The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Believe it or not, we've got one more brand new Bowery Boys: New York City History podcast for 2021. Look for it on January 31. But for today we wanted to give you another sampling of our new spin-off podcast called The Gilded Gentleman, a look at America's Gilded Age period, hosted by social and culinary historian Carl Raymond. In this new episode, Carl looks at one of the most legendary figures of the period – Caroline Astor, or the Mrs Astor, the ruler and creator of New York’s Gilded Age high society in the early 1870s. In collaboration with Southern social climber Ward McAllister, Astor essentially created the rules for who was 'acceptable' in New York social circles. But she's also known for her battles with family members -- most notably with her nephew (and next door neighbor) William Waldorf Astor. What was behind her unusual motivations? And in what unusual way did she decide to cap her legacy at the end of her life? Carl is joined by Tom Miller, creator of the website Daytonian in Manhattan, documenting the history of New York City, one building at a time. Subscribe to the Gilded Gentleman now and you’ll get ANOTHER new episode on the life of Murray Hall, a Tammany Hall politician and operator of an employment agency for domestic help in the late 19th century. But Murray had a secret – one that he took to his grave. A remarkable story and one we think will move you. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Steven Spielberg's new version of West Side Story is here -- and it's fantastic -- so we're re-visiting our 2016 show on the story of Lincoln Center, with a new podcast introduction discussing the film and the passing of musical icon Stephen Sondheim. The fine arts campus assembles some of the city's finest music and theatrical institutions to create the classiest 16.3 acres in New York City. It was created out of an urgent necessity, bringing together the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera, the Julliard School and other august fine-arts companies as a way of providing a permanent home for American culture. However this tale of Robert Moses urban renewal philosophies and the survival of storied institutions has a tragic twist. The campus sits on the site of a former neighborhood named San Juan Hill, home to thousands of African American and Puerto Rican families in the mid 20th century. No trace of this neighborhood exists today. Or, should we say, ALMOST no trace. San Juan Hill exists, at least briefly, within a part of classic American cinema. The Oscar-winning film West Side Story, based on the celebrated musical, was partially filmed here. The movie reflects many realities of the neighborhood and involves talents who would be, ahem, instrumental in Lincoln Center's continued successes. boweryboyshistory.com Originally released as Episode #218, December 9, 2016Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

The following is a special presentation — the first episode of brand spin-off podcast called The Gilded Gentleman, hosted by social and culinary historian Carl Raymond. In this debut episode, recorded at Greenwich Village's Salmagundi Club, Tom and Greg sit with Carl to formally introduce him to listeners and also to discuss the ideas surrounding the Gilded Age, a period of great wealth and great inequality during the late 19th century. PLUS: Subscribe to The Gilded Gentleman on your favorite podcast player and get the second episode NOW -- on the opening night of the Metropolitan Opera. With many more exciting new episodes arriving in the coming weeks.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has brought joy and sparkle to Midtown Manhattan since the early 1930s. The annual festivities may seem steady and timeless but this holiday icon actually has a surprisingly dramatic history. Millions tune in each year to watch the tree lighting in a music-filled ceremony on NBC, and tens of thousands more will crowd around the tree's massive branches during the holiday season, adjusting their phones for that perfect holiday selfie. But the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is more than just decor. The tree has reflected the mood of the United States itself -- through good times and bad. The first tree at this site in 1931 became a symbol of hope during the Great Depression. With the dedication of the first official Christmas tree two years later, the lighting ceremony was considered a stroke of marketing genius for the grand new "city within a city" funded by JD Rockefeller Jr.. The tree has also been an enduring television star -- from the early years in the 1950s with Howdy Doody to its upgrade to prime time in the 1990s. Join Greg for this festive holiday history featuring kaleidoscopic lighting displays, painted branches, whirling snowflakes, reindeer and a very tiny owl. boweryboyshistory.com If you like what you hear, please rate and review our show on Apple Podcasts.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Presenting a new history podcast produced by Tom Meyers and Greg Young from the Bowery Boys: New York City History. If you’re a fan of Downton Abbey, The Age of Innocence or Upstairs Downstairs, then we know The Gilded Gentleman podcast will be your cup of tea. You’re cordially invited to join social and culinary historian Carl Raymond for a look behind the velvet curtains of America’s Gilded Age, Paris’ Belle Époque and England’s Victorian and Edwardian eras. The food, the music, the architecture -- the scandals! The first two episodes arrive promptly on December 7. Please RSVP by subscribing to The Gilded Gentleman wherever you get your podcasts -- so you don't miss an episode. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Presenting a history of the Bowery in the 20th century when this street became known as the most notorious place in America. And the stories of the lonely and desperate men whose experiences have been mostly forgotten. From the moment that elevated train went up in 1878, the historic Bowery became a street of deteriorating fortunes. And by the 1940s, things had gotten so bad that the Bowery had taken on the nickname Skid Row. For decades it had become the last resort for men down on their luck, filling the flophouses and the cheap gin mills. For most of the people who found themselves here, these were not the ‘good ole days’. The only thing holding the Bowery back from total ruin were the rescue missions which began sprouting up here in the late 19th century, providing food and shelter for tens of thousands of people. The most renown of these places was the Bowery Mission which was founded in 1879. And is still, believe it or not, on the Bowery. Performing pretty much the same function as it did over 140 years ago. Greg and Tom take you through the dramatic history of the Bowery, then pay a visit to Jason Storbakken at the Bowery Mission to get a look at the rescue mission's current challenges and surprising struggles. boweryboyshistory.com If you like what you hear, please rate and review our show on Apple Podcasts.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

