New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group

More than Cherries: The Flowering Trees of Riverside Park

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Spring in Riverside ParkThe Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group will host a free webinar presentation Wednesday, April 27th, “More than Cherries: The Flowering Trees of Riverside Park,” with Margaret Bracken, Landscape Architect for Riverside Park in New York City. [Read more…] about More than Cherries: The Flowering Trees of Riverside Park

Bloomingdale Local History Archives Expanded

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West Side Memories provided by BNHGThe Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group (BNHG) have announced their neighborhood archive, plus a collection of books donated to the BNHG by well-known Upper West Side historian Peter Salwen, are now available to the public, located just inside the doors of the Bloomingdale Library, next to the circulation desk. [Read more…] about Bloomingdale Local History Archives Expanded

Grant’s Tomb Virtual Program Set for Dec 1st

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Grant's TombUlysses S. Grant’s Tomb is a colossal Neoclassical tomb, larger than any final resting place of any other president and of any other person in America, that stands overlooking Riverside Park, in New York City.

The Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group and the Columbus Amsterdam BID will host “Grant’s Tomb: The president’s final year and how his tomb came to the Upper West Side,” a webinar set for Wednesday, December 1st. [Read more…] about Grant’s Tomb Virtual Program Set for Dec 1st

NYC’s Past, Present, & Future Through its Place-Names (Virtual Talk)

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Names of New YorkThe Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group and the Columbus Amsterdam Business Improvement District will host an illustrated talk by writer, geographer and teacher Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, on his latest book Names of New York: Discovering the City’s Past, Present, and Future through its Place-Names (Pantheon, 2021), on Monday, October 18th. [Read more…] about NYC’s Past, Present, & Future Through its Place-Names (Virtual Talk)

Free Upper West Side Tours Returning

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Isidor and Ida Straus Memorial at Straus Park courtesy Wikimedia user Luigi NoviThe Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group has announced that tours of the Upper West Side with historian and author Jim Mackin are set to return on Wednesday, June 30th at 6 pm. The walks are held monthly and walks vary from month to month. The June walk will start out from Straus Park at 107th Street and West End Avenue. [Read more…] about Free Upper West Side Tours Returning

Posh Portals: Elegant Upper West Side Entrances

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posh portalsAndrew Alpern, author of Posh Portals: Elegant Entrances and Ingratiating Ingresses to Apartments for the Affluent in New York City (Abbeville Press, 2020), says first impressions count when it comes to the luxury buildings of the city, which is what inspired him to write Posh Portals.  [Read more…] about Posh Portals: Elegant Upper West Side Entrances

First Time Local History Authors: A Virtual Presentation

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adirondack booksThe Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group has announced a webinar with Jim Mackin and Matthew Spady, who will discuss their new books on local history and compare notes about what it’s like to research and write a book for the first time.

Mackin and Spady will describe what first- time authorship is like, about their shared interest in local history, how they conceptualized their books and how they found a publisher. They’ll share their research methods, their writing regimen, the how-tos of fact-checking, editing and finally, promoting their books. [Read more…] about First Time Local History Authors: A Virtual Presentation