Tag Archives: 1960s

Historic List Of Every Hotel In Manhattan In 1964

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All The Hotels In Manhattan With Addresses and Telephone Numbers From 50 Years Ago

New York Guidebook John KouwenhovenFrom one of the best (and for some reason uncommon) guidebooks to New York City ever published, The New York Guidebook edited by John A. Kouwenhoven (Dell) 1964, comes this useful list of every hotel in Manhattan. We should clarify “every” with the word “approved” hotel and motel. In other words, the flop houses on The Bowery or other squalid hotels did not make the final cut.

The New York Guidebook was published with the 1964 New York World’s Fair visitor in mind as there is a special section devoted to it.

All together there are 183 hotels listed in the book. If you are wondering about the prices, they are not listed. But by checking another pamphlet from the time I discovered The Plaza Hotel was charging from $20 – $34 per night for a double room, while The Madison Square Hotel was charging $7 – $8 per night for a double.

You will note that all the telephone numbers begin with the letter prefix’s such as GR for Gramercy, BU for Butterfield, CI for Circle and RH for Rhinelander. This was because the telephone exchange corresponded with the neighborhood a person or business was located in.  It is a much more picturesque way of assigning a phone number and made remembering the number much easier. PEnnsylvania 6-5000 anybody?

What is also interesting to notice is how many of these hotels are still in existence today and how many which had been in business for such a long time have now vanished.

This is presented as a research tool, but for many the list will bring up a wisp of nostalgia when you see the names Hotel Astor, The Drake, Biltmore and Savoy. I wish there was a list like this available online for every decade in New York City from the 1800’s and on.

So here is our online contribution to researchers or those who are just curious.

Hotels of Manhattan –  1964:

Abbey Hotel, 151 W. 51st St., N. Y. 19, N. Y., (CI 6-9400)

Aberdeen Hotel, 17 W. 32nd St., N. Y. 1, N. Y., (PE 6-1600)

Adams Hotel, 2 E. 86th St., N. Y. 28, N. Y., (RH 4-1800)

Alamac Hotel, 71st St. & Broadway, N. Y. 23, N. Y., (EN 2-5000)

Albert Hotel, 23 E. 10th St., N. Y. 3, N. Y., (OR 7-0100)

Alden Hotel, 225 Central Park W., N. Y. 24, N. Y., (TR 3-7300)

Algonquin Hotel, 59 W. 44th St., N. Y. 36, N. Y., (MU 7-4400) Continue reading →

Gas Price Wars – 1967 Style

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Remember Paying 27 Cents A Gallon For Gas?

Gas Price Wars 1967 photo by Fred Victorin

War Over? No, Not Quite.

Too late, sir, the gasoline price war is over. Or is it? This sign leaves consumer Don Lambert wondering. Yesterday the price had risen three cents a gallon. But that’s still four cents a gallon cheaper than the pre-gas war price. But you better fill up soon, the price may jump any time now. The latest gasoline war started in early April. Presently regular sells at anywhere from 22.9 cents a gallon (at Webb’s City) to 29.9 cents for the major brands. The major oil companies blame the independents; the independents charge the major distributors are trying to drive them out of business. – St. Petersburg Times; May 5, 1967 photo: Fred Victorin

For almost three quarters of the twentieth century gasoline prices hovered around 30 cents per gallon.

I filled up the car the other day at a Hess Station in New Jersey. I paid $3.27 per gallon.

The average national price of gasoline in 1919 was 25 cents per gallon. Of course if you adjust for inflation, it was just as expensive to fill up your vehicle in 1919 as it is today.

Until 1973 the price of gasoline never rose above 50 cents per gallon. Then the Arab oil embargo occurred causing gasoline shortages and steep price increases. We will never again see gas at 27 cents per gallon. You can debate if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

The Ed Sullivan Show Was Not First With The Beatles

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Jack Paar Featured The Beatles One Month Before Sullivan

The Beatles with Ed Sullivan 1964

Ed Sullivan, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon

With Beatlemania nostalgia peaking this month, it is interesting to take note of something that seems to be a common misperception, that the Beatles made their prime time American TV debut on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964.

In fact the Beatles were noticed by Jack Paar when he was visiting England in the fall of 1963. A film crew captured them performing and the footage was shown on the Jack Paar Program on January 3, 1964, more than one month before the Ed Sullivan Show.

The big difference was for the Ed Sullivan Show the Beatles came to the United States for the first time and performed live on the program. Beatlemania had hit the United States and the impact reverberates to this day.

Many underestimated the staying power of the Beatles. After their first Sullivan appearance, McCandlish Phillips of the New York Times wrote, “At their present peak, the Beatles face an awful prospect of demise. They are a craze. Anyone at the center of a craze finds that everything he touches turns to money. But since a craze is a source of inflation, it may precede a crash.” He could not have been more wrong. Even Jack Paar thought the the Beatles would be a passing fad when he showed them on his program.

Here is Jack Paar reminiscing about the Beatles with a clip from the original 1964 program.

https://youtu.be/aqll7MBaCOY?t=47

Mickey Lolich – Hero Of The 1968 World Series

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Mickey Lolich Wins Game 7 Of The 1968 World Series – October 10, 1968

Mickey Lolich Oct 10 1968

ST. LOUIS – Oct. 10 – WORKING ON THE CARDINALS – Detroit Tigers pitcher Mickey Lolich as he pitches to the St. Louis Cardinals in the final game of the 1968 World Series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis Thursday. (AP WIRE PHOTO)

It had been 23 years since the Tigers had last won the World Series. A Detroit pitcher would play a huge role in the 1968 World Series, but it wasn’t who everyone thought it would be.

The Tigers ace pitcher was Denny McLain who posted an incredible 31-6 record in the regular season. He remains the last pitcher to win 30 or more games in a season. But in the World Series McLain went 1-2, unfortunately going head to head twice with the Cardinals star hurler Bob Gibson and losing both times in games one and four.

Mickey Lolich on the other hand, was a very good pitcher and put up a solid 17-9 regular season record. In the World Series he proved to be unbeatable, pitching three complete game victories, including the exciting finale against Bob Gibson. Continue reading →

Maury Wills And A New Stolen Base Record October 3, 1962

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The Dodgers All-Star Shortstop Maury Wills Gets His 104th Stolen Base

Baseball Maury Wills Steals 104th base 1962 10 3

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 3 – WILLS STEALS AGAIN – Maury Wills of the Dodgers slides safely into third for his 104th stolen base of the season, as the throw from catcher Ed Bailey of the Giants bounces past third baseman Jim Davenport and into left field. Wills kept going and scored on the action to put the Dodgers ahead 4-2. (AP Wirephoto)

Maury Wills lead the National League six straight times in stolen bases from 1960 -1965. When he shattered Ty Cobb’s 47-year-old single season record of 96 stolen bases in 1962, with 104 steals, Wills revolutionized the game. Teams looked at Wills style of play and realized they could change the outcome of the game by having their own speedsters.

Eventually Lou Brock and Rickey Henderson would each succeed in establishing new stolen base records of 118 and 130 bases respectively. But it was Maury Wills who brought back the art of the steal from the deadball era of baseball. In addition to an all-star selection and gold glove award Wills was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1962.
One interesting side note: Wills got caught stealing only 13 times in 1962. In his 96 steals, Ty Cobb was caught 38 times in 1915.

Roger Maris Hits His 61st Home Run

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October 1, 1961, A Home Run Record Is Set & Baseball Blows Its Big Moment

Roger Maris emerges from the dugout to tip his cap after hitting his 61st home run of the season. October 1, 1961

Roger Maris emerges from the dugout to tip his cap after hitting his 61st home run of the season. October 1, 1961

52 years ago today, on the last day of the regular season October 1, 1961, Roger Maris hit his 61st home run of the season off of the Red Sox hurler Tracy Stallard in the fourth inning. For those who were fortunate enough to be there, it was a great moment in baseball history.

Unlike many of today’s players who will take a curtain call without any prodding for driving in the go-ahead run, Maris had to literally be pushed out of the dugout to acknowledge the 23,154 cheering fans at Yankee Stadium.

So why were there only 23,154 fans to see Babe Ruth’s record eclipsed?

That has to do with former sportswriter and then baseball Commissioner, Ford Frick who was a great friend of Babe Ruth and his ghost-writer.

Frick had declared that an asterisk be placed next to any home run record set, if it was not accomplished in 154 games, which was the number of games Ruth played in 1927 when he set his home run mark at 60.

Legendary baseball owner Bill Veeck tells this scathing and hilarious story in his wonderful memoir, Veeck as in Wreck written with Ed Linn (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) 1962.

Let us be fair. Ford Frick does not try to do the wrong thing. Given the choice between doing something right or something wrong, Frick will usually begin by doing as little as possible. It is only when he is pushed to the wall for a decision that he will always, with sure instinct, and unerring aim, make an unholy mess of things.

Suppose that, purely as an exercise, I had put the following baseball question to you at any time during the past twenty-five years.

Suppose, starts the question, that someone comes along to challenge Babe Ruth’s record- which is THE record the same way Mt. Everest is THE mountain. Continue reading →

Mickey Mantle’s Last Game At Yankee Stadium

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Unlike Mariano Rivera’s Farewell, No Fanfare And Only 5,723 Fans At Yankee Stadium – September 25, 1968

June 8, 1969 - Mickey Mantle Day- Mantle gazes, as former Yankees announcer Mel Allen in the background

Mickey Mantle looks on as his longtime teammate Whitey Ford announces his retirement May 30, 1967.

With all the celebrations surrounding Mariano Rivera’s retirement and last game at Yankee Stadium, it got me thinking about Mickey Mantle’s last game at Yankee Stadium.

It was a sunny day on Wednesday, September 25, 1968 and not being able to attend school yet because I was too young, my father who worked a night shift took me to Yankee Stadium to see a meaningless 2:00 pm game between the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees. It was the last home game of the season for the 5th place Yankees. I vividly remember the game, but it originally wouldn’t be because it was Mickey Mantle’s last game at Yankee Stadium. Continue reading →

Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion Gets Angry – 1967

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How To Get A Three Game Suspension

Bernie Geoffrion cross-checking linesman Walter Atanas February 8 , 1967

Bernie Geoffrion cross-checking linesman Walter Atanas February 8 , 1967

Bernie Geoffrion was one of the all-time hockey greats. In 1960-61 he became the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season, following his teammate Maurice “Rocket” Richard who had accomplished the feat in 1944-45. Geoffrion, who was one tough player, broke his nose six times and received over 400 stitches playing hockey. The “Boom Boom” nickname however came from his hard slap shot not from pounding other players. After playing his entire career with the Montreal Canadiens from 1950-1964, Geoffrion retired. But two years later Geoffrion came out of retirement to play with the New York Rangers during the 1966-67 season.

On February 8, 1967 Geoffrion lost his cool during a game at the Boston Garden. In the closing seconds of a game that the Bruins would end up winning 2-1, angry Ranger fans littered the ice with debris over a perceived missed penalty call.

After a ten minute delay to clear the ice play resumed with two seconds remaining on the clock. There were three false starts that linesman Walter Atanas claimed were caused by Geoffrion going offside. Atanas and Geoffrion started yelling at one another and Geoffrion then allegedly slapped an empty beer can in Atanas’ direction.

Atanas skated over to referee John Ashley to have Geoffrion assessed a ten minute misconduct penalty. Geoffrion followed Atanas across the ice, cross-checking him twice. Geoffrion later claimed he never cross-checked Atanas, but had merely tripped on an empty beer can. The photographic evidence proved otherwise.

One week later, NHL President Clarence Campbell suspended Geoffrion for three games. Campbell said, “I consider his actions in cross-checking official Walter Atanas to be completely inexcusable and a product of his own temperament, which has gotten him into similar trouble on at least two other occasions.”  Geoffrion was also fined $25 and $50 for the misconduct and game misconduct penalties.

The previous two times that Geoffrion was suspended was when he was with the Montreal Canadiens. Both incidents also involved altercations with officials.

Geoffrion finished the season with 17 goals and 25 assists in 58 games. After the 1967-68 season Geoffrion retired for good. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.

No Pictures PLEASE

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Jackie Kennedy Judo Flips A Photographer – 1969

Jackie Kennedy Flips A Photographer 10 5 1969

Former first lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis didn’t take kindly to being hounded by photographers. You think the modern celebrities get angry with paparazzi? Not as mad as Jackie got on October 5, 1969 when she demonstrated her displeasure to New York Daily News photographer Mel Finkelstein by taking him down unexpectedly.

As photographers were clicking away as Jackie was exiting a movie, she walked up to Finkelstein and without warning, judo flipped him. Finkelstein, who was of average height and weight, later said he was completely caught off guard. If a celebrity did this today to a photographer, you know there would be a major lawsuit. Jackie claimed he slipped! Finkelstein did not pursue the matter in court.

The news caption photo reads:

10/5/69 New York – New York Daily News photographer Mel Finkelstein sprawls on pavement as Mrs. Jacqueline Onassis walks pass (sic) after flipping the photographer with a judo trick upon leaving a local screening of the film “I am Curious (Yellow)” here 10/5. Finkelstein’s opinion of Mrs. Onassis afterwards was “That girl can handle herself.” Copyright 1969 by News Syndicate Co. Inc. UPI Telephoto