Greg Young and Tom Meyers explore the story of Pennsylvania Station, which involves more than just nostalgia for the long-gone temple of transportation designed by McKim, Meade, and White. In this podcast, find out why the original Penn Station was built to look so classical, why it was then torn down, and what strange behaviors the tunnels that connect it to New Jersey exhibit every night.
What is Freedomland U.S.A.? An unusual theme park in the Bronx, in existence for less than five years, Freedomland has become the object of fascination for New York nostalgia lovers everywhere. Created by an outcast of Walt Disney's inner circle, Freedomland practically defined 1960s kitsch, with dozens of rides and amusements related to saccharine views of American history.
According to the Bowery Boys' website, "F.W. Woolworth was the self-made king of retail's newfangled "five and dime" store and his pockets were overflowing with cash. Meanwhile, in New York, the contest to build the tallest building was underway. The two combine to create one of Manhattan's most handsome buildings, cutting a Gothic profile designed by America's hottest architect of the early century. So what does it all have to do with sneakers and gym clothes?"
Financial panics have occurred regularly throughout American history. In this podcast, economic historian Michael Bernstein argues that one can't have the boom without the bust. Then historian Scott Nelson outlines the eerie similarities between 1873 and 2008, and explains how Christian fundamentalism is rooted in financial collapse.
From the Bowery Boys website:
"We're going back to school with one of New York's oldest continually operating institutions—Columbia University. Or should we say, King's College, the pre-Revolution New York school that spawned religious controversy and a few Founding Fathers to boot. Listen in as we chart its locations throughout the city—from the vicinity of Trinity Church to midtown Manhattan. And finally to its permanent home on the 'Academic Acropolis' in Morningside Heights."
From the Bowery Boys website:
"Arguably New York's least conventional hotel, the Chelsea Hotel (or rather, the Hotel Chelsea) is the one of New York's counter-culture centers, a glamorous, art-filled Tower of Babel for both creativity and debauchery. From Mark Twain to Andy Warhol, it's been both inspiration and location for artistic wonder. We wind back the clock to the beginnings of Chelsea and to the hotel's early years as one of the city's cooperative apartment buildings. What made the Chelsea so different? And why are people still fighting over this storied structure today?"
From the Bowery Boys website:
"New Yorkers are serious about their pizza, and it all started with a tiny grocery store in today's Little Italy and a group of young men who became the masters of pizza making. In this podcast, you'll find out all about the city's oldest and most revered pizzerias—Lombardi's, Totonno's, John's, Grimaldi's and Patsy's in all its variations. But if those are the greatest names in New York-style pizza, then who the heck is Ray—Original, Famous or otherwise?"
From the BackStory website:
"Historian Susan Rugh describes the discrimination black families faced on America's highways in the 1940s and 50s. Many of those travelers recounted their experiences in letters to the NAACP—letters that eventually helped convince U.S. Senators to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964."
In this podcast from the Bowery Boys, Greg Young narrates the history of New York's Puck Building, built to house the offices of the turn-of-the-century periodical Puck Magazine.
Greg Young of the Bowery Boys details the history of the New York Shakespeare Festival, more commonly known as Shakespeare in the Park. Originating in 1954, in workshops and free performances spearheaded by Joseph Papp, the festival now takes place yearly at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Young looks at Papps's struggle with park commissioner Robert Moses over holding the festival in Central Park, resulting in the construction of the Delacorte Theater in 1961, and at the recent history of the festival and at the actors who have participated in it.