John Bute Holmes, surveyor and polygamist.
To quote my colleague Susannah in her fascinating post from a few weeks ago, “Hints about long vanished and forgotten aspects of New York surround us if we know where … Continue reading
Cleopatra’s Needle
An obelisk, one of antiquity’s most enduring forms, is celebrating its 133rd year in New York City as the subject of an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Later … Continue reading
Highlights from the City Museum’s Graffiti Collection
When painter Martin Wong moved to New York City from San Francisco in 1978, he marveled at what many others considered a blight – graffiti scrawled on the surfaces of … Continue reading
A visit to Sochi, 1939.
What do the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 1939 New York World’s Fair have in common? The promotion of Sochi, Russia as a tourist destination. As mentioned in a earlier … Continue reading
Forgotten villages and neighborhoods of Manhattan
Hints about long vanished and forgotten aspects of New York surround us if we know where to look. The etymology of neighborhood names reveal long lost geographical quirks and the … Continue reading
Myths surrounding the origin of the Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty, designed by Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904), was a gift from France as a symbol of American freedom, and has watched over New York Harbor since its dedication … Continue reading
The Croton and Catskill Systems: Meeting the Demand for Water in New York City
Our earlier blog post illustrated the attempts city and private officials made to supply Manhattan with water, culminating in the successful flow of water from Westchester County to the city … Continue reading
Prepping the girls for “As the Girls Go”
Since October the Theater department has been busy preparing 30,000 images of theatrical productions for digitization and cataloging. Images will eventually be made available on our Collections Portal thanks to … Continue reading
Morse Dry Dock and Repair Company
South Brooklyn isn’t the first place that comes to mind when you think of perq-filled employment in the early parts of the last century. If you happened to be working … Continue reading
Three spirits and a merry Christmas
It’s Christmas Eve. An old man sitting close to his fire is visited by his former business partner, his formerly alive business partner. Covered in chains and looking very much … Continue reading
Festivities of the Gilded Age “Season”
The morning after returning from visiting family for Thanksgiving, I awoke with the thought, “The ball season has again returned, and already the ‘busy hum of preparation’ for its festivities … Continue reading
John Stephenson Company Streetcars
New York would not be the city it is today without the comprehensive public transportation infrastructure developed during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the major players of this … Continue reading
The Great Bygone Museum Tour
Ladies and Gentleman! Step this way! My dear blog readers, please accompany me on a tour to discover the unique and marvelous history of museums in New York City. Be … Continue reading
MCNY Blog: New York Stories 