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Film History Landmarks

Cheers to the Ziegfeld Theatre, the ultimate screen for sweeping drama

The Ziegfeld Theater, one of Manhattan’s last single-screen movie theaters, closed for regular film exhibition in 2016.* Its final film was Star Wars: The Force Awakens, an appropriate choice as tens of thousands of movie lovers had gone to the Ziegfeld to see previous films in the series — including the 1977 original. I think… Read More

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Preservation Skyscrapers Women's History

Ada Louise Huxtable, still shaping the New York skyline

Ada Louise Huxtable, born 100 years ago today, redefined the field of architecture writing, first for the New York Times and then for the Wall Street Journal until her death in 2013. We really can’t do a podcast an any building in the 20th century without first checking in with Ada to see what she… Read More

Categories
Holidays

Midnight in Times Square: The history of New Year’s Eve in New York City

PODCAST The tale of New York City’s biggest annual party from its inception on New Years Eve 1904 to the magnificent spectacle of the 21st century.  In this episode, we look back on the one day of the year that New Yorkers look forward. New Years Eve is the one night that millions of people… Read More

Categories
Newspapers and Newsies

Shameless Urchins and Mighty Frauds: 19th Century Views of April Fools Day

The celebration of April Fools Day traces back to the Middle Ages and possibly as far back as the Roman era. In the mid-19th century, the unofficial holiday for pranks provided a good excuse to attack political opponents.  Here are a couple samples of writing from New York publications from this period which I’m quoting at… Read More

Categories
Bowery Boys Bookshelf

“A History of New York in 101 Objects” by Sam Roberts: or why you should never throw anything out

BOOK REVIEW Looking at history as a collection of objects is a pursuit best suited for a hoarder.  Every item strewn along the timeline has the potential of being totemic to human experience.  A similar review of your own life might imbue symbolic power to such things as an old teddy bear or a dried… Read More

Categories
New York Islands

Roosevelt Island – from the New York Times to tomorrow’s podcast!

In this weekend’s New York Times Travel section, I chat with Emily Brennan about three places outside the borough of Manhattan that would make ideal destinations for tourists if the lines get too long at the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty.  You can read the interview here, but the places I discuss… Read More

Close-up at the DeMille: ‘Psycho’ opens in Times Square

Photo courtesy the Hitchcock Papers Fifty years ago today, a movie by a British director that was mostly filmed in Los Angeles made its New York City debut. That film, Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’, would change the medium forever, from its unrelenting suspense and terrifying soundtrack to that famous shower scene. The movie was first shown… Read More

In the Times: There’s something about Mary

I promise, I’m not turning this into an obituary blog! But I was reading the New York Times on Saturday and came across this small write-up. Usually, the paper features two or three short articles of notable people who have passed on; Ms. Mon Toy’s obit was instead in the paid section: “MARY MON TOY,… Read More

From whence came Bruni: NY Times’ first restaurant review

Delmonico’s Restaurant set the standards in fine dining by which future restaurants would be judged. But don’t just take my word on it. In the January 1, 1859 edition of the New York Times, Delmonico’s and other eateries of the city were the topic of that paper’s very first restaurant review. And the establishment of… Read More

Categories
Podcasts

PODCAST: New Years Eve at One Times Square

The Times Square New Years Eve celebration would not be the same without One Times Square and its annual ball drop. But the quirky history of this sometimes abused building reaches all the way back to the naming of Times Square and its original tenent — the New York Times. Download this show it for… Read More