Categories
Pop Culture

What ‘The Get Down’ Gets Right About the South Bronx in 1977

Photo-mechanical postcards were popular during the Gilded Age because they were photographs printed on thick card stock and enhanced with colored inks, turning reality into a Technicolor dreamscape well before the invention of color film. This also describes the film style of Baz Luhrmann, the Australian director known his flamboyant, indulgent visual technique, seen in Strictly… Read More

Categories
Neighborhoods Preservation

Jane Jacobs, born 100 years ago today! Celebrate with a weekend walk.

Jane Butzner was born 100 years ago in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  Jane Jacobs died on April 25, 2006, in Toronto, Canada. But for much of her life in between, she changed the way people thought about cities from her perch in North America’s largest — New York City. Jane Jacobs was a revolutionary thinker in an age where… Read More

Categories
Wartime New York

History in the Making 4/14: Debate at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Edition

— Big Bowery Boys book news! The release date for Adventures In Old New York got pushed back to June a couple weeks but for the best reason ever — the book is enormous, almost 500 pages, and full of spectacular images. It’s really shaping up to become an attractive, entertaining and usable book. We… Read More

Categories
Pop Culture

A Bit Of Magic in Old New York

J. K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them is a prequel of sorts to her wildly popular Harry Potter series. At least, it appears the movie is. The book itself was used within the Potter series as the main character’s textbook.  The new film version, arriving late this year, seems create a whole… Read More

Categories
Bowery Boys

The Bowery Boys 2015 Podcasts: From Billie Holiday to New Year’s Eve

Thank you for making 2015 our greatest year ever! Much excitement on the way for 2016 including the release of the first-ever Bowery Boys book. Relive the year by re-visiting some of our shows from the past 12 months..  You can find them all on iTunes, on streaming services like TuneIn and Stitcher or you can listen to them straight… Read More

Categories
Bowery Boys

Have you listened to these 2015 Bowery Boys podcasts?

There’s no new podcast for you this week as we are wrapping up the first official Bowery Boys book, arriving in May 2016. But we will have a brand new podcast for you on December 10. Have you listened to all of our 2015 programs? Here’s a list of all our shows that have been released… Read More

Categories
Mysterious Stories Podcasts

Haunted Landmarks of New York : Tourist Terrors in the Big Apple

PODCAST It’s the ninth annual Bowery Boys ghost stories podcast, our seasonal twist on history, focusing on famous tales of the weird and the disturbing at some of New York’s most recognizable locations. Don’t be frightened! We’re here to guide you through the back alleys … OF TERROR! In this installment, we take a look at… Read More

Categories
Mysterious Stories

Nine Years of New York Ghost Stories!

Here is the complete collection of Bowery Boys Halloween specials. Creep yourself out while listening to these spooky legends of New York City. From the haunted woods of Van Cortlandt Park to spirits haunting Captain Kidd’s treasure on Liberty Island. Psychics at Carnegie Hall, unsettling spirits in Cobble Hill, undead party animals at Grand Central! Download… Read More

Categories
Bowery Boys

Odds and Ends: Ghost Stories, Apartment Tales

Here’s a few recent press and blog appearances that we’ve done in the past couple weeks:   It’s almost time for our annual ghost story podcast in a couple weeks! To get you in the mood, I made an appearance on Fox 5 News on Tuesday, speaking to Dan Bowens about ghosts at the Chelsea Hotel. You’ll… Read More

Categories
Museums

Saturday is Free Museum Day! Hosted by Smithsonian Magazine

Saturday, September 26, is Smithsonian Magazine’s annual MUSEUM DAY with free admission to participating museums across the country. The only catch is that you need to visit the Smithsonian website and print out your ticket (good for two admissions) first before you go. It’s not free for everyone. You’re special! Here’s a list of participating museums and… Read More

Categories
It's Showtime

Stage Magic: Oh-What-A-Beautiful History of the St. James Theatre

On Sunday The Bowery Boys join up with The Ensemblist to present a special cabaret event at 54 Below — a tribute to the great St. James Theatre! Perhaps some of you may be asking — why do a live show about a individual theater? The St. James Theatre (246 West 44th Street) was prominently… Read More

Categories
Amusements and Thrills

History in the Making (9/9): So Many Vices Edition

In this blog roundup, a Bowery Boys appearance in Vice, a threat to preservation, a classic restaurant closes, the story of two hotels with very different histories and more! In the photo above and below — From the Museum of the City of New York collection, some images of the so-called Prize Fighters Saloon (at… Read More

Categories
Bowery Boys

Have you listened to these 2015 Bowery Boys podcasts yet?

No new podcast for you this week but we have a very good reason. As of today we are half-way finished with the first-ever Bowery Boys book! We are taking this week off to push through the research on a couple key chapters. But we will have a brand new podcast for you on September 4… Read More

Categories
Friday Night Fever

The Slide and the Excise: NYC’s Most Notorious 19th Century Gay Bars

This article originally appeared in the 2015 NYC Pride Guide. You can check out the entire digital issue here or pick up pretty much anywhere in the West Village, Chelsea or Hell’s Kitchen this weekend! Gay and lesbian life in 19th century America meant reading between the lines, latching on to known code words to locate a… Read More

Categories
On The Waterfront

A Haunting Look Inside the Lusitania

The Lusitania gets dwarfed by recollections of the Titanic.  But in many ways, the destruction of the Cunard Line’s premier ocean liner on May 7, 1915, was a deeper tragedy than that of the White Star liner. As a casualty of war — sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of southern Ireland —… Read More