The Bowery Boys: New York City History
“Photo shows Marion Simpson with her French bull dog, possibly at the French Bull Dog Club of America Show at the Hotel Astor, New York City, April 1914.” (Source: Flickr Commons project, 2010 and New York Times, April 19, 1914) Click photo for a better, cuter look. — Do you like Downton Abbey? I’ve started… Read More
Charles Norris and the toxicology laboratory at Bellevue Hospital [source]The Poisoner’s HandbookPBS: American ExperiencePremieres January 7, 20148pm EST / 7pm CST“In 1922 101 New Yorkers hanged themselves. Four hundred forty-four died in car accidents. Twenty were crushed in elevators. There were 237 fatal shootings and 34 stabbings. And that year, nine hundred and ninety-seven New Yorkers died… Read More
Did you make a New Year’s resolution this year to go to more museums? To be more cultured? To know, generally speaking, what’s going on in this great big city in 2014? Then start with these three terrific history-related exhibitions — some of best shows from last year — either at their half-way points or… Read More
Frequent collaborators PG Wodehouse, Guy Bolton and Jerome Kern (Pic courtesy Broadway Scene) — Here’s another ‘deleted scene’ from our last podcast, Episode #159 The Broadway Musical: Setting the Stage. In this excerpt, I’m talking about the unique challenge that was faced by young songwriter Jerome Kern when he began working at the Princess Theatre… Read More
Here’s a recap of all the Bowery Boys podcasts from 2013 — from the most shocking art show of all time to the weirdest mayoral election in history, from the corridors of New York’s scariest psychiatric ward to the altar of the city’s most transformed church. From colonial America to Sesame Street, through several feet… Read More
On Wednesday, January 1, 2014, Bill de Blasio will be inaugurated at City Hall to become the 109th Mayor of New York City, sworn in by President Bill Clinton. Mayoral inaugurations are never very exciting, but they’re often reflected upon later as setting the tone for an administration, a clue to a possible style of… Read More
I’m not sure if the Madison Square annual Christmas tree was really the biggest in the entire world — as the 1913 Evening World at right suggests — but it was most certainly the largest in New York City. Its closest competitor in size would have been the City Hall Christmas tree. This unique tradition… Read More
The Hotel Chelsea, August 1936, photograph by Berenice Abbott (NYPL) Inside the Dream Palace The Life and Times of New York’s Legendary Chelsea Hotel by Sherill Tippins Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Few places in New York exist with so many ghosts as the Chelsea Hotel. Oh, I don’t know if it’s really haunted, but the historical… Read More
One hundred and twenty-five years ago today, Robert Moses was unleashed upon the world, born in New Haven, Connecticut, on Dwight Street. He remains today one of the most powerful civic figures in American history, and obviously one of the most controversial. Because of Moses, we have the modern New York City. Many of its… Read More
Our show on the Broadway musical was quite epic, and we ended up cutting out some interesting stories to make the show a reasonable length. However I’ll leak out a couple of these ‘deleted scenes’ over the next couple weeks. For instance, here’s a segment about another great Broadway theater. In fact, one of the… Read More
And let’s just say, it should be a real show-stopper! Above: The cast of Shuffle Along, 1921 (Courtesy NYPL)
If glasses are fashionable today, you can thank President Theodore Roosevelt, whose stylish C-bridge pince-nez diminished the reputation as mere apparel for the weak. — The Bowery Boys are featured this week on the official blog of Warby Parker, the fashionable eyewear company specialize in vintage-style prescription frames and sunglasses. Thanks to Dixie Roberts for… Read More
Out in the cold: Llewyn Davis gets no respect. Pic courtesy CBS FilmsNOTE: This article contains minor spoilers for the film Inside Llewyn Davis, so proceed with caution if you have not yet seen the movie! The latest movie by Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis, meanders through a coolly tinted rendition of New… Read More
BBC America’s Copper, depicting the grit and crime of 1860s New York, was recently cancelled (although petitions are currently circulating, demanding a Season Three). But the void of history-related television will soon be filled again with Turn, AMC’s Revolutionary War-era drama on George Washington’s spy network, called The Culper Ring. What do you think? Although… Read More
The Metropolitan Opera’s soprano sensation Geraldine Ferrar, photo taken April 1913. I guess fur was never out of season a century ago! “When You Done Your Christmas Furs — It will be an added pleasure to know they came from Gimbels — the house with the time-honored experience in Furs — for surely it requires… Read More