The Bowery Boys: New York City History
We’ve just debuted a new podcast series — Side Streets, available only to those who support the Bowery Boys Podcast on Patreon, featuring conversation about all sorts of New York City related subjects. And the first episode is all about food! Greg and Tom — with some help from producer Kieran Gannon — reflect nostalgically… Read More
What a way to spend our 15th year of podcasting! You’ve helped make it another fantastic year. Over the past twelve months, we’ve released 24 brand new episodes and even went back to the live stage twice (at Caveat and Joe’s Pub). On top of the extraordinary work by Carl Raymond of The Gilded Gentleman… Read More
On January 1, 2023, New York City will celebrate a special moment, the 125th anniversary of the formation of Greater New York and the creation of the five boroughs — The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. In honor of this special moment in New York City history, we are celebrating a bit early,… Read More
PODCAST A history of the comic book industry in New York City, how the energy and diversity of the city influenced the burgeoning medium in the 1930s and 40s and how New York’s history reflects out from the origins of its most popular characters. In the 1890s a newspaper rivalry between William Randolph Hearst and… Read More
Crosswords, jigsaws, mazes, rebuses, Rubik’s cubes, Myst, Words With Friends — and now Wordle? Not only have people loved puzzles for centuries, they’ve actually gone wild for them. Every few years, a new puzzle comes along to captivate the nation. But each of these little games has an extraordinary history and for this special show,… Read More
In celebration of his new book “The Delmonico Way: Sublime Entertaining and Legendary Recipes From The Restaurant That Made New York,” author Max Tucci joins The Gilded Gentleman for a talk about food, family history and the real meaning of hospitality. Delmonico’s! Just the name was legendary. Edith Wharton mentioned it in her fiction set in… Read More
Early one spring day in 1922, while dutifully posing at the Art Students League on West 57th Street, Santa Claus had a fatal heart attack in front of a classroom of students. Above — He knows when you’ve been bad or good: A Christmas issue of Judge Magazine from 1919 by Guy Lowy, who studied at the… Read More
Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about one of the most mysterious alcoholic spirits in the world. This week we’re running one of our favorite shows of the year from our spin-off podcast The Gilded Gentleman. Absinthe was one of the most popular and most mysterious drinks that fueled Paris and London’s cafe society and artistic circles… Read More
Whether you’re baking, wrapping presents or just staring in wonder at your Christmas tree decorations, take a break from the Christmas music and dive into these holiday themed podcasts from the Bowery Boys. Celebrating many aspects of New York City during the holiday season — from Rockefeller Center, Dyker Heights and beyond…. The Rockefeller Center… Read More
Clement Clarke Moore, the lord of Chelsea (the manor for which the neighborhood is named), lived a long and distinguished life as an educator and land developer, dying in 1863 at his home in Newport, Rhode Island. He was originally buried in the churchyard of St. Luke-in-the-Field (pictured below) in the area of today’s West Village. In… Read More
This year it’s going to be a very merry holiday season in the podcasting world — courtesy The Gilded Gentleman, the Bowery Boys spin-off podcast hosted by Carl Raymond. Through the month of December, The Gilded Gentleman will feature brand new, holiday-themed shows with special guests. These episodes are perfect for getting you in the… Read More
In 1890 the Danish-American journalist Jacob Riis turned his eye-opening reporting and lecture series into a ground-breaking book called How The Other Half Lives, a best seller which awoke Americans to the plight of the poor and laid the groundwork for the Progressive Era. Riis exposed more than a humanitarian crisis. He laid bare the… Read More
One of you may be related to Pietro, the boy in the picture. He was one of thousands of Italian immigrants who arrived in New York in the 1870s-80s. He seems to have been intelligent and even exceptional, weathering a set of truly dreary circumstances that would have defeated most men. Pietro was not yet 13 years old… Read More
PODCAST The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree has brought joy and sparkle to Midtown Manhattan since the early 1930s. The annual festivities may seem steady and timeless but this holiday icon actually has a surprisingly dramatic history. Millions tune in each year to watch the tree lighting in a music-filled ceremony on NBC, and tens of… Read More
The best gifts in the world are books and history lovers, in particular, want nothing more than more books than they possibly have time to read. (My own library and its aching shelves are witness to this.) Here are some of my favorite books of 2022 (with a couple award-winners published in 2021), stories which… Read More