The Bowery Boys: New York City History
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
The New York Rangers , the city’s ice hockey hope since 1926, began their season on Friday, losing one that night and recovering on Saturday versus Ottowa Senators. Okay, so I’m not going to pretend that I’ve ever been a hockey fan before this year. However, geek alert, I have this uncanny ability to trick… Read More
The Prince of Mermaid Avenue: Meet the meat man Some history related activities going on this weekend: Lost New York, 1609-2009 conference begins today at New York University, and it’s free! Panels will explore “the dynamics of creativity and destruction, nostalgia and invention, that have for centuries marked efforts to ‘Do New York,’ as Henry… Read More
Chelsea On The Rocks, that long-lingering Abel Ferarra documentary about life at the Chelsea Hotel that we mentioned here, is finally getting a theatrical release, making its debut this Friday at — no surprise — the Chelsea Clearview Cinema, a couple doors down from the actual hotel. How cool is that? For the full immersive… Read More