New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

World War One

The First World War & New York City

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James Montgomery Flagg, poster for ‘Wake up America Day’, April 19, 1917. (Library of Congress)On April 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson declared America’s entrance into the First World War and initiated a nation-wide drive to strengthen the armed forces. It was decided that the commemorations of Patriots’ Day on April 19 should coincide with a “Wake up America Day” of recruitment. Every city hosted its own parties and spectacles.

In New York City, festivities were organized with decorated floats, patriotic banners and a grand vaudeville at Carnegie Hall starring Will Rogers, Ethel Barrymore, and others. James Montgomery Flagg designed the posters announcing the event. Fifth Avenue hosted a parade, whilst Army and Navy planes dropped pamphlets encouraging the crowd to summon the “Spirit of 1776.” [Read more…] about The First World War & New York City

Poet-Boxer Arthur Cravan: The Man Who Shocked Greenwich Village

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Arthur Cravan, c. 1916.The first annual exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists opened at Manhattan’s Grand Central Palace on the evening of April 10, 1917. Thousands of guests gathered to celebrate what was to be the largest art show ever held in New York. The momentous occasion took place in an atmosphere of growing political tension as it coincided with America’s entry into the First World War.

In spite of these circumstances, there was a single figure who attracted widespread attention. Known by his adopted name of Arthur Cravan, he had been invited to deliver a lecture on “The Independent Artists in France and America.” His outrageous behavior shocked New York’s artistic elite. [Read more…] about Poet-Boxer Arthur Cravan: The Man Who Shocked Greenwich Village

American Culture and 1920s Netherlands

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The interior of dancing Pschorr, Coolsingel, Rotterdam ca. 1928-1932 (Stadsarchief Rotterdam, collection topography Rotterdam)During the 1920s, the Netherlands excelled in dullness, it is said. But Kees Wouters shows how the cobwebs of pillarized society were blown away by a new musical wind from the West: Jazz! Exalted by many, vilified by others, Dutch musicians playing American jazz conquered music halls and radio waves alike and even made the Dutch dance.

According to Dutch historian Hermann von der Dunk, writing in the early 1980s, life in the Netherlands after World War I was as exciting as in a girls’ boarding school. Nothing much happened. Despite the presence of about a million destitute Belgian refugees, the horrors of the war had largely passed the Netherlands by. [Read more…] about American Culture and 1920s Netherlands

Harlem’s ‘French’ Hero: The Multi-Talented Eugene Bullard

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Eugene Bullard being beaten by police during the Peekskill Riot in 1949What has gone down in history as the Peekskill Riot was an attack in 1949 by a horde of white supremacists on African-Americans attending a Civil Rights benefit concert in Peekskill, Westchester County, NY. The show, scheduled for August 27th, was headlined by bass-baritone Paul Robeson, the left-wing campaigner and advocate of racial equality.

Just before the singer’s arrival in Peekskill, concertgoers were brutally attacked by some three hundred troublemakers, many of them carrying baseball bats. As the local police did not intervene, thirteen people were wounded in the mayhem. The concert was cancelled and postponed until September 4th. With local labor unions providing security, the event proceeded that night before an audience of 20,000 people. Robeson was joined on stage by folk singers Pete Seeger, Hope Foye and others. [Read more…] about Harlem’s ‘French’ Hero: The Multi-Talented Eugene Bullard

Josephine Baker and Illustrator Paul Colin

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Detail of photo of Joséphine Baker in 1940, photographed by Studio HarcourtA century ago this year, Josephine Baker traveled on a one way ticket from Philadelphia to New York City, having left her recently-wed husband behind.

Born an illegitimate child in a St Louis ghetto on June 3, 1906, Freda Josephine McDonald had a dismal childhood of poverty living in an area of rooming houses, run-down apartments and brothels near Union Station. The city was beset by racial tension and violence. [Read more…] about Josephine Baker and Illustrator Paul Colin

Long Island’s Gold Coast Elite & World War I

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The Gold Coast along Long Island’s North Shore is most often celebrated as a showcase for the rich and famous in the early 20th Century. A decidedly different aspect of that reputation comes into view when you consider the years leading up to America’s entry into the First World War. [Read more…] about Long Island’s Gold Coast Elite & World War I

The Plattsburgh Old Base’s Memorial Chapel: Some History

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Plattsburgh Memorial ChapelDuring the War of 1812, the Plattsburgh Cantonment was established in Clinton County, NY.  A garrison for American armies it was briefly abandoned by the U.S. Army after World War Two, before being acquired and expanded by the U.S. Air Force in 1953 which operated the facility, now known as the “Old Base” until 1995. The Plattsburgh Memorial Chapel is described by many as the most beautiful building on the Old Base. [Read more…] about The Plattsburgh Old Base’s Memorial Chapel: Some History

Jane Addams, Alice Hamilton & The Hague Women’s Congress

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Jane Addams, Alice Hamilton, Aletta Jacobs in BerlinBerlin, May 1915. Three feminists on an historical mission — Jane Addams and New York native Alice Hamilton from the United States, and Aletta Jacobs from the Netherlands — meet Wilbur H. Durborough. The American photographer and filmmaker had traveled to Berlin with his cameraman, Irving G. Ries, to shoot footage for his war documentary On the Firing Line with the Germans (1915). [Read more…] about Jane Addams, Alice Hamilton & The Hague Women’s Congress

Army Base Being Renamed for Albany’s Henry Johnson

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Henry Johnson - "Our Colored Heroes," 1918 lithograph by EG Renesch of Chicago (courtesy Tennessee State Archives)Sergeant Henry Johnson, an African-American hero of the First World War from Albany, NY, will officially have Fort Polk in Louisiana renamed in his honor this June. The move comes after Congress authorized the Naming Commission to provide new names for U.S. military bases and other Department of Defense installations originally named after Confederate leaders and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) advocated for the change. [Read more…] about Army Base Being Renamed for Albany’s Henry Johnson

Blauvelt State Park: Rockland County’s Storied Martial History

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New York Times, May 4, 1922Blauvelt State Park, in the Rockland County town of Blauvelt has a storied history. At first, it was a facility where members of the New York State National Guard (and the Naval Militia) could practice shooting. It was first used in October 1910, though still under construction at the time. Later on, the site would be called Camp Bluefields (Blauvelt means “blue field” in Dutch), but at this time the facility was known as the Blauvelt Rifle Range. [Read more…] about Blauvelt State Park: Rockland County’s Storied Martial History