Categories
At The Movies Pop Culture

At The Movies: Steve Post and the wild days of New York radio

In some ways the idea of freeform radio has been distilled into many aspects of American life — and I don’t mean by Spotify algorithms. There was a time when the radio waves were given over to captivating personalities: entertaining therapists, counter-culture jesters, opinionated loose cannons. With few exceptions, those roles today have been taken… Read More

Categories
Gilded Age New York Podcasts

Electric New York: Illuminating the shadows, re-visualizing the night

This classic episode of the Bowery Boys: New York City History podcast (originally released in December of 2021) is featured in this week’s episode of the History Channel podcast HISTORY This Week. Since 2011 the Bowery Boys Podcast has revisited a few of the themes featured in this show. After listening to this episode, give… Read More

Categories
Food History The Gilded Gentleman

How to Pluck a Peacock: Delmonico’s Charles Ranhofer and The Epicurean

The New York restaurant Delmonico’s became famous for bringing elegant, luxurious dining and sophisticated French dishes to American tables.  The culinary genius behind these dramatic dishes was Delmonico’s celebrity chef — the Frenchman Charles Ranhofer — who guided their kitchens from 1862 to 1896.  Ranhofer left us with his extraordinary cookbook published at the height of the Gilded Age in the 1890’s, called The Epicurean,… Read More

Categories
Food History Pop Culture

At The Movies: ‘The Automat’ and the glow of restaurant nostalgia

Any new film which features an interview with the always hilarious and candid comedy legend Mel Brooks should be seen and celebrated. Now add interviews with Carl Reiner, Colin Powell and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, three individuals who have since died since participating in said new film. What could possibly bring all of these fascinating people… Read More

Categories
It's Showtime ON TELEVISION The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Prepare for the New Season with These Bowery Boys Podcasts

Midge, Joel, Susie and the gang are back! The world seemed like a much simpler place the last time we saw a new episode of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel back in December of 2019. The fourth season of the award-winning New York City-based comedy starts Friday, February 18, with new episodes each week. And it… Read More

Categories
Food History Gilded Age New York The Gilded Gentleman

How Ward McAllister Helped Engineer Gilded Age High Society

On a new episode of The Gilded Gentleman, meet the man who helped create New York’s Gilded Age high society, a fussy and imperious Southerner who eventually found himself on the receiving end of snobbish scorn. The famous Mrs. Caroline Astor was credited with building and shaping the Gilded Age elite. But at her side and… Read More

Categories
Black History Music History Podcasts Queens History

The Wonderful Home of Louis and Lucille Armstrong

PODCAST New York City has an impressive collection of historic homes, but none as unique and joyful as the Louis Armstrong House and Museum, located in Corona, Queens. What other historic home in the United States has aqua blue kitchen cabinets, bathroom speakers behind silver wallpaper, mirrored bathrooms and chandeliers over the bed? The Louis… Read More

Categories
Gilded Age New York Neighborhoods The Gilded Gentleman

Ladies’ Mile and the Glamour of Gilded Age Shopping

On a new episode of The Gilded Gentleman, it’s time to board the elevated train down to New York City’s premier commercial district to experience a day of luxurious shopping. During the 1870’s and 1880’s New York’s famous Ladies’ Mile shopping district took hold along Broadway, and grand palaces of retail grew, filled with splendors… Read More

Categories
Film History Science

The original IMAX: Jacob Riis and his magic lantern

Jacob Riis changed the world with “How The Other Half Lives.” By using the new technology of flash photography, Riis was able to capture the squalid conditions of Manhattan tenements in a way no mere paragraph, drawing or sermon could. The startling photographs contained in this book did not originate there, however. Riis debuted them… Read More

Categories
Landmarks Neighborhoods

When the Statue of Liberty left her arm in Madison Square

Above: The arm of the Statue of Liberty stood solitary in Madison Square for six years, from 1876 to 1882. Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, one of the forgotten names in Statue of Liberty history was born in Paris.  As the godfather of historical restoration, Viollet-le-Duc would rescue countless medieval structures from decay, helping to preserve the… Read More

Categories
On The Waterfront

In 1863, the Russians invaded New York City

In 1863, New Yorkers flocked to the waterfront to see a startling sight — Russian war ships in New York Harbor. They were here as a display of force, but not to threaten the United States. The fleet of Russian ships, sailing into New York Harbor in September 1863, as depicted by Harper’s Weekly. Russia’s… Read More

Categories
Mysterious Stories Podcasts The Gilded Gentleman

Getting a Bad Rap: Spiritualism in the 19th Century

On a new episode of The Gilded Gentleman, prepare for a very chilling exploration of spiritualism with Carl and a man very attuned to the spirit world. Many people throughout the 19th century were fascinated with the idea of connecting with the beyond. Even the famous ‘Commodore’ Cornelius Vanderbilt was intrigued with the notion. Historian Anthony Bellov joins Carl… Read More

Categories
Podcasts The Jazz Age Writers and Artists

Dorothy Parker’s Last Party: A strange afterlife for the Jazz Age writer

PODCAST Dorothy Parker was not only the wittiest writer of the Jazz Age, she was also obsessively morbid. Her talents rose at a very receptive moment for such a sharp, dour outlook, after the first world war and right as the country went dry. Dorothy Parker’s greatest lines are as bracing and intoxicating as a… Read More

Categories
Bowery Boys Gilded Age New York

Tom Meyers of the Bowery Boys joins HBO’s “Official Gilded Age Podcast”

Bowery Boys Podcast listeners will recognize a familiar voice on HBO’s “Official Gilded Age Podcast,” set to launch on Monday, January 24 as a companion podcast to the network’s upcoming TV series The Gilded Age. Tom Meyers, of the Bowery Boys Podcast, co-hosts the HBO podcast series alongside TCM’s Alicia Malone. “I think Bowery Boys… Read More

Categories
Bowery Boys Bookshelf The Gilded Gentleman

The Gilded Page: A conversation with author Carol Wallace

Calling all fans of Downton Abbey! The newest episode of The Gilded Gentleman podcast, hosted by Carl Raymond, features a very special guest. New York Times bestselling author Carol Wallace discusses her just published novel of the Gilded Age called Our Kind of People as well insights on her book To Marry an English Lord which served as an inspiration for Downton… Read More