Catastrophic storms and weather events are not just a recent phenomenon. This 1927 news photograph has the following caption: Continue reading
This stereoview of West Street demonstrates the importance of this shoreline street.
West Street, adjacent to the Hudson River with its piers and ferry terminals, was a vital cog to Manhattan’s commerce. Continue reading
Amelia Earhart As A Girl
Boston- Amelia Earhart, the daring Boston aviatrix who with Wilmer Stultz and Lou Gordon is at Trepassey, Newfoundland waiting for favorable weather to hop off in her tri-motored Fokker plane for England, is pictured above as a young girl. At left she is shown at the age of 3 with her sister Muriel Curtis Earhart, who is now a school teacher, and at the right Amelia is shown at the age of 7 years. photo: International Newsreel 6-5-1928
Amelia Earhart (b. 1897) disappeared on July 2, 1937. But she remains today arguably the most famous woman pilot in history. The newspapers that ran this photo back in 1928 were caught up in the birth of Earhart-mania. Continue reading
Library Meeting
In Independence, Mo. – Senator Kennedy, Democrat, Massachusetts, and former President Truman met at the Truman Library. Kennedy later took off on a quick tour of Kansas. Photo: AP wirephoto November 23, 1959
Though Kennedy said it was “a fine meeting,” Scripps-Howard reporter Charles Lucey noted that Kennedy was unafraid to disagree with Truman publicly over nuclear testing. Continue reading
Election Night At Crossroads Of The World
In keeping with the tradition Times Square was jammed until traffic was halted, as crowds watched election returns. Photo shows part of the crowd at Times Square, election night. Photo: Acme 11/6/1934
For entertainment in 1934 you could go to the Loew’s State Theater and see Mae West in Belle of the Nineties.
Or on the night of November 6 you could entertain yourself by standing in the street. Continue reading
Clark Gable and his father April 20, 1937 photo: Los Angeles Daily News
The support of your parents is helpful especially if someone is trying to extort you.
Clark Gable (1901-1960) is seen here talking with his father William Henry Gable (1870-1948) at Federal Court in Los Angeles. Continue reading
For a novelty one-hit wonder, The Monster Mash remains popular six decades after its creation.
Originally recorded in May 1962 the song became a hit in October of that year Continue reading
Caption on rear of photograph: “Sylvia Sidney is appearing in Paramount Pictures.” photo: Paramount Pictures 1933
Sylvia Sidney (1910-1999) was born in the Bronx as Sophia Kosow. Sylvia’s father and mother divorced soon after her birth. Her mother married Sigmund Sidney and he adopted her. By the time she was 15 Sylvia had decided she wanted to be an actor and started taking lessons at Theater Guild’s School For Acting. Appearing on stage in an amateur production a New York Times critic who happened to catch the performance gave her rave reviews. More stage roles lead to Hollywood talent scouts knocking on her door.
By the 1930s Sylvia was starring in major films such as Fury (with Spencer Tracy), Sabotage (directed by Alfred Hitchcock) and Dead End (with Humphrey Bogart). Sylvia married Random House publisher Bennett Cerf in 1935. The marriage lasted less than seven months. In his autobiography, Cerf states Continue reading
Heartbreak Pair In New Air Epic
William Holden reaches new stellar heights as a flying cadet whose career is temporarily shattered through his love for Veronica Lake in Paramount’s “I Wanted Wings” an Arthur Hornblow Jr. production based upon the Army Air Corps training and tactics. Blonde and sultry newcomer, Miss Lake, places menace in piece. photo: Paramount.
After appearing Continue reading
When the Park Row Building was completed in 1899, the 31 story office building was the highest in New York and the world at 382 feet. Less than seven years later it was no longer the tallest, with the Singer Building soaring 211 feet higher than the Park Row.
Today the Park Row Building, converted to residences, is not even among the 100 tallest buildings in New York. And the Singer Building was demolished over 55 years ago.
The constant desire by developers to top one another has continued and accelerated in the past dozen years.
The skyline is being overtaken by mostly nondescript glass boxes dwarfing other buildings and eclipsing many of the classic New York skyscrapers.
As of 2022 the ten tallest buildings in New York are:
Rank Name Height Stories Year Completed Address
1 One World Trade Center 1,776 94 2014 285 Fulton Street
2 Central Park Tower 1,550 99 2021 225 West 57th Street
3 111 West 57th Street 1,428 85 2022 111 West 57th Street
4 One Vanderbilt 1,401 73 2020 1 Vanderbilt Avenue
5 432 Park Avenue 1,397 85 2015 432 Park Avenue
6 30 Hudson Yards 1,270 103 2019 500 West 33rd Street
7 Empire State Building 1,250 102 1931 350 Fifth Avenue
8 Bank of America Tower 1,200 55 2009 1101 Sixth Avenue
9 3 World Trade Center 1,079 69 2018 175 Greenwich Street
10 The Brooklyn Tower 1,073 73 2022 9 DeKalb Avenue (Brooklyn)
Recently looking at the 1939 World Almanac there was a list of the tallest buildings in New York.
All heights listed are the Almanac’s figures which may differ from modern estimates.
1. The Empire State Building is located on the site of the original Continue reading
