Category Archives: New York

Books About The General Slocum Disaster

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June 15, 1904: The Steamer General Slocum Is Consumed By Fire At Hell Gate Killing Over 1,000 People, Mostly Women and Children

Crowd gathered around the recovered body of a child from the General Slocum, North Brother Island, New York City, June 1904 photo George Ehler Stonebridge / NY Historical Society

This year marks the 120th anniversary of a tragedy that has been mostly forgotten, the General Slocum Disaster.

If you are unfamiliar with the General Slocum and the inferno that killed over 1,000 people, we  previously wrote about it here.

Delving deeper into full length accounts of the General Slocum, you have several choices.

A total of eight books and two government reports are solely devoted to the tragedy and encapsulate the story thoroughly. Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #168 – New York’s Waterfront 1898

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New York City Skyline, Waterfront & Staten Island Ferry 1898

From an approaching boat we see a busy waterfront and the budding skyline of lower Manhattan. Our photo comes from the Detroit Publishing Company archive.

The ship the photographer is aboard is pulling in, and the ferry Stapleton is about to head to Staten Island. Other boats with passengers are docked at their moorings.

The most notable building Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #167 – Madison Square

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Madison Square Garden & Park circa 1900

This magic lantern slide shows Madison Square Park looking north and east from 23rd Street. All the vehicles seen in the photo are horse drawn and the surrounding buildings give us a clue to a date of 1900. Continue reading →

May Day Gathering In New York For Socialists And Communists

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May 1 Brings Out The Socialists And Communists In 1930s New York

Socialists Hold May Day Celebration In Central Park
Shown above is a scene on the Mall in Central Park, New York City on May Day as the Socialists listened to the various speakers. The Mall was crowded to capacity. credit: Acme May 1, 1935

In 1930s New York socialism was a popular draw. Continue reading →

Radio As Effective As Morphine According To Beth Israel Hospital – 1925

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Better Than Drugs – Radio Is Good For Patients

Radio As Effective As Morphine
This photo shows several young patients at Beth Israel Hospital, N.Y. listening in to concerts on the radio taking their minds off their ailments, and making them happy.

According to Beth Israel Superintendent L.J. Frank, the doctors and nurses agree that in a large number of cases, that, at times the radio is as effective as morphine, bromine and other narcotics. Many sufferers of rheumatism and other chronic afflictions require no other sedative other than radio since it was introduced at that hospital as a treatment. photo: United Press International / Acme –  August 25, 1925

Radio, morphine? An interesting comparison.

When doctors made this proclamation 99 years ago Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #166 – St. Paul’s Chapel & Broadway

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Broadway With St. Paul’s Chapel On A Busy Day c. 1920

St. Paul's Church photo: Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/California Museum of Photography, University of California at Riverside

St. Paul’s Chapel and Broadway. photo: Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/California Museum of Photography, University of California at Riverside

If the clock on the tower of St. Paul’s Chapel is accurate, it is a couple of minutes before noon on a weekday. Looking at the pedestrians shadows, the clock is probably correct. Hundreds of people stream by Fulton Street while a trolley is coming down Broadway. One thing you might notice besides the fashion of the day, with many men wearing light-colored straw hats, is that there are few women present. One hundred years ago, the central business area around Wall Street was still the domain of a predominantly male working force.

Here is the same scene taken seconds apart with a tighter focus. The policeman directing traffic can now be clearly seen.

St Paul's Church and Broadway circa 1920 photo: Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/California Museum of Photography, University of California at Riverside

The 30 foot obelisk Continue reading →

Harlem In the Teens & Twenties As Seen By Frederic A. Birmingham

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Growing Up In Bucolic Harlem Before And After World War I

Frederic A. Birmingham’s 1960 memoir of New York, It Was Fun While It Lasted (J.B. Lippincott Company), describes a Harlem which few New Yorkers would recognize today.

The action takes place from approximately 1915 -1925, when Birmingham was between the ages of 4 and 14. Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #165 – Broadway & 40th St. 1913

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East Side of Broadway & 40th Street 1913

A Story Of Three Buildings On The Main Stem

This photograph taken by William Roege can be narrowed down to the autumn of 1913. Though photographer Roege engraved the year within the photo, he did not write an exact date.

The Empire Theater

We are looking at the east side of Broadway at 40th Street and the main clue to the time of year is the Empire Theater marquee which announces the appearance of actor John Drew.

John Drew

Drew was one of the turn-of-the-century’s big stage stars and the uncle of actors John, Lionel and Ethel Barrymore. Continue reading →

Food & Grocery Prices 100 Years Ago

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Grocery Prices From The Buffalo Evening News February 21, 1924

Every so often we look back at life in the Unites States 100 years ago. In this case, we were looking at Buffalo, New York.

Besides the household prices for groceries, we glanced quickly at a few news items from the Buffalo Evening News newspaper for February 21, 1924.

Buffalo was dealing with a major blizzard. Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #164 – Elevated Curve At 110th Street

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The Ninth Avenue Elevated Curve At 110th Street c. 1880

The Ninth Avenue Elevated train tracks took a dramatic “S” turn at 110th Street to continue along Eighth Avenue. This part of the El system were very elevated, at certain points rising 100 feet above street level. Because of its phenomenal height Continue reading →