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East River

Hudson River Towing: Austin’s Albany & Canal Line

March 16, 2023 by Peter Hess Leave a Comment

Canal Boats on the North River, New York in Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, December 25, 1852Jeremiah J. Austin, Jr. was born in 1819, just 12 years after the first commercial steamboat trip on the Hudson River and two years after construction of the Erie Canal began at Rome, New York. His father Jeremiah J. Austin Sr. was a prominent Albany businessman involved in Hudson River commerce.

After the Erie Canal opened, freight could be transported all the way across the Great Lakes to the entrance to the canal at Buffalo and then along the canal to Albany where it was shipped down the Hudson River to New York Harbor. From there freight could be fairly easily transported to any port on the East Coast, Europe or the Caribbean. [Read more…] about Hudson River Towing: Austin’s Albany & Canal Line

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, New York City Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Albany Rural Cemetery, East River, Erie Canal, Hudson River, Legal History, Maritime History, New York City, New York Harbor, Steamboating, Supreme Court, Transportation History

Restless Roamer: James Smithson’s Final Journey

January 29, 2023 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

House flag of John Griswold’s Black X Line.A descendant of Dutch settlers, Jacob Aaron Westervelt began his career in 1814 as an apprentice in Christian Bergh’s shipyard at the point of land on the East River known as Corlears Hook. He left his employer in 1835 to start his own operation along the river. Over a period of three decades, the yard produced 234 vessels.

One of Jacob’s first commissions in 1836 was to build the packet boat Mediator for John Griswold’s Black X Line. Founded in 1823, its ships ran between New York and London displaying a house flag with a black X on a red background. [Read more…] about Restless Roamer: James Smithson’s Final Journey

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Cultural History, Dutch History, East River, Freemasonary, French History, French Revolution, Manhattan, Maritime History, New York City, Science History, Smithsonian

Marsha P Johnson State Park Gateway Design Unveiled

December 9, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

gateway to Marsha P. Johnson State ParkThe preliminary design for a new gateway to Marsha P. Johnson State Park in Brooklyn was unveiled this summer. The park honors Marsha P. Johnson, a transgender woman of color who was a pioneer of the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. [Read more…] about Marsha P Johnson State Park Gateway Design Unveiled

Filed Under: History, New York City, Recreation Tagged With: Black History, Brooklyn, Civil Rights, East River, Greenwich Village, Landscape Architecture, LGBTQ, Manhattan, Marsha P. Johnson State Park, New York City, Political History, Williamsburg

Camp Chelsea, 1776: Manhattan’s Lost Revolutionary Garrison

June 15, 2022 by Brian Barrett Leave a Comment

Revolutionary War Encampment courtesy frontierfolk.orgWho knew that a military encampment once existed in today’s busy eclectic Chelsea in Manhattan?

The inquisitive tourist will not see or hear anything about a Revolutionary War camp there. Nor will they hear about General John Fellows or his headquarters at a glass works factory. Additionally, there were long forgotten tent encampments near the glassworks where 1500 Massachusetts Provincials slept.

These ghosts with muskets and white canvas tents were members of the Fellows’ Massachusetts Brigade. History recorded little about their activities and no known permanent monuments or markers were ever established to give us a clue about soldiers actual location or activities. [Read more…] about Camp Chelsea, 1776: Manhattan’s Lost Revolutionary Garrison

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: American Revolution, Battle of Brooklyn, Battle of Harlem Heights, Battle of Kips Bay, Battle of White Plains, Brooklyn, East River, Long Island, Manhattan, Military History, New York City

Saved at the Seawall: Stories from the September 11 Boat-Lift

April 8, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

seawallOn this episode of Empire State Engagements, a conversation with author, historian, and mariner Jessica DuLong about her book Saved at the Seawall: Stories from the September 11 Boatlift (Three Hills/Cornell University Press, 2021). [Read more…] about Saved at the Seawall: Stories from the September 11 Boat-Lift

Filed Under: Books, History, New York City Tagged With: 9-11, East River, Hudson River, Manhattan, Maritime History, New Jersey, New York City, New York Harbor, Podcasts, Search and Rescue, Transportation History

1970s Photos of New York Seascapes Exhibit, Reception at Jay Heritage

December 13, 2018 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Manhattan Seascape Jay Heritage Center has announced an exhibit by Robert Gambee, “Manhattan Seascapes,” at their 1907 Carriage House on Saturday, December 15 thru Sunday, December 16, from 2 to 5 pm.

A Champagne Reception, Book Signing and Prints Sale will take place from 2 to 5 pm on Saturday, December 15. The exhibit will also be open for viewing and print purchases on Sunday. Exhibit is free and open to the public. [Read more…] about 1970s Photos of New York Seascapes Exhibit, Reception at Jay Heritage

Filed Under: Events, New Exhibits, New York City Tagged With: Documentary, East River, Hudson River, Jay Heritage Center, Manhattan, Maritime History, New York Harbor

Hell Gate: A Nexus of New York City’s East River

October 3, 2018 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

hell gateMichael Nichols new book Hell Gate: A Nexus of New York City’s East River (Excelsior Editions, 2018) depicts a man’s exploration of the landscape, history, and toponymy of Hell Gate, a notorious stretch of water in New York City’s East River.

Part history and part memoir, Hell Gate tells of excursions along and through Hell Gate, a narrow stretch of water in New York City’s East River, notorious for dangerous currents, shipwrecks, and its melancholic islands and rocks. [Read more…] about Hell Gate: A Nexus of New York City’s East River

Filed Under: Books, History Tagged With: Books, East River, New York City

NYC Lecture Series Begins With ‘East River’ Thursday

September 5, 2016 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

east river mapThe Roosevelt Island Historical Society begins its Fall Lecture Series with a presentation on the commercial and cultural significance of the river and channel that surround Roosevelt Island and separate Manhattan and Queens.

Bob Singleton, Executive Director of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, will cover the East River from Governors Island to Fort Totten in a lecture at the New York Public Library Branch on Roosevelt Island, on Thursday, September 8, 2016, at 6:30 pm. [Read more…] about NYC Lecture Series Begins With ‘East River’ Thursday

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: East River, Hudson River, Industrial History, Labor History, Maritime History, New York Harbor, NYC, Roosevelt Island Historical Society

When The City Celebrated The Queensboro Bridge

June 6, 2013 by Jaya Saxena Leave a Comment

936full-manhattan-posterOn June 12, 1909, New York City began an eight-day celebration of the connection of the East Side of Manhattan with Long Island City in Queens with the Queensboro Bridge, designed by Henry Hornbostel.

Though it officially opened to traffic on March 30, 1909, the June festivities drew over 300,000 people (larger than the population of Queens at the time) to see the bridge lit up with electricity, and hear 1,500 children sing the “Star-Spangled Banner” in its honor. It meant that crossing the East River was no longer an obstacle to the development of the borough of Queens. [Read more…] about When The City Celebrated The Queensboro Bridge

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: East River, Historic Preservation, Long Island, Long Island City, Manhattan, New York City, NYC, Queens, Queensboro Bridge, Transportation History

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