History, Natural History & the Arts
There was no such thing as a Department of Motor Vehicles in the late 19th century, so there are no registration records to consult about who was the first owner of a car in New York City.
One of the earliest cars seen on the streets of Manhattan was an “Allen” in 1885. It was manufactured at 304 West 53rd Street and featured wheels that were chain driven, like a motorcycle, and a tiller rather than a steering wheel. [Read more…] about Early Automobiles In New York City
Five historic bronze lamps that once graced the front of the former Goldwater Hospital on Roosevelt Island in New York City from 1939 until 2013 and were stolen in late December have been recovered, according to Judith Berdy of the Roosevelt Island Historical Society. [Read more…] about Stolen Historic Goldwater Hospital Lamps Recovered, But Damaged
On August 20, 2023 New York City‘s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) instituted a 5% increase for the cost of a single subway or bus trip, with the base price going from $2.75 to $2.90. The previous fare hike took place in 2015.
From the inauguration of subway services in 1904 until the previously separate Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT), Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit (BMT) and Independent (IND) lines were unified into one system in 1948, the fare for a subway ride of any length was 5¢. [Read more…] about New York City Subway Fare History: A Primer
As Nazi Germany began its domination of Europe, America was woefully unprepared for fighting. Our military was small, poorly supplied and without the prospect of a robust manufacturing sector that might have provided the arms, planes, ships, tanks and other equipment it would have needed.
And then, on December 7, 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. [Read more…] about New York City During World War Two
The Roosevelt Island Historical Society has reported that six historic bronze lamps that graced the front of the former Goldwater Hospital in New York City from 1939 until 2013 have been stolen from an open air semi-visible storage area at what was once Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital’s south campus at 1 Main Street, Roosevelt Island. [Read more…] about Historic Bronze Lamps, Remnants of Goldwater Hospital, Have Been Stolen
It was 1924. America was in the midst of a roaring economic boom, and so was R.H. Macy & Co.
It had gone public in 1922 and, flush with capital, had bought out competitors, opened a network of regional stores, and transformed its flagship New York City emporium. [Read more…] about Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: Some History
As the 1920s advanced, the economy soared. But with that dramatic expansion came irrational exuberance and unchecked speculation: stock prices reached levels that had no basis in reality; margin purchases were rampant; banks handed out loans lavishly and imprudently; and giddy product production resulted in a vast oversupply of goods.
On Tuesday, October 29, 1929, it all came crashing down. This is the story of the Great Depression in New York City. [Read more…] about The Great Depression in New York City: A Primer
“Back number” in contemporary parlance means “back issue.” Today we take for granted the availability of old newspapers and other periodicals, as well as their invaluable glimpse into our past. But this was not the case in the 19th century. [Read more…] about Back Number Budd: A 19th Century One-Man Newspaper Archive
As the ravages of the First World War and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic receded into the past, a new spirit gripped New York City. Energy seemed to infuse every aspect of city life, from business to leisure and everything in between. For a decade, New Yorkers by and large lived, worked and partied with abandon. [Read more…] about New York City In the Roaring 20s: A Primer
Eugene De Selignac (1861–1943) was born in Boston into an eccentric family of exiled French nobility, de Salignac had no formal training in photography. In 1903, at the age of 42, his brother-in-law found him a job as an assistant to the photographer for the Department of Bridges in New York City, Joseph Palmer. After three years of apprenticeship, Palmer suddenly died, and in October 1906, de Salignac assumed his duties. [Read more…] about The Early NYC Automobile Accident Photos of Eugene De Selignac
In 1895 New York City’s newly appointed reformist Mayor William Lafayette Strong nominated engineer and Civil War veteran Colonel George Waring to take on the demanding post of Sanitation Commissioner.
A native of Pound Ridge in Westchester County, Waring had fine-tuned his skills as a landscape and drainage (sewage) engineer having been involved with the construction of Manhattan’s Central Park. [Read more…] about New York Pork: A Porcine History of the Big Apple
During the 1830s, young Romantic poets in Paris were loud and rebellious. They raised the noise levels in literature. Pétrus Borel headed the “Petit Cénacle,” an eccentric group of writers who had declared war on Classicism.
Considered a social nuisance, their rowdy and unruly behavior led to arrests. A journalistic term of abuse was turned into a banner of pride. The group’s members adopted the name Les Bousingos (“faiseurs de bousin” = brawlers). [Read more…] about Charlie Pfaff, Walt Whitman and the King of Bohemia
In 2011, the nonprofit Gotham Whale recorded just five humpbacks spotted off New York City. Since then, the number has soared. By 2018, sightings had jumped to 272. Less than a year later, 377 whales of different species were observed.
A recent Discover Magazine article cites two main factors that drive the increasing presence of whales. [Read more…] about New York’s Whaling Industry: Some History
The Roosevelt Island Historical Society will host “A Tale of Two Waterworks,” a virtual presentation with Jeffrey Kroessler exploring the history of the water systems of New York City and the once independent City of Brooklyn. [Read more…] about Two Early NYC Reservoirs: A Virtual Program
Return with me to the thrilling days of yesteryear when the automobile was viewed as the solution to transportation noise, fumes and congestion.
The problem: Horses.
A lot of horses. [Read more…] about The Unpleasant Side of Life With Horses in Cities
George Waring was born in Pound Ridge, New York, the son of George E. Waring Sr., a wealthy stove manufacturer. Trained in agricultural chemistry, he began to lecture on agricultural science. In 1855, he took charge of Horace Greeley‘s farm at Chappaqua, New York. [Read more…] about George Waring’s Men In White
The “Man with the Muck Rake” appears in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress as a person who only looks down gathering filth. His vision is fixed on carnal, not on spiritual matters. By seeking out what is disagreeable, he is blind to divine grace.
In a speech on April 15th, 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt referred to this passage when he acknowledged that men with ‘muck rakes’ may be indispensable to social well-being, but that applies only if they know “when to stop raking the muck.” There is a rich Anglo-American tradition of muckraking that has been instrumental in exposing injustice and corruption. Today, investigative journalism is under threat. [Read more…] about Slum Tours and Muckrakers in London and New York
“The Bridge Man,” photographer Dave Frieder, has climbed 20 of New York’s great bridges to photograph them in intimate and distinctive ways. His photographs are now published in the book The Magnificent Bridges of New York City.
Frieder is set to discusses his approach to capturing the engineering behind and supporting the bridges at a lecture at the New York Public Library Branch on Roosevelt Island, on Thursday, December 19th, at 6:30 pm. [Read more…] about NYC Bridge Lecture Planned For Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island, formerly Blackwell’s Island (and later Welfare Island), has had many layers of medical history. From the construction of the almshouses in the 1830s onward, the island has housed the ill, displaced, criminals and unwanted poor of the city. [Read more…] about Roosevelt Island and Public Health History
Architect Thomas Fenniman is set to speak on historic preservation and architecture on Roosevelt Island, on Thursday, January 17th at 6:30 pm, at the New York Public Library Branch on Roosevelt Island, NY.
Historic preservation combines multiple disciplines: architecture, design, knowledge of period materials and construction techniques, plus communication to manage the process of building owners, regulators and the masons and builders who perform the work. [Read more…] about Historic Preservation, Architecture on Roosevelt Island
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