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Bowery Boys Bookshelf Health and Living

Hog Heaven: The wonderfully messy tale of ‘Taming Manhattan’

Here is New York — not the evened tree-lined avenues with fashionable ladies and shiny new carriages.  Not an ordered town of impressive architecture and manicured parks, emulating and even surpassing the trappings of European society.   Those things would arrive by the 1880s; before then, they were mostly aspirational designs. Here is New York as it actually was.… Read More

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Preservation

An awards show for New York City preservation, history and tourism

The Guides Association of New York (GANYC) represents the  legion of licensed New York tour guides who bring an interest in preservation and history to tens of thousands of visitors and residents each year.   Outside of maybe a cab driver, they’re the first New Yorkers with whom many first-time visitors will interact, and their principal job in… Read More

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On The Waterfront

New York’s first ferry service

On Tuesday, Mayor Bill De Blasio announced a broad expansion of New York ferry services beginning in 2017, taking commuters to various destinations along the East River and New York Harbor. And fares will cost as much as a bus or subway ride. Proposed services would head to the Astoria and Rockaway Beach, Queens; the… Read More

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Health and Living

History in the Making 2/3: Bundle Day Edition

Bundle Day was an organized used-clothing drive, mounted in February 1915 by the city in association with New York’s elite families (the Astors, Vanderbilts, Cooper Hewitts, among others). “Every railroad station in the city will be a receiving point for bundles bearing … tags or the bundles may be left at police stations, public schools… Read More

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Uncategorized

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe, published 170 years ago today

“The Raven” was first published in the New York Evening Mirror on January 29, 1845, and would come to define the morbid brilliance of its author Edgar Allan Poe. Poe and his sickly young wife Virginia arrived in New York in 1844, lodging at a dairy farm at today’s  West 84th Street, between Broadway and… Read More

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It's Showtime Podcasts

Billie Holiday’s New York: Here’s to Swing Street, Harlem’s 133rd Street and other landmarks of jazz

PODCAST Grab your fedora and take a trip with the Bowery Boys into the heart of New York City’s jazz scene — late nights, smoky bars, neon signs — through the eyes of one of the greatest American vocalists who ever lived here — Billie Holiday. Eleanora Fagan walked out of Pennsylvania Station in 1929… Read More

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Amusements and Thrills

Bogie and Bacall meet Basie and Billie

This actually happened. For the debut of the new film Key Largo — starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall — the exhibitors at the Warner Strand Theater (at Broadway and 47th Street) has a special treat in store. The Strand Theatre, which opened in 1914, has already made history a few times in New York.… Read More

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Parks and Recreation

Brooklyn’s Forgotten Lake: Pictures of Mount Prospect Reservoir

As you can see, the Bowery Boys: New York City  History blog has gone through some major changes this week.  We have a new URL (boweryboyshistory.com) and a dynamic new layout which will present articles, photographs and podcast audio is a more user-friendly way.  There’s still some backlogged clean up to do so thank you… Read More

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Bowery Boys

The Bowery Boys blog — upgrade underway!

As you can tell, the Bowery Boys: New York City History blog is going through some big changes.  We’ve moved to a new platform and new URL (boweryboyshistory.com).  However it will take us a few days to readjust everything and get it all up and running.  All the content will be available, but it may… Read More

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Preservation Revolutionary History

History in the Making 1/9: Main Squeeze Forever Edition

The Lower East Side lost a great one this week. Walter Kühr, the owner of the Main Squeeze accordion store, died last weekend.  He completely succeeded at his strange but profound mission in life — to keep accordion music alive in the heart of a once-thriving immigrant neighborhood.  He formed the Main Squeeze Orchestra — an… Read More

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Planes Trains and Automobiles

The Horror Underground: New York’s first subway disaster — during rush hour, one hundred years ago today

On January 6, 1915, a seemingly minor incident under the streets of Midtown caused a terrible panic, “the worst disaster in the history of the New York subway” up to that date, injuring hundreds of commuters and killing one.  That morning, two electrical cables feeding into manholes at Broadway and 52nd Street suddenly shorted out,… Read More

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Bowery Boys

Goodbye 2014! The top stories on the Bowery Boys blog

Happy 2015 to everyone! We want to thank you for listening to the show this year, checking in with the blog and following along with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  Lots of incredible things in store for the next year so we hope to see you throughout the next year. For a look back… Read More

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Pop Culture

The history of NYC in eight pop culture moments from 2014

In our 2014 Year In Review podcast, we didn’t have much time to talk about notable pop cultural events that depicted New York City history.  But here’s a recap a few films and television shows which used the city’s history in their narratives. I’ve arranged them in the chronological order in which they’ve been set:… Read More

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Podcasts Preservation

The Best of 2014: The Bowery Boys Year In Review

  PODCAST When historians look back at the year 2014, what events or cultural changes within New York City will they deem significant? In this special episode, the Bowery Boys look back at some of the biggest historical events of the year including the opening of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the troubling… Read More

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Bowery Boys

The Bowery Boys and Marvel Comics! Plus: Guardian Angels and a special holiday surprise on Christmas

THIS WEEK IN MARVEL The Bowery Boys are guest stars on this week’s official Marvel Comics podcast This Week In Marvel hosted by those virtual Avengers and Marvel editors Ryan Penagos and Ben Morse.  We had an absolute blast recording this, talking about how New York City has implanted itself into the fabric of the… Read More