The Bowery Boys: New York City History
Four hundred years ago, on September 12, Henry Hudson sailed into New York harbor and casually discovered the island of Mannahatta, the future home of New Amsterdam, Wall Street, and the New York Yankees. Two hundred years later, ferry mogul Robert Fulton patented the steamboat, an engineering marvel he perfected, but did not invent. Fulton,… Read More
The late-night scene at Subway Bowling Alley in Brooklyn, in 1910. Take a look here for a brief history of Manhattan bowling alleys. By the way, Bowling Green in Manhattan? Yeah, they originally bowled there. Pic courtesy Library of Congress PS — The caption indicates the bowling alley was at 65 South St. in Brooklyn.… Read More
ANATOMY OF A PHOTOGRAPH An occasional feature where we take a closer look at an old photo of New York City, to give the image some historical context and piece together the situations that led up to it. I ran the photograph above on Friday in reference to the early days of Pennsylvania Station. But… Read More
PODCAST: The story of Penn Station involves more than just nostalgia for the long-gone temple of transportation as designed by the great McKim, Mead and White. It’s a tale of incredible tunnels, political haggling and big visions. Find out why the original Penn Station was built to look so classical, why it was then torn… Read More
An early edition of the LIRR, passing through bucolic Brooklyn The Long Island Railroad has been around for a very long time. Last month, in fact, the central railroad turned 187 years old, almost as old as train travel itself. And it is the The official birthday is April 24, 1834, when the charter was… Read More
ABOVE: Puck Magazine satirizes father and son, Peter and Edward Cooper 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 Edward Cooper In office: 1879-1880 Many of us must inevitably… Read More
I was in Philadelphia this weekend checking out the outrageously popular ‘Cezanne and Beyond’ show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a diverse program sitting some of Paul Cezanne’s greatest paintings next to works they inspired. Near one of Cezanne’s many depictions of the Bay of Estaques is a rather surprising view of old Staten… Read More
It’s like that: Rap pioneers and proud sons of Queens NAME THAT NEIGHBORHOOD Some New York neighborhoods are simply named for their location on a map (East Village, Midtown). Others are given prefabricated designations (SoHo, DUMBO). But a few retain names that link them intimately with their pasts. Other entries in this series can be… Read More
ABOVE: These are the ladies who lunch in Prospect Park 1935 We talk about a lot of white men on the Bowery Boys podcast. When discussing the mainstream history of the city, it’s pretty unavoidable. Men had the money, the power, the influence. Not to mention most of the corruption, the crime, the scandal. So… Read More
ABOVE: These are the ladies who lunch in Prospect Park 1935 We talk about a lot of white men on the Bowery Boys podcast. When discussing the mainstream history of the city, it’s pretty unavoidable. Men had the money, the power, the influence. Not to mention most of the corruption, the crime, the scandal. So… Read More
Sorry, I haven’t forgotten this blog! I’m working on a rather big posting for later today, so check back in a couple hours. Trust me, it’s worth the wait! Below: the New York Stock Exchange in 1937
The Queensboro Bridge, otherwise known the 59th Street Bridge, turns 100 years old today. Is it wrong to call it New York’s most romantic bridge after the Brooklyn Bridge? At the time of its construction, it actually went by another name — the Blackwell’s Island Bridge, since it hovers above the island that would become… Read More
Faces of the Whyo Gang: Googy Corcoran, Clops Connolly, Big Josh Hines and Baboon Connolly PODCAST: The Whyos (pronounced Why-Ohs)Â were New York’s most notorious gang after the Civil War, organizing their criminal activities and terrorizing law abiding citizens of the Gilded Age. Find out when they lived, how they broke the law and who they… Read More
Above: the crowded streets of Five Points, where the Forty Thieves first made mischief What does it mean to be the ‘first’ gang in New York? Most likely, it means you weren’t really the first. Just the first to be caught at doing it. New Yorkers seem to create a grim romanticism around 19th century… Read More
Riding the Staten Island ferry one a fine fall morning in 1898. That is one amazing hat. (Photo courtesy LIFE archive)