Contact Ephemeral New York
To reach out to Esther Crain, founder and editor of Ephemeral New York, please email: Ephemeralnewyork -at- gmail.com
For press inquiries about THE GILDED AGE IN NEW YORK, 1870-1910 (ISBN: 978-0316353663; on sale 9/27/16), please contact Kara Thornton, Publicist, Black Dog & Leventhal. 212-364-0537, kara.thornton@hbgusa.com”
Ephemeral New York 
July 16, 2008 at 9:04 pm |
Excellent place!
I’ll be back and roam around.
I just left a comment re Sloane House and didn ‘t realize there was so much besides…
Many thanks.
Gilles Grosdoit-Artur
France
July 17, 2008 at 1:00 am |
Thanks for checking Ephemeral out!
July 30, 2008 at 6:54 pm |
How do you sign up for updates?
Thanks,
Wendy
July 30, 2008 at 8:08 pm |
New stuff is posted generally every other day, so right now the best way is to just check back every few days. We’ll have update sign-ups soon.
August 7, 2008 at 3:37 am |
Thought you’d all be interested in a new play opening this Friday as part of the New York International Fringe Festival. It’s loaded with elements of the ephemeral NYC. Here’s a link to the website: http://www.beholdthebowery.com
September 8, 2008 at 2:48 pm |
Dear Ephemeral NY,
I read with interest your article regarding the West 29th Street “firehouse”. This is particulary so since the Commissioner mentioned in the article was my great-grandfather. I thought you might like the link below to an article regarding his Dept. of Correction tenure.
As it turned out, Commissioner Lantry’s grandaughter, my Mom, married the son of Brooklyn Borough President James J. Byrne. This intermarriage amongst Irish politicians has produced som slo-widded puhrsons.
Regards,and congratulations on a wonderfule site,
Robert Lantry Byrne
http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/1906keepersball/1906keepersball.html
September 9, 2008 at 1:17 am |
Thank you so much for the link and for writing in–it’s an honor to hear from Irish New York royalty!
September 10, 2008 at 9:22 pm |
Hi,
I’d like to interview you on the ephemera blog about your work on this site. If you’re interested, you can reach me through the email link on my blog. I’d enjoy the opportunity to profile you and feature the work you’re doing.
Thanks.
Marty
http://www.ephemera.typepad.com
September 25, 2008 at 4:30 pm |
I love your site and your photos. I grew up in the West Village in the 1970s and 1980s and was wondering if you had any photos for sale of West 8th Street then?
Thanks,
TM
NYC
September 25, 2008 at 5:45 pm |
Thanks for the kind words. I don’t have any photos of West Eighth Street back then, but if you’re looking for a specific building you can always try ordering a Dept. of Records Tax Photo. Here’s the link with more info: http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/taxphotos/home.shtml
September 26, 2008 at 12:09 am |
Well, lovely work. Really very nice.
October 6, 2008 at 1:14 am |
U be cute.
December 19, 2008 at 4:29 pm |
Great site! This is the first time I’ve been on here. I linked your ‘Fort Green’ picture on my blog, Brooklyn Before Now. Keep ’em coming.
http://brooklynbeforenow.blogspot.com/
December 27, 2008 at 6:03 pm |
Thanks so much! I’ll add your link to my blog roll.
January 25, 2009 at 12:28 am |
I love this site– just stumbled on it. Seems like you have a lot of fans– ever consider putting in a facebook link/ facebook fan thingy?
Niblet is very very cute.
January 25, 2009 at 12:53 am |
Thanks for the kind words. Look for a Facebook page soon; I’ve been contemplating it for a while. And when Niblet wakes from his 10-hour nap I will tell him he nabbed another compliment!
February 4, 2009 at 10:57 pm |
Hi,
Thank you for this valuable site. It has helped me a great deal in my research. I have a question I thought you might be able to answer. In 1946/7 would a luxury building –say in the upper east side — have had a doorman? How about an elevator?
Many thanks in advance.
February 4, 2009 at 11:00 pm |
Yes, a luxury building in the 1940s would definitely have had a doorman 24 hours a day as well as elevators. They probably would have had an elevator operator around the clock who ferried residents to their floor and back.
February 4, 2009 at 11:55 pm |
Thank you so much!
February 20, 2009 at 5:51 pm |
I love this!
I grew up in the Village in the 60’s my father owned the Legendary Village Gate.
Thank You.
s.
February 20, 2009 at 7:12 pm |
Thanks for writing in! You must have seen quite a lot of spectacular shows there.
February 24, 2009 at 5:58 pm |
Found this site thought I’d pass it on, there’s a wealth of info about Gay NYC
http://bitterqueen.typepad.com/history_of_gay_bars_in_ne/2007/12/the-everard-bat.html
February 25, 2009 at 5:28 am |
There’s a lot of interesting stuff on that site, thanks for sending it on.
March 16, 2009 at 6:24 pm |
Are you participating in the NYC Fringe Festival in 2009?
I am confused….sorry.
We are holding a baby, Fringe on Long Island this year, 2009.
It will be the first time, but, I hope you will come?
Did you do the Fringe last year? 2008?
Thanks, Deb
April 5, 2009 at 1:59 am |
I notice that you have a tag for old phone exchanges (or tags really, you used a few slightly different ones) but not a category. This blog doesn’t work like the blogspot blogs, it seems; what’s the difference between tags and categories?
April 5, 2009 at 11:31 pm |
I really don’t know what the difference is. I keep meaning to organize the phone exchanges into a more cohesive category or separate page, but time constrains have prevented me from doing so. I find the phone exchange history fascinating and so do a lot of readers. Which reminds me: thank you for helping to clear up some of the OR and WA confusion out there.
April 5, 2009 at 11:44 pm |
I’m happy to have been of service, and I see people frequently getting onto my site that came from your blog, so I’m getting something out of it too: visitors to my site!
April 15, 2009 at 11:43 pm |
Your entry on Tiffany & Co. refers to a building on Prince Street – “The store did a stint on Broadway and Prince Street (see photo below) in the last years of the 19th century.” Like the other photos on your site, this one is not credited. Will you tell me the source? This is a building which interests me.
Christopher Gray
April 16, 2009 at 2:43 pm |
I haven’t been able to locate a source for the photo so far. But while researching it just now, I realized I had the information incorrect. This is not a photo of the Tiffany’s retail store that existed at 550 Broadway, near Prince Street. This is a photo of their silverworks factory at 51-53 Prince Street.
April 16, 2009 at 2:52 pm |
“I haven’t been able to locate a source for the photo so far.”
That seems unlikely, since you have published it on your website. What is its source?
April 17, 2009 at 4:22 am |
I just came across your site and, specifically, your picture of Kranich Soap. My father worked at the Kranich Soap Company until it closed (sometime in the early sixties, although I can’t remember exactly when) when the owner, Herb Kranich, died. It made two kinds of products that I can recall; soap for the the globe type dispensers used in department stores at the time and bases for soap manufactured by others. I remember riding with my father in a truck making a delivery to Helena Rubinstein which, if I am remembering correctly, was in Long Island.
April 17, 2009 at 4:35 am |
Thanks for the background on Kranich Soap. I couldