More
Manhattan overhead, circa 1971 Notice the World Trade Center still under construction and the complete absence of Battery Park City Courtesy Life Henry Groskinsky, photgrapher
Historic Gay Street, 1940: a tiny little lane literally crammed with ghosts It’s time for our third annual ‘ghost stories’ episode, our mix of historical facts and spooky legends from the annals of New York’s past. For this round of scary tales, we visit a famous 19th century townhouse haunted by a lonely spinster, a… Read More
Relive the 1964 World’s Fair this weekend — from a trolley Open House New York, a weekend-long celebration of city-wide architecture, history and habitation, rolls out this weekend at a varied host of locales. If you’re like me, you completely forgot to make reservations to any of the hottest tours. So if you’re interested in… Read More
ABOVE: CBS Radio Theater, later known as the Ed Sullivan Theater, home of David Letterman and his scandals (Circa late 1930s, photo by the Wurtz Brothers, courtesy NYPL) QUEENS: The New York Times ponders the question of New York’s oldest tree. We also pondered the same question a few months ago. The Queen’s Giant is… Read More
Eighty-two years ago today, The Jazz Singer debuts as Warner’s Theater at 1664 Broadway (at 52nd Street). It was the first film to feature sound in certain parts of the film. New Yorkers would have to wait another year for The Lights of New York, the first all talking picture. Why October 6th? Yom Kippur… Read More