Categories
Bronx History

Seven places to experience early Bronx history today and this weekend

We’ve received such an overwhelming positive response to our Bronx history podcast — and we’re just at Part One. You may know a few things about 20th century Bronx history, but it’s so important to familiarize yourself with the early stories as well. Almost all of these stories figure into the creation of the modern Bronx and… Read More

Categories
Bronx History Podcasts

Bronx Trilogy: The Bronx Is Born — Before It Was A Borough 1638-1874

PODCAST A history of the land which would become the Bronx, from the first European settlement to its debut in 1874 as New York’s Annexed District. The story of the borough of the Bronx is so large, so spectacular, that we had to spread it out over three separate podcasts! In Part One — The… Read More

Categories
Uncategorized

New York’s earliest parks, in all five boroughs

Have you ever just walked around and run smack into some strangely named park (Major Mark Park? Doughboy Park? WNYC Transmitter Park?) that you’ve never had any idea existed before? There are parks crammed into every nook and cranny of the city, a testament to community groups and civic leaders who recognized that congested, overcrowded… Read More

Categories
Uncategorized

Where are New York City’s oldest living trees?

The oldest living New Yorkers outdate all the skyscrapers, the highways and the parks in which most of them live. They have seen generations of New Yorkers come and go. And at least one of them even remembers the region’s original indigenous people. We’re talking about the native trees of New York City, those that… Read More

Mayor Franklin Edson: Bronx man and distillery king

Above: a cartoon mocking Edson’s hiring practices (courtesy New York Public Library Digital Gallery) KNOW YOUR MAYORS Our modest little series about some of the greatest, notorious, most important, even most useless, mayors of New York City. Other entrants in our mayoral survey can be found here. Mayor Franklin Edson In office: 1883-1884 Although the… Read More