The Bowery Boys: New York City History
People were just wild about skating in the 1880s. STARS OF MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: Six-day skater William DonovanLOCATION: MSG I People were a touch insane in the 1880s and 90s. One of the most popular sports was the six-day bicycle race, a sport so popular, particularly in Madison Square Garden II (debuting there in 1891),… Read More
ABOVE: Fly fishing in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, August 1909. Meanwhile, downtown, people cast for greater prizes indoors. (Pic courtesy LOC) STARS OF MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: R.C. Leonard, fishermanLOCATION: MSG II Of all the curious events to ever happen at Madison Square Garden — from the first one to the latest — no… Read More
STARS OF MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: 1980 Russian Olympic TeamLOCATION: MSG IV Nope, that headline is not from an alternate timeline. Thirty years ago, the most memorable moment in US Winter Olympics history occurred on February 22, with the victory of the US men’s hockey team against its athletic and ideological rivals from the Soviet Union.… Read More
STARS OF MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: Warren RemedyLOCATION: MSG IIThe picture above is of the Katharine Hepburn of dogs, Warren Remedy, the only dog to ever win the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show three times in a row. Despite the name, this smooth-haired Fox Terrier canine superstar was female. She also kicked off the storied Best… Read More
From a pack of old, aquatic themed ‘cigarette cards’, naturally [NYPL]Yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported that a Canadian developer may bring a luxury, multi-floor aquarium to a new skyscraper in Times Square. The proposed aquatic amusement, to feature “sharks, rays, penguins, otters” and a pirate museum, would liven up the freshly built, so-called 11… Read More
STRESSED: William Sulzer in 1911, a New York City representative on his way up…and out *okay, technically he was removed in disgrace As bloggers, newshawks and politicos wait to see what, if anything, comes of the latest New York Times supposed bombshell about current governor David Paterson — he’s already protesting “I DID NOT HAVE… Read More
[from Flickr, taken by ajagendorf25] We love the Manhattan Bridge, but there’s no doubt it’s had a rocky history. For one hundred years, it’s withstood more than just comparisons to its far more iconic neighbor, the Brooklyn Bridge. Built to relieve pressure on the East River’s best known bridge, the Manhattan Bridge went through two… Read More
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 found here. NEIGHBORHOOD: Kingsbridge, the Bronx DUMBO, for Down Under… Read More
Above: A fanciful painting of Captain Kidd in New York Harbor, by Jean-Leon Gerome Ferris, 1911. Notice Fort James (former Fort Amsterdam) and the adjoining windmill in the background In this week’s podcast, I refer to New Yorker and Trinity Church benefactor William Kidd as one of the most notorious pirates of the Atlantic Ocean.… Read More
Above: The seemingly unchanged Trinity in 1916, already dwarfed by skyscrapers PODCAST Trinity Church, with its distinctive spire staring down upon the west end of Wall Street, is more than just a house of worship. Over three different church buildings have sat at this site, and the current one by architect Richard Upjohn is one… Read More
Photo by Louis Buhle (1915), courtesy of the BBG The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is celebrating its 100th anniversay this year. Like Flushing Meadow-Corona Park in Queens, the Garden was created out of an ash dump, landscaped by the Olmsted Brothers (later of Fort Tryon fame), “for the advancement and diffusion of a knowledge and love… Read More
Readers of the New York Times on January 19, 1910, were greeted with the following theatrical review: FAT PEOPLE MUST AVOID THIS FARCE;Unless They Want To Put On Extra Pounds To Prove An Old Adage If you’re confused, the lead of the review elaborates: “If to laugh is to grow fat, obesity patients had better… Read More
Up In The Air: Glenn Curtiss and his Hudson FlyerPicture courtesy glenncurtiss.com In 2010, there will be well over 100 million passengers coming and going from the New York metropolitan area’s three principal international airports. In 1910, you could count the number of passengers on your hand. And the pilot and passenger of the very… Read More
In 1910, DW Griffith made the first film ever made in Hollywood, CA, called In Old California. Before then, film production companies were scattered throughout the United States, with two of the most successful based here in New York City. The American Vitagraph Company, originally located at the Morse Building on 140 Nassau Street, made… Read More
Pic by Coney Girl/Flickr FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER To get you in the mood for the weekend, on occasional Fridays 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 Bohemian HallOpened: 1910-still open!Astoria,… Read More