Author: GY

Categories
Film History Mysterious Stories

Scream Time: Ten Fun Horror Films Set In New York City

Horror movies normally go for nameless suburbs, dark woods or remote Victorian-style haunted houses for their scary settings, so it’s a wonderful treat when New York City and its recognizable landmarks get to host a few cinematic monsters.

Ever since King Kong traipsed up the Empire State Building, filmmakers have used the city’s architecture as a way to heighten thrills and even comment on the real-life horrors of urban living. This week the Scream franchise brings its mix of murder mystery and slasher to New York City in Scream VI starring Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega.

The latest film finds Ghostface walking the same streets once terrorized by Friday the 13th’s Jason, the creatures known as C.H.U.D. and a myriad of lesser known maniacs and monsters.

Want to make your own New York City horror film festival? Here are ten of my personal favorite movies set in the big city, from campy treats to genuine frights. Do you have any urban horror favorites? Leave them in the comments.

10 Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)

Before Q was a conspiracy theory, it was an ancient beast terrorizing the New York skyline. Chrysler Building architect William Van Alen would be horrified to learn that the graceful tapering top hat of his most famous building becomes home of a loathsome flying dragon and a gigantic nest of eggs.

This movie is one of my all-time favorite camp horror classics, Jaws if the shark were actually just a long, mean pigeon. (Way back in 2007 I wrote about my love of this movie on this website.)

9 The Sentinel (1977)

Horror on the Brooklyn Promenade! A fashion model moves into a historic Brooklyn brownstone only to be tormented by the most peculiar set of neighbors to ever vex the borough. Sure it’s built upon the gateway to Hell, but given the state of real estate today, it might be worth the risk. (We talked a bit about this film in our Ghost Stories of Brooklyn podcast.)

8 Wolfen (1981)

A murder mystery in early 80s New York City that uses both recognizable landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge and the rubble of the Lower East Side to great chilling effect.

Something very wolf-like is killing people in gruesome ways, from Battery Park to the Central Park Zoo. There are literally wolves on Wall Street! There are also some definite cringe-worthy moments (using Native American mythology in the most trivial way) but seeing New York as an apocalyptic landscape is eye-opening. Bonus points for the bloody nod to New Amsterdam.

7 House of Wax (1953)

A rich and campy celebration of the city’s once ubiquitous wax museum scene — in particular a glorious nod to the Eden Musée — in a morbid mystery along the dark streets of turn-of-the-century New York. Vincent Price is at his very best as a sculptor with a dark method of creating new exhibitions.

6 Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)

The world of high-fashion New York, set to soundtrack of disco and Barbra Streisand, is the backdrop for this serial killer thriller starring Faye Dunaway as an extremely macabre photographer who begins seeing horrifying visions. Absurd and sometimes silly, the film nonetheless features an exquisite look at 1970s SoHo. We loved it so much that we recorded a Bowery Boys Movie Club about it.

5 Dark Water (2005)

And now we turn to Roosevelt Island and a remake of a Japanese film, made during the height of the Western fascination with Japanese horror. (Think Ring; in fact Dark Water is a variation on a short story by Koji Suzuki, author of Ring.) Here Jennifer Connelly fights back against a leaky ceiling — haunted, of course — and a ghostly child. I kept wanting the movie to reach back further into the island’s dark history but it’s a fun, little jump-scare fest regardless.

4 Sisters (1972)

Brian De Palma in Staten Island! Plus a very troubled Margot Kidder playing a fashion model and, well, something more. This strange little indie artifact is the first of many tributes to Alfred Hitchcock in De Palma’s career, a murder mystery and a psychosexual terror that may permanently change the way you see the neighborhood of St. George.

From the Rialto Theater premiere in New York, December 1942

3 Cat People

This sinister creeper actually has very little violence or gore, and it’s not even filmed in New York! But director Jacques Tourneur manages to turn Fifth Avenue interiors into shadowy horror landscapes and the brilliant Simone Simon perfectly embodies a glamorous international socialite who might also be the original catwoman. Central Park Zoo is the scene of much of the melodrama but the most terrifying scene is an effective trick of light-and-shadow at an apartment building swimming pool.

2 The Hunger

So dramatic, pretentious and beautiful. Two New Wave vampires (Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie) hit the town looking for new victims and eternal youth. When Bowie discovers the downsides of making an evil, immortal pact with the undead, Deneuve turns to Susan Sarandon as her new unholy companion.

Filled with so much eyeliner and a great many shoulder pads, this sexy horror melodrama spawned a million baby goths and still stands as an LGBT midnight classic. It also makes a perfect double feature with Martin Scorsese’s After Hours, both movies a celebration of New York City after dark.

BOB WILLOUGHBY/MPTV IMAGES/REEL ART PRESS

1 Rosemary’s Baby

This is the ultimate marriage of story and location and essentially a horror movie about nosy neighbors and a co-op board. You’re certainly familiar with the story — a young woman (Mia Farrow) becomes impregnated under mysterious circumstances in her tony new home at the Dakota Apartments. But even if you don’t care for horror (or for director Roman Polanski), watch it just for the New York City locations, an embodiment of both the chic and unusual.

Also I want you to watch this movie knowing that Dakota resident Lauren Bacall, friends with producer William Castle, was often watching them film the movie here.

Categories
The Gilded Gentleman

Having A Ball: The Gilded Gentleman Parties Like It’s 1899

Bradley-Martin Ball of 1897 from the Harper's Weekly Illustrated Newspaper

The second season of HBO’s The Gilded Age arrives in September but you don’t have to wait that long to revel in the opulence and the scandal of the era.

The Gilded Gentleman podcast has been investigating this era’s cultural significance, and in his two newest episodes, host Carl Raymond hits the historic dance floor to explore the real drama behind the Gilded Age ball.

Season Two of HBO’s The Gilded Age will whisk you away starting in September. ALISON COHEN ROSA/HBO.

Having a Ball: The Gilded Age’s Most Outrageous Parties

The grand ball was in many ways the battlefield upon which these social skirmishes were enacted.  In this show, Carl takes a look at just what going to the ball meant in the Gilded Age (whether you were invited or not) and just what it was like once you got there.  

The show delves into several of the Gilded Age’s most famous balls, from Alva Vanderbilt‘s costume ball of 1883 to Mrs. Astor’s annual Opera Ball to the ultimately disastrous ball thrown by James Hazen Hyde in 1905. 

This episode also details the fashion and the jewels and shares some examples of what happened when it the party went careening off the rails. 

The Bradley Martin Ball 1897: The Gilded Age’s Greatest Party

Of all the balls and parties thrown during the Gilded Age, the extravagant evening hosted by Bradley and Cornela Martin at the Waldorf in 1897 was perhaps the most legendary, but also perhaps the most filled with misconceptions. 

This episode shares the story of the Bradley-Martins and explains the fascinating background of the ball that makes this a true tale of the Gilded Age.

The Gilded Gentleman’s guest for this special episode is Richard Jay Hutto, the great-grandson-in-law of the Bradley Martins. He shares the story of the Bradley Martins, how the ball came to be, and what really happened the morning after.  

Categories
Podcasts Writers and Artists

Nighthawks and Automats: The New York City of Edward Hopper

Within the New York City of Edward Hopper‘s imagination, the skyscrapers have vanished, the sidewalks are mysteriously wide and all the diners and Chop Suey restaurants are sparsely populated with well-dressed lonely people.

In this art-filled episode of the Bowery Boys, Tom and Greg look at Hopper’s life, influence and specific fascination with the city, inspired by the recent show Edward Hopper’s New York at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Edward Hopper, November, Washington Square,

Hopper, a native of the Hudson River town of Nyack, painted New York City for over half a decade. In reality, the city experienced Prohibition and the Jazz Age, two world wars and the arrival of automobiles. But not in Hopper’s world.

In his most famous work Nighthawks (1942), figures from a dreamlike film appear trapped in an aquarium-shaped diner. But Hopper has captured something else in this iconic painting: fear and paranoia. No wonder he’s considered a huge influence on Hollywood film noir and detective stories.

Hopper painted New York from his studio overlooking Washington Square Park, and both he and his wife Josephine Nivison Hopper would become true fixtures of the Greenwich Village scene.

PLUS: Tom visits the Edward Hopper House Museum in Nyack, New York, to talk the artist’s early life with executive director Kathleen Motes Bennewitz. And Greg finds some of the hidden meanings in Hopper’s paintings thanks to American art historian Rena Tobey.

LISTEN NOW: NIGHTHAWKS AND AUTOMATS

Information on the Whitney Museum of American Art‘s show Edward Hopper’s New York can be found here.

And for some insight into his early years, visit the Edward Hopper House Museum in Nyack, New York. Info here.

And check out Rena Tobey’s website for upcoming news on her upcoming art talks. Her next art conversation:

Finding Her Way: Painting Urban Women’s Experiences 1840-1940
Tuesday, March 28, 2023, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Online with the Manhattan JCC

Edward Hopper in his studio. Courtesy Everett/Shutterstock
Circa 1947. Photo courtesy Whitney Museum of American Art

From the Edward Hopper House Museum in Nyack, NY:

Photos by Tom Meyers

From inside Edward Hopper’s studio at 3 Washington Square North (from Open House NY 2019). Information on the studio here.

Although Hopper’s painting are mostly from the domain of his imagination, you can see some of his architectural subjects on the streets today. For more information, visit this interesting article posted at Village Preservation.

Bleecker and Carmine Street
Early Sunday Morning, 1930
Greenwich Avenue and Seventh Avenue
Nighthawks, 1942
Judson Memorial Church
November, Washington Square

FURTHER LISTENING

After finishing this show on Edward Hopper, dive back into our back catalog and experience other shows related to Hopper and his subjects:

Art Insanity: The Armory Show of 1913

Jane Jacobs: Saving Greenwich Village

Tragic Muse: The Life of Audrey Munson

New York University: A School For The Metropolis

Categories
Film History Side Streets

Side Streets: Goodbye Chelsea Cinema (and Other Fallen Stars)

Photo by Jim Henderson, taken 2020, courtesy Wikimedia Commons
SIDE STREETS is the new Bowery Boys Patreon-exclusive podcast, available to those who support the show via Patreon at any of the listed levels.

New York City was once famed for its cinemas, but habits in watching movies in a post-pandemic world have forced the closure of many of the city’s most interesting and memorable screens. 

Upon hearing news that the Cineplex Chelsea Cinema (once New York’s largest multiplex) has closed, Greg and Tom race back to their microphones to lament the disappearance of their favorite movie screens and fondly recall their most interesting times at the movies. (Since recording this last week the Regal Union Square Stadium 14 has also announced its closure.)

Among the fallen stars: The Ziegfeld Theatre, classic Lower East Side screens as the Sunshine Cinema, creaky revival houses such as La Cinematheque and rather fragrant Loews Astor Plaza in Times Square

But it’s not all gloom on this show. The Bowery Boys also celebrate the city’s most classic screens that are still open — from the Film Forum to the Paris Theatre. And many, many more!

What is your favorite place in New York City to watch a movie?

Photo by Anomalous_A/Flickr
Image via Union Square Partnership
Photo by Beyond My Ken/Wikimedia Commons
Categories
Food History On The Waterfront Podcasts

The Fulton Fish Market: History at the South Street Seaport

Fish vendors, South Street, ca. 1937. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph. Photographer: Clifford Sutcliffe. Courtesy Municipal Archives.

In the 19th century, the Fulton Fish Market in downtown Manhattan was to seafood what Chicago stock yards were to the meat industry, the primary place where Americans got fish for their dinner tables.

Over the decades it went from a retail market to a wholesale business, distributing fish across the country – although that was a bit tricky in the days before modern refrigeration.

Today its former home is known by a more familiar name — the South Street Seaport, a historical district that has undergone some incredible changes in just the past half century. The fish market, once a awkward staple of this growing tourist destination, moved to the Bronx in 2005.