November 24, 1966. Millions of spectators flood Broadway in New York City to watch the Macy’s Day Parade on Thanksgiving morning. The iconic floats – Superman, Popeye, Smokey the Bear – are set against a sky that can only be described as noxious. A smog of pollutants is trapped over New York City, and it will ultimately kill nearly 200 people. How did the 1966 Thanksgiving Smog help usher in a new era of environmental protection? And how have we been thinking about environmental disasters all wrong? This episode comes from one of our favorite podcasts HISTORY This Week from the History Channel. You can listen to more episodes of HISTORY This Week on Apple Podcasts Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

The thrilling tale of a classic heist from the Gilded Age, perpetrated by a host of wicked and colorful characters from New York's criminal underworld. Jesse James and Butch Cassidy may be more infamous as American bank robbers, but neither could match the skill or the audacity of George Leonidas Leslie, a mastermind known in his day as the "King of the Bank Robbers". On October 27, 1878, Leslie's gang broke into the Manhattan Savings Institution and stole almost $3 million in cash and securities (about $71 million in today's money), making it one of the greatest bank robberies in American history. This epic heist, which took three years to plan, was only the greatest in a string of high-profile robberies planned by Leslie and perpetrated by a rogue's gallery of New York thieves and "fences". Many details of the crime remain a mystery, and the legend of Leslie has been immortalized -- with some mixture of truth and fiction -- in Herbert Asbury's classic The Gangs of New York. Who was this suave and mysterious Leslie? And how do you actually go about breaking into a bank in the 1870s? (Hint: Make sure you have a "little joker" handy.) boweryboyshistory.comSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

What are the greatest ghost stories and haunted legends in New York City history? Since 2007 -- every October for fourteen years -- the Bowery Boys podcast has shared the city's most notorious and frightening ghost stories and urban legends. Over fifty-five stories and counting -- from malevolent wraiths who walk the avenues to strange spirits forever at home in some of New York's greatest landmarks. So for this 15th annual Bowery Boys Halloween ghost story podcast, Greg and Tom taking a look back at their favorites (and yours), the tales which have stayed with us -- which have possessed us -- like a persistent phantom who refuses to leave. Featuring: -- The Brooklyn poltergeist at the heart of an unsolved 19th century mystery-- A haunted Hell's Kitchen townhouse tormented by a ravenous spirit-- An historic tavern with a very famous, very randy ghost-- A famous apartment building with mysterious people who walk through walls AND Greg and Tom re-visit and re-tell their favorite ghost story from their very first podcast. Does Olive Thomas still haunt the New Amsterdam Theatre? Visit the website for a list of all the Bowery Boys ghost story podcasts and a map of all the haunted locations in the city. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

The following podcast may look like the history of New York City cemeteries -- from the early churchyards of the Colonial era to the monument-filled rural cemeteries of Brooklyn and Queens. But it's much more than that! This is a story about New York City itself, a tale of real estate, urban growth, class and racial disparity, superstition and architecture. Cemeteries and burial grounds in New York City are everywhere -- although by design we often don’t see them or interact with them in daily life. You see them while strolling late night through the East Village or out your taxi window headed to LaGuardia Airport. Some of your favorite parks were even developed upon the sites of old potter’s fields. Why are there so many cemeteries on the border of the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens? Why are 19th century mausoleums and tombstones so fabulously ornate? And why are there so many old burial grounds next to tenements and apartment buildings in Greenwich Village? Featuring four tales from New York City history, illustrating the unusual relationship between cemeteries and urban areas. -- The Doctor's Riot of 1788-- The tragic monument of Charlotte Canda-- The shocking grave robbery of a prominent New Yorker-- The remarkable discovery in 1991 of a long-forgotten burial ground boweryboyshistory.com If you like the show, please rate and review on Apple Podcasts.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys