Edgar Allan Poe wasn’t just a poet and writer of macabre masterpieces: He also was a New Yorker! Known as America’s first great lyric poet, Poe is often associated with Richmond, Virginia and Baltimore. But he moved to New York City at 22, eager to make his fortune. And the city became the home of […]
Tag Archives | history
Ghosts in New York: The City’s Most Haunted Theaters
If you like haunted houses and ghost stories, then head to some of New York’s most haunted locations: its theaters. Sure, it’s all bright lights during the show. But after the audiences exit and the theater goes dark, a solitary object remains on stage: the ghost light. This tradition of placing a lamp with an illuminated, […]
A Stroll Through Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn is, hands-down, one of our favorite neighborhoods in New York (not just in the borough of Brooklyn!). Strolling through Brooklyn Heights is like entering a genteel, bygone era… not to mention boasts great views of the Brooklyn Bridge and a gorgeous park. New York’s first suburb and the nation’s first designated historic district, today, Brooklyn Heights’ […]
Murray Hall: Tammany Hall’s Tough Guy (Or Was He?)
On January 19, 1901, New Yorkers woke to shocking news in the New York Times: Well-known political figure Murray Hall was dead. But the real bombshell was to follow! Murray Hall was known as one of the toughest guys working for Tammany Hall, the corrupt political machine that “organized” New York City’s government for over 150 […]
The First Gay Pride March
I’ve long been ambivalent about the Gay Pride March. In three decades in NYC, I’ve never marched and seldom gone to watch. I believed it was less about pride than pageant – swaggering leather queens, in-your-face drag queens, and, of course, the exhibitionist A-gays, bumping and grinding for the adoration of fellow Adonises. I didn’t […]
Greenwich Village: A Walking Tour
Greenwich Village is one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in New York. Not to mention most historic: On a snowy night in 1917, a ragtag band of artists, poets, and actors occupied the top of Washington Arch to declare the “Free and Independent Republic of Greenwich Village!” That attempt to “secede,” of course, speaks to the […]
Harlem, New York: A Walking Tour
Harlem isn’t just one of the most historic neighborhoods in New York City. It’s also one of the liveliest. The word “Harlem” alone evokes images of legendary nightspots like the Cotton Club, where great musicians filled the night with hot jazz. For others, it brings thoughts of the notorious ghetto: decrepit, dirty, and crime-ridden. While both are part of […]