You can still find delicious seafood at the Seaport — lobster rolls, grilled octopus, steamed bass, buttery scallops and other offerings of the many fine restaurants of the Seaport area. And the Tin Building has taken dining in the neighborhood to the next level, literally in the architectural remains of a former fish market building.

Photo by Gordon Parks, courtesy Library of Congress

Maybe you have parents or grandparents who once worked at the Market in the 20th century. They might have stories about rusty, old architecture or bizarre new sea creatures for sale. Or maybe they have tales about the mobsters who kept certain aspects of the market’s distribution process under their control.

Why did the Fulton Fish Market appear at this very specific spot in New York City? How did it become so important? How did people manage to successful sell thousands of tons of seafood in the 19th century and keep it delicious and fresh?

On this show, we’ll be joined by professor Jonathan H. Rees, a professor of history at Colorado State University–Pueblo, author of the new book The Fulton Fish Market: A History.

By the end of our conversation today, we’re confident that you’ll never look at the fish section of your local grocer in the same way. 

LISTEN NOW: THE FULTON FISH MARKET

Tin Building, 1951, Library of Congress
Photo by Greg Young

Some views inside the new chic Tin Building:

Photo by Greg Young

FURTHER LISTENING

After listening to this week’s show on the Fulton Fish Market, you’ll want to re-visit these shows from the back catalog for additional context

The South Street Seaport

Has Jack the Ripper Come To Town?
This gruesome 1891 crime took place on the East River waterfront, just a few blocks north of the market!

The High Line

Essex Street Market

Categories
Mysterious Stories

‘Burning Gotham’: New audio fiction podcast about Old New York and the Great Fire of 1835

If you’re into radio dramas, historical epics and intriguing tales about New York City, we think you’ll like Burning Gotham, the new podcast produced by The Wallbreakers, weaving the biographies of several real-life New York City figures into a speculative tale leading to the Great Fire of 1835.

On the frigid blustery night of December 16th, the worst fire in city history sweeps through Manhattan

The East River is frozen solid. The undermanned team of volunteer firefighters are no match. Everything south of Maiden Lane and east of Broad Street—the chief merchant district with the highest property value—turns to ash.

The fire causes the modern equivalent of $500 million in damage. The investigation finds the cause to be a leaky gas valve near a lit coal stove at the office of Comstock & Andrews.

But what if New York’s greatest accidental fire was no accident?

The eight-part first season is now available with a new season planned for later this year.

In addition, for a look behind the history of each episode, there are four episodes of Beyond Burning Gotham, providing historical context for the narrative. Episode two of Beyond Burning Gotham even features Greg Young from the Bowery Boys!

Categories
Podcasts Pop Culture Queens History

Treasures from the World’s Fair: Futuristic Objects from the Past

Flushing-Meadows Corona Park in the borough of Queens is the home of the New York Mets, the U.S. Open, the Queens Zoo, the Hall of Science and many other recreational delights.

But it will always be forever known as the launching pad for the future as represented in two extraordinary 20th century world’s fairs.

There is so much nostalgia today for the 1939-1940 World’s Fair and its stranger, more visually chaotic 1964-65 World’s Fair. And that nostalgia has fueled a thriving market for collectables from these fairs — the souvenirs and other common household items branded with the two fairs’ striking visual symbols.

The Trylon and Perisphere represented the dreams of 1930s America after the Great Depression, the strange symbols of “the World of Tomorrow.” A quarter century later the Unisphere depicted its theme — “Peace Through Understanding” — as a space-age fantasy.

Millions of souvenirs were manufactured and sold at these two fairs. And those very treasured items which survive — in the hands of collectors, at flea markets and antique shops — are nearly all that remain of these special, ephemeral events.

In this show, Greg is joined by design and cultural historian Kyle Supley, recorded at Brooklyn’s City Reliquary where Supley’s own collection of World’s Fair has found a permanent home.

How do such souvenirs allow us to visit the past? And what do they say about our world today?

LISTEN NOW: TREASURES FROM THE WORLD’S FAIR

Kyle Supley is a historian, curator and preservationist with a focus on Mid-Century American culture, consumer products, architecture, and design.

He is the creator and host of the TV show “Kyle Supley’s Out There!” on Ovation’s Journy Network, a New York City tour guide for Bowery Boys Walks, and a DJ of music from the golden age of disco, at the landmarked NYC gay bar Julius’ in Greenwich Village.

His next two World’s Fairs tours for Bowery Boys Walks:

January 7th at 12 PM — virtual tour, tune in from home
February 4th at 12 PM — virtual tour, tune in from home
And Kyle’s LIVE with his walking tours of the historic pathways of Flushing Meadows starting March 4th — book your tickets here

The City Reliquary, located at 430 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is open Saturdays & Sundays noon to 6pm.

Meet Me At The City Reliquary from Gray Miller on Vimeo.

Photo by Greg Young
Photo by Greg Young

Kyle’s magical gold necklace with a light.

Photo by Greg Young

You can watch Matthew Silva’s entire film Modern Ruin on YouTube, detailing the history of the New York State Pavilion

Featured on the show: “Dawn of A New Day (Official Song of the World’s Fair” by Horace Heidt

Featured on the show: audio from this corny 1964 TV commercial

FURTHER LISTENING
Other episodes from the back catalog to dive into after listening to this show

The World of Tomorrow: The 1939-40 World’s Fair

Ruins of the World’s Fair: The New York State Pavilion

The Crystal Palace: America’s First World’s Fair

The World’s Fair of 1964-65

Shea Stadium

FURTHER READING:
Other articles from the website that you might enjoy

The Bronx World’s Fair of 1918: the failure which became a magical park

The Corona Ash Dump: Brooklyn’s burden on Queens, a vivid literary inspiration and bleak, rat-filled landscape

The religious controversy behind a lonely Roman column just standing around by itself in Flushing Meadows Park

The World of Today: How the New York World’s Fair connects to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

George Washington’s inauguration and the 1939 World’s Fair

Robert Moses rejected this terrifying Margaret Keane painting from hanging at the 1964-65 World’s Fair

Categories
Bowery Boys

The Bowery Boys 2022: A Year in Pictures

Had a wonderful time wandering the city researching shows for the Bowery Boys podcast. Here are a few of my favorite images from New York City and the Hudson River Valley in 2022. Happy New Year! — Greg

Ruben Museum of Art
General Theological Seminary, Chelsea, January
Dorothy Parker’s grave, Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx
Red Hook waterfront, January 29, 2022
Louis Armstrong House, Corona Queens
Chinese New Year aftermath
Ukrainian Museum
Ukrainian protest Times Square, February 2022
Richard Morris Hunt memorial, Central Park
Temple Emanu-El, March
East Harlem Mural, March
Frederick Law Olmsted Farmhouse, March
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, April
Croton Dam, April
Croton Aqueduct Trail, April
FDR Presidential Library, April
Hyde Park, NY, April
Catskill, NY
Thomas Cole House, May
Olana State Historic Site
Olana State Historic Site
Roosevelt Island, May
Hudson River Piers, June
Flatbush Churchyard
African Record Store, Flatbush
Metropolitan Museum of Art, July
Old Essex Street Market, July
Williamsburg, July
Recording Studio, August
A&T Long Lines Building, August
Jefferson Market, September
Inside the National Arts Club, September
Bannerman’s Castle, October
Inside One If By Land, Two If By Sea, October
Red Hook, October
Getting ready for the Halloween show at Joe’s Pub, October
“Dimes Square”, November
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, November
Columbus Park, Chinatown
Red Hook, December
Meat Packing District, December
Chinatown, December

Photos courtesy The Bowery Boys

Categories
Food History Side Streets

Side Streets: The new Bowery Boys podcast series, only on Patreon

We’ve just debuted a new podcast series — Side Streets, available only to those who support the Bowery Boys Podcast on Patreon, featuring conversation about all sorts of New York City related subjects.

And the first episode is all about food!

Greg and Tom — with some help from producer Kieran Gannon — reflect nostalgically upon old New York City restaurants from the 1990s (Mars 2112, anyone?), wonder what it was like to eat at a chop suey restaurant, praise the strange wonders of Chez Josephine and Congee Village and reveal their favorite diners in the city.

PLUS: Where do the Bowery Boys go to have a delicious slice of pizza? (Hint: Head to Brooklyn.)

Photo by Greg Young

Side Streets will be an every-other-week show, available to patrons at any level. To listen to the show and support the Bowery Boys podcast, just sign up at Patreon.

And check out the various Patreon support tiers for additional benefits such as ad-free episodes, patron-only merchandise, early notice of live events and other fun things.

Visit our Patreon page here.

Our thanks to Patreon supporter Emily Burns who came up with the name for the new show.

Categories
Bowery Boys

One Glorious Year: Your Favorite Bowery Boys Podcasts of 2022

What a way to spend our 15th year of podcasting! You’ve helped make it another fantastic year. Over the past twelve months, we’ve released 24 brand new episodes and even went back to the live stage twice (at Caveat and Joe’s Pub).

On top of the extraordinary work by Carl Raymond of The Gilded Gentleman podcast, who produced new shows all year — from Alva Vanderbilt to champagne.

And speaking of a Gilded good time, Tom spent a few weeks co-hosting The Official Gilded Age Podcast with Alicia Malone — who then came on the Bowery Boys in November to discuss the life of Marilyn Monroe.

A extra, extra special thank you to those who support us Patreon. We were able to produce these shows because of your support and encouragement. PLUS we just started up a new Patreon-only show called Side Streets.

This year we strolled through Little Caribbean and a changing Lower East Side. We visited the Hudson River Valley, celebrated its greatest painters and its greatest ghost stories.

We looked at the history of the Puerto Rican community and paid a trip to the ruins of Roosevelt Island. We profiled Jacob Riis, Marilyn Monroe and Samuel Tilden (and the disastrous election of 1876).

The operator patched us through to the history of the telephone in New York City. And speaking of chats, we got insights on “New York: A Documentary Film” with Ric Burns and James Sanders and the world of puzzles with A.J. Jacobs.

And thanks to guest Hugh Ryan, we saw Jefferson Market in a very different way with an exploration into the place known as the Women’s House of Detention.

But you especially loved the following ten shows — the most listened-to Bowery Boys episodes of 2022.

Looking forward to 2023 — we’ve got LOTS of surprises planned for January and February, plus a new upcoming mini-series for the spring.

1. Architect of the Gilded Age: The Story of Richard Morris Hunt

2. Hyde Park: The Roosevelts on the Hudson

3. How Chelsea Became A Neighborhood

4. Frederick Law Olmsted and the Plan for Central Park

5. Dorothy Parker’s Last Party

6. The Ansonia: Only Scandals in the Building

7. The Story of Flatbush: Brooklyn Old and New

8. The Temple on Fifth Avenue

9. The Wonderful Home of Louis and Lucille Armstrong

10 On the Trail of the Old Croton Aqueduct

Categories
Bowery Boys Bookshelf Podcasts Writers and Artists

The World Before Wordle: A Puzzling Conversation with A.J. Jacobs

Crosswords, jigsaws, mazes, rebuses, Rubik’s cubes, Myst, Words With Friends — and now Wordle? Not only have people loved puzzles for centuries, they’ve actually gone wild for them. Every few years, a new puzzle comes along to captivate the nation.

But each of these little games has an extraordinary history and for this special show, we have the “the puzzler” himself to help us unravel these unique mysteries.

Joining the show today is A.J. Jacobs, author of The Puzzler: One Man’s Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life, who leads Greg and Tom down a maze of fascinating origins of the world’s most popular puzzles — many with a connection to New York City.

FEATURING:

— Sam Loyd, the ultimate puzzle huckster
— The utterly madcap Rebus Craze of 1937
— The Secret and the possible treasure buried underneath New York’s very streets
— Stephen Sondheim‘s glorious contributions to the puzzling world

PLUS: A special New York City-themed anagram game!

LISTEN NOW — TALKING PUZZLES WITH A.J. JACOBS

Would you like to solve the Puzzler‘s secret puzzles? Find them here.

Music for this show:

More information on The Secret and the possible whereabouts of a treasure buried somewhere in New York City.

Bain News Service, Publisher. Sam Loyd. [No Date Recorded on Caption Card] Photograph. Courtesy Library of Congress
Trademark listing for a Nellie Bly puzzle game, 1890
Harris & Ewing, photographer. Old age versus the cross word puzzle. They don’t come too hard for Ambrose Hines… D.C., who just celebrated his one hundredth … “Bring on the hard ones,” says Mr. Hines. “I’ve … dictionaries, time and pencils necessary.” And he … too. [January or February] Photograph. Courtesy the Library of Congress.
Kid cut ups puzzle, How did Noah get the animals into the ark? , 1909. Pittsburgh, Retrieved from the Library of Congress

The first crossword (or word-cross) puzzle, 1913, from the New York World.

FURTHER LISTENING:

The Straw Hat Riots of 1922

Nellie Bly: Undercover in the Madhouse

Pulitzer vs Hearst: The Rise of Yellow Journalism

Categories
Food History The Gilded Gentleman

The Delmonico Way: A Conversation with Max Tucci

In celebration of his new book “The Delmonico Way: Sublime Entertaining and Legendary Recipes From The Restaurant That Made New York,” author Max Tucci joins The Gilded Gentleman for a talk about food, family history and the real meaning of hospitality. 

Delmonico’s! Just the name was legendary. Edith Wharton mentioned it in her fiction set in the Gilded Age. The dining room hosted royalty and heads of state along with, in later years, Hollywood’s most famous stars. And then there was the equally legendary food. 

Max Tucci is the grandson of Oscar Tucci who reopened the legendary restaurant in the 1920s after the original – in business since 1827 – had been closed due to Prohibition. 

Oscar and his family built an empire that established Delmonico’s as the gold standard of American fine dining and hospitality from the 1920s through the 1980’s. 

Oscar Tucci with another famed restaurateur, Sirio Maccioni of Le Cirque. Courtesy of Oscar’s Delmonico Facebook page

Max, who holds the largest collection of Delmonico’s memorabilia of his family’s famous establishment, shares his memories, family history and anecdotes about the incomparable hospitality, fine dishes and famous clientele of America’s first truly grand restaurant. 

LISTEN NOW: THE DELMONICO WAY

Follow Max Tucci on Instagram

FURTHER LISTENING

Mentioned on the show — the culinary genius behind these dramatic dishes was Delmonico’s celebrity chef — the Frenchman Charles Ranhofer — who guided their kitchens from 1862 to 1896. 

Ranhofer left us with his extraordinary cookbook published at the height of the Gilded Age in the 1890’s, called The Epicurean, detailing the ingredients and preparations of Delmonico’s classic dishes.   

Back in 2008 (!) the Bowery Boys did a podcast about the history of Delmonico’s. A little rudimentary but good background information for when you’ve finished with this show:

Categories
Food History The Gilded Gentleman

Dancing with the Green Fairy: The Mysteries of Absinthe

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about one of the most mysterious alcoholic spirits in the world.

This week we’re running one of our favorite shows of the year from our spin-off podcast The Gilded Gentleman.

Absinthe was one of the most popular and most mysterious drinks that fueled Paris and London’s cafe society and artistic circles in the Belle Epoque and late Victorian and Edwardian worlds. 

Artists and writers from Henri Toulouse-Lautrec to Marcel Proust and Oscar Wilde were proponents along with members of the upper classes as well as everyday workers. 

Poster Absinthe Terminus by Tamagno, 1897

Myths sprang up that the elixir created dramatic hallucinations and even provoked ghastly crimes. And it was even banned throughout most of Europe and even in the United States by the early 20th century. 

Join Carl and his guest Don Spiro, creator of New York’s Green Fairy Society to discuss and demystify the myths and legends of this most evocative of spirits. 

PLUS: A great new absinthe cocktail recipe to make at home!

Don Spiro, creator of New York’s Green Fairy Society. For more information on upcoming events, find them on Instagram and on Facebook

And make sure you’re subscribed to The Gilded Gentleman so you don’t miss an episode!

The Gilded Gentleman Podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Overcast

Categories
Holidays

Celebrate the season with these Bowery Boys Holiday Podcasts

Whether you’re baking, wrapping presents or just staring in wonder at your Christmas tree decorations, take a break from the Christmas music and dive into these holiday themed podcasts from the Bowery Boys. Celebrating many aspects of New York City during the holiday season — from Rockefeller Center, Dyker Heights and beyond….

The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree has brought joy and sparkle to Midtown Manhattan since the early 1930s. The annual festivities may seem steady and timeless but this holiday icon actually has a surprisingly dramatic history.

There’s a special kind of magic to Christmas in New York City — from Rockefeller Center to the fanciful holiday displays in department store windows.

But in the past three decades, a new holiday tradition has grown in popularity and in a surprising quarter — the quiet residential neighborhood of Dyker Heights in Brooklyn which becomes Christmas Central for the borough.

The Rockettes are America’s best known dance troupe — and a staple of the holiday season — but you may not know the origin of this iconic New York City symbol. For one, they’re not even from the Big Apple!

Discover the place where Clement Clarke Moore wrote “A Visit to St. Nicholas/Twas the Night Before Christmas” and how his home gave rise to the neighborhood of Chelsea:

PLUS one for Hanukkah….

The Eldridge Street Synagogue is one of the most beautifully restored places in the United States, a testament to the value of preserving history when it seems all is lost to ruin.

… and New Year’s Eve! And the Chinese New Year.

The ultimate history of New Year’s celebrations in New York City — from Times Square to Chinatown.

And now add these shows from The Gilded Gentleman to the list:

A festive episode tracing the history of Christmas and holiday celebrations over 19th century New York City history, plus a very special look at Charles Dickens’s beloved work, “A Christmas Carol”.

Carl and his vintage cocktail event curator Don Spiro take a look at the myths and magic of champagne, the world’s most elegant drink.

Categories
Holidays The Gilded Gentleman

The Sparkling History of Champagne: A Festive Month of Podcasts

This year it’s going to be a very merry holiday season in the podcasting world — courtesy The Gilded Gentleman, the Bowery Boys spin-off podcast hosted by Carl Raymond.

Through the month of December, The Gilded Gentleman will feature brand new, holiday-themed shows with special guests. These episodes are perfect for getting you in the seasonal spirit, whether you’re wrapping presents, baking cookies or just enjoying some eggnog or champagne (which, it turns out, is the subject of an entire show!)

So pull on a woolly sweater and join The Gilded Gentleman to launch the holiday season.  Now available on your favorite podcast player.

Here’s a sneak preview of the entire festive month:

Christmas in Old New York and A Chat with Charles Dickens — OUT NOW

A special festive double episode tracing the history of Christmas and holiday celebrations over 19th-century New York City history and a very special look at Charles Dickens’ beloved A Christmas Carol. 

Licensed New York City tour guide and speaker Jeff Dobbins joins Carl for a look at the city’s holiday traditions dating back to the early Dutch days of New Amsterdam up to the Gilded Age and the early 20th century. 

And then Carl welcomes actor John Kevin Jones who has been performing an annual one-man adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House Museum, now in its 10th season. Kevin discusses the origins of Dickens’ famous story and how he adapted it for the stage.

Tasting Stars: The Sparkling History of Champagne — December 13

Champagne is unquestionably the world’s most glamorous drink and has been used for centuries to celebrate everything from weddings and birthdays to royal coronations. But there’s so much more to understanding champagne than just enjoying the bubbles and the fizz. 

Join Carl and guest Don Spiro as they discuss champagne history,

The Delmonico Way: A Conversation with Max Tucci — December 20

A very special episode in which Max Tucci, grandson of Oscar Tucci who owned Delmonico’s from the 1920’s through the 1970’s, discusses food, family and history of his family’s iconic New York institution.

And start your 2023 right with an extra-special show arriving in the new year:

Edith Wharton’s Paris!