The Bowery Boys: New York City History
Illustration of Brodie’s infamous jump, from a 1939-40 World’s Fair brochure George Dessel’s Old New York, advertising the Old New York section of the fiar created by Messmore and Damon Apparently, it’s still the rage to jump from the Brooklyn Bridge, as a forlorn soul (or misguided daredevil) plunged off the side last night, according… Read More
Today’s the birthday of music icon Louis Armstrong, a child of New Orleans (born in 1901) but a proud resident of Queens for almost 30 years, until his death in 1971. Above, Louis luxuriates at his local Queens barber in 1965. Below, Armstrong belts out his latter-day hit song ‘Hello Dolly’ at a New York… Read More
For millions of Americans, Ellis Island is the symbol of introduction, the immigrant depot that processed their ancestors and offered an opening into a new American life. But for some, it would truly be an ‘Island of Tears’, a place where they would be excluded from that life. How did an island with such humble… Read More
Sorry I was having some serious sound/recording issues this week on the newest podcast, so it’s not available this morning, but I should have it up and running by tonight or Saturday morning latest. Thanks for your patience! Ellis Island 1908 Photo courtesy the National Archives
Above: War-time Empire State Building, circa 1943. The upper floors would dim at night to conserve energy costs (Photo Andreas Feininger) Sixty-four years ago today, July 28, 1945, a B-25 bomber on its way to Newark Airport accidentally meandered over the foggy city and smashed into the Empire State Building. Some rather startling details of… Read More
New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert named a beer after him Despite the fact that New York has one of the richest histories of any city in the country, it’s a faux history of the city written in 1809 by Deitrich Knickerbocker — aka Washington Irving — that has fooled, amused and captivated since it… Read More
ABOVE: Battery Park in “ye olden time” from the NYPL Picture Collection No new podcast this week, but here’s a link for one of our older shows from early 2008 on the history of Castle Clinton and Battery Park. We’ve enhanced some of the older shows with some rather cool old images that magically pop… Read More
Click pic for greater detailCaption: Billy, peering over the edge of the hood, saw the motorman pass the package back to Sim Levy. Ah, the good old days! The image above was taken from amazing Dime Novels and Penny Dreadful website. If you want to wile away a couple hours when you should be doing… Read More
The Sbarro family in their original salumeria in Bensonhurst In my Friday roundup of famous New York-style pizzerias, I left out the one pizza company that could technically be called the most recognizable New York pie — at least to those who live outside the city. Sbarros Pizza is a fixture of shopping malls and… Read More
Below: two pictures of the ticker-tape parade thrown in New York City on August 13, 1969 to celebrate Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins and their successful landing on the moon. Believe it or not, this was the second space-themed ticker-tape parade that year. In January, Frank Borman, James A. Lovell,… Read More
Gennaro Lombardi and (I believe) Antonio Totonno Pero with a dog who must have been fed very well. You’ll notice that Lombardi’s is still a grocery store in this picture. Some bananas with your pizza? Although Gennaro is credited with opening New York’s first pizzeria, it may have been Antonio who came up with the… Read More
I’m busily working a new podcast which will be available by tonight. In the meantime, enjoy this really old photograph of the extravagent photo studio of Charles D. Fredricks, sometimes known simply as C.D Fredricks. This picture of his ‘Temple of Art’ was taken, according to the National Archives, in 1850, although I believe it… Read More
Seeing red: Khrushchev with Fidel Castro in New York (photo by Hank Walker) Nikita Khrushchev, Cold War leader of the Soviet Union, is perhaps the strangest tourist New York has ever seen. Pete Carlson’s new book ‘K Blows Top’ (named for a snarky Daily News headline) documents Khrushchev’s odd and rocky thirteen-day tour through the… Read More
Pic courtesy NYC.gov I just noticed that Thirteen/PBS’s The City Concealed did a great video piece exploring the rarely seen abandoned hospital structures of North Brother Island. Creepy! Watch it here. North Brother Island, today a bird sanctuary located in the crowded channel between Queens and the Bronx, is best known for its 19th-century smallpox… Read More
Well, would you?Illustration from sheet music 1908 FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER To get you in the mood for the weekend, every other Friday we’ll be featuring an old New York nightlife haunt, from the dance halls of 19th Century Bowery, to the massive warehouse clubs of the mid-1990s. Past entries can be found here. LOCATION Martling’s… Read More