The First Apartment Building

Description

From the Bowery Boys website:

"Well, we're movin' on up....to the first New York apartment building ever constructed. New Yorkers of the emerging middle classes needed a place to live situated between the townhouse and the tenement, and the solution came from overseas—a daring style of communal and affordable living called the 'apartment' or 'French flat'.

The city's first was financed by Rutherford Stuyvesant, an old-money heir with an unusual story to his name. He hired one of the upper class's hottest architects to create an apartment house, called the Stuyvesant Apartments, with many features that would have been shocking to more than a few New Yorkers of the day.

The building's first tenants were sometimes well-known, often artists and publishers, and almost all of them with a fascinating story to tell. Listen in to hear about the vanguard first renters of this classic, long-gone building."

Fernando Wood: The Scoundrel Mayor

Description

From the Bowery Boys website:

"Fernando Wood, New York’s mayor at the dawning of the Civil War, was the South’s best friend. Famous during his first term for inciting a police riot, Wood drummed up pro-slavery support amongst his Irish and German constituents and even suggested New York secede from the Union itself! But once the war began and public support for the conflict swelled, the nefarious Fernando tried to have it both ways, both leading the Union cry and undermining it."

Sardi's Restaurant

Description

From the Bowery Boys website:

"The famous faces on the walls of Sardi's Restaurant represent the entertainment elite of the 20th Century, and all of them made this place on West 44th Street their unofficial home. Known for its caricatures and its Broadway opening-night traditions, Sardi's fed the stars of the golden age and became a hotspot for producers, directors and writers -- and, of course, those struggling to get their attention.

When Vincent Sardi opened his first restaurant in 1921, Prohibition had begun, and the midtown Broadway tradition was barely a couple decades old. By the time the current place threw open its doors (thanks to the Shuberts) in 1927, Broadway's stages were red hot, and Sardi found himself at the center of New York City show business world.

We have nuggets from the old days—starring John Barrymore, Tallulah Bankhead, Carol Channing and a cast of thousands—and the scoop on those famous (and often unflattering) framed caricatures. So sidle up to the Little Bar, order yourself a stiff drink and eavesdrop in on this tale of Broadway's longest dinner party."

TRUMP: A Historical Look at the Donald

Description

From the Bowery Boys website:

"Donald Trump—financial wizard, reality star, or political distraction? The secret in figuring him out may be contained in the roots of his wealth—a saga that stretches back to the 1880s and begins with a 16-year-old boy named Drumpf who made his living in a barber shop. From there, the story unfolds during the early days of Queens, a borough once sparsely populated and ready for development.

Donald's father Fred built thousands of middle-class homes throughout Queens and Brooklyn and embroiled himself in some controversy regarding the remains of TWO Coney Island theme parks. The Donald built upon the reputation of his father to become a successful Manhattan developer and a flamboyant celebrity with seemingly bottomless levels of lucre. But of course everyone has their limit.

Featuring trivia about Trump Tower, Riverside South and other Trump-labeled properties, this is the brief history of the family behind the New York's glitziest name brand."

NYC and the Birth of the Movies

Description

From the Bowery Boys website:

"New York City inspires cinema, but it has also consistently manufactured it. And long before anybody had heard of Hollywood, New York and the surrounding region was a movie capital too, the home to the earliest American film studios and inventors who revolutionized the medium.

It began with Thomas Edison's invention of the Kinetoscope out in his New Jersey laboratory. Soon his former employees would spread out through New York, evolving the inventor's work into entertainments that could be projected in front of audiences. By the mid 1900s, New Yorkers fell in love with Nickelodeons and gasped as their first look at moving pictures.

We also take a look at the medium's first superstar director D.W. Griffith and how he helped hasten the move out west. But even as studios fled for sunny California weather, movie making never left New York. Find out where you can still find some relics of New York's pre-Hollywood movie career."

Case Files of the NYPD

Description

From the Bowery Boys website:

"We're playing Good Cop / Bad Cop this week, as we take a close look at four events from the early history of the New York Police Department. You'll meet shining stars of the force like Jacob Hays, who kept the peace in the early 19th century armed with a mean billyclub -- and the only man to ever hold the title of High Constable of New York. And then you'll encounter Joseph Petrosino, the Italian immigrant turned secret weapon in the early battles against organized crime.

Not all the early men in blue were so recommendable. During the Police Riot of 1857, cop turned against cop while the city burned and "Five Points criminals danced in the streets." And finally there's the lamentable tale of officer Charley Becker, the only member of the New York Police Department to be executed for criminal misdeed. But did he really commit the crime—commissioning the murder of a nervous gambler who was prepared to rat him out?"

Madison Square Garden

Description

From the Bowery Boys website:

"Madison Square Garden is certainly the recognizable name in arena entertaining, hosting sports, concerts, even political conventions. But it adopted that reputation from three other buildings which also called themselves 'Madison Square Garden'.

The first, inspired by P.T Barnum and a popular bandleader, staked its claim in the hottest area of New York in the 1870s. The second, a classic designed by the city's most famous architect, featured both trendy new sports and high society events. The third Garden, moving up town, stripped off the glamour and helped make the Garden's sporting reputation.

We'll also tell you about the most famous event to ever happen in any Madison Square Garden -- a shocking and brutal murder which led to the 'trial of the century'."

Trinity Church

Description

From the Bowery Boys website:

"Trinity Church, with its distinctive spire staring down upon the west end of Wall Street, is more than just a house of worship. Over three different church buildings have sat at this site, and the current one by architect Richard Upjohn is one of America's finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture. The church collected Manhattan's upper crust for decades and functions as one of the city's most powerful landowners. Listen to our short history on the New York institution and find out who's buried in their famous churchyards—Founding Fathers, inventors and a whole lotta Astors."

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture [NY]

Description

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library which focuses on the lives, history, and cultures of individuals of African descent located throughout the world. Collections include more than 150,000 volumes and 20,000 African and African Diaspora artifacts, among a wide variety of other resources. Artists represented by the collection include Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937), the first internationally lauded African American painter, and Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), who drew from Harlem for artistic influence.

The center offers research library access, research assistance, traveling exhibits, and a junior scholars program. The website offers virtual exhibits.

Queens Historical Society and Museum [NY]

Description

The Queens Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Queens, New York City. To this end, the society operates a museum, library, and archive. The museum of Queens history is located within the colonial Kingsland Homestead. A permanent exhibit within the museum addresses the history of the homestead itself.

The society offers exhibits, Kingsland Homestead tours for students, walking tours, lectures, slide presentations, and library access. Appointments are required for library access and for group tours. The website offers information on the society's teaching aids, which are available for purchase.