The Bowery Boys: New York City History
Almost as if they had asked us to help them program their schedule, the Film Forum begins their five week NYC Noir screening series, featuring some of the best thrillers, mysteries and action films set on the streets of the city. In this blog every Thursday of the series, we’ll feature a bit about one… Read More
Some tidbits we forgot to throw into our podcast on Governors Island…. Governors Island holds a special place in aviation history. When Wilbur Wright, he of the famous duo, lifted his small aircraft from the airfield at Governor’s Island to circle the Statue of Liberty and return, in Sept 1909 it was the first time… Read More
New York’s most underappreciated treasure gets the Bowery Boys treatment. Its Governors Island: a fort, a small town, a prison and a Burger King … all bought for one dollar. Listen to it for free on iTunes or other podcasting services. Or you can download or listen to it HERE
In one of my entries below regarding the Mudd Club, a reader asked why I referred to Cortlandt Alley as ‘mysterious’. The tiny little alley — one of New York’s last — is between Canal and Franklin and, while partially my own projection upon it as a rough reminder of old New York, the dark… Read More
To get you in the mood for the weekend, every Friday we’ll be celebrating ‘FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER’, featuring an old New York nightlife haunt, from the dance halls of 19th Century Bowery, to the massive warehouse spaces of the mid-90s. First on the list is the Mudd Club, often viewed as the mirror image of… Read More
Wednesday’s steam explosion disaster at 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, which at ‘press time’ had killed one person and injured 44, gave many people that sinister feeling of déjà vu they felt on Sept. 11. It reminded us almost as much of the New York blackout of 2003, with hundreds of people filling the streets… Read More
Flash back to the summer of 1977, when Star Wars and the Yankees ruled, gas prices were high, a serial killer roamed the streets, and the city experienced a little inconvenience called the New York Blackout.
In the first part of our nth part series on unusual New York City museums, we turn your attention to Corona, Queens (several stations out on the 7 train) where lies a non-descript and not seemingly attractive red-brick house. It was the home of Louis Armstrong and his wife Vivian and as of 2003 has… Read More
New York’s robust and often scary gentrification drive into Condo Land, already ripping through neighborhoods like the Lower East Side, threatens another unusual city landmark – the Dominos Sugar factory, a cluster of important buildings just near the Williamsburg bridge on the Brooklyn side. While it might seem weird to get all angsty about a… Read More
We cant help but be impressed by the striking new album cover for the Smashing Pumpkins’ new release Zeitgeist. In fact, it’s the best thing about the whole album. So we decided to investigate whether the Statue of Liberty has graced the cover of other albums. Like Billy Corgan and crew, the Dead Kennedys use… Read More
Take a stroll with us as we chart New York’s most famous canine crusaders, from a Central Park icon to the biggest star on Broadway history ever found in a kennel. Oh and watch where you step. Listen to it for free on iTunes or other podcasting services. Or you can download or listen to… Read More
On this day, 79 years ago in 1928… The first ever all-talking movie, “The Lights of New York” debuted in New York’s Strand Theatre at midnight, to an enrapt audience. (It would release nationally on July 28) “Lights of New York” was a precursor to the great crime films of the 30s that would make… Read More
In our first REAL episode, Greg and Tom explain their name and talk about the first Bowery Boys (not to mention the “Bowery Boys” of stage and screen). Also, a quick discussion of the origins of the names of all five boroughs. And a couple bad jokes.
It’s Independence Day and we’re spending it with our favorite New York Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton. The Bowery Boys visit his life, his hangouts, and his New York. Listen to it for free on iTunes or other podcasting services. Or you can download or listen to it HERE