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From Governor’s Mansion to Russian Anarchist Hotbed
Drawing from Khleb Y Volia’s opening editorial; the caption reads, “Clear the road, old world,” while the flag reads Union of Russian Workers. On Nov. 7, 1919, the second anniversary of the Bolshevik...
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After Peter Luger, a Chophouse With Stakes in the New Williamsburg
Williamsburg Bridge in 1991 (Photo by Jet Lowe/Library of Congress) At the end of October, Pete Wells didn’t use his knife to cut through Peter Luger’s vaunted porterhouse— instead he drove it...
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How Mariners’ Temple Survived Fire and Flux in Chinatown
Mariners’ Temple today. (Photo: Kayla Stewart) On September 21, 1845, Rev. William R., Williams preached a sermon entitled “God’s presence in his sanctuary,” welcoming congregants back to their new...
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A Tale of Two Evas: Marriage, Deceit and the Underground Baby Trade
Sketch from Jan. 14, 1891 edition of the “Evening World.” Robert Ray Hamilton was 37 years old when he met his daughter for the first time. A year and a half later, he would die more famous than he...
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The Village East Cinema: From Yiddish Theater to Arthouse Cinema
Image via cinematreasures.org On Nov. 16, the Village East Cinema held a special screening of The Room, a maybe-the-worst-film-ever classic that has become a cult phenomenon. The screening included a...
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The Sip-In That ‘Legalized Gay Bars’ Before Stonewall
The building in 1969 and 50 years later in 2019. Courtesy Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. On the quiet corner of West 10th Street and...
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A Home For Little Wanderers, and the Occasional Arsonist
1940s Tax Lot photo. Credit: New York City Department of Records. The Saturday before Christmas, 1921, near Third Avenue and 12th Street, a truck struck and killed little Amelia Laredo, who was on her...
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9 Doyers Street and the Gangs of New York Scorsese Didn’t Tell Us About
Martin Scorsese’s 2002 film Gangs of New York is a glimpse into the power struggles that plagued the neighborhoods of lower Manhattan in the late 19th century. It addresses universal and timeless...
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The Country’s First Arabic Newspaper Took Root in Gilded-Age New York
In the final weeks of the 1892 presidential race between Republican President Benjamin Harrison and Democratic nominee Grover Cleveland, the writers and editors of the first Arabic-language newspaper...
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Body-Snatchers, Hypnotists, and Beats: The Long, Strange History of St Mark’s...
Front view of St. Mark’s Church (via Manhattan Sideways) This is the story of how St. Mark’s Church evolved from a locus of respectable Episcopalian worship to a venue for expletive-ridden poetry...
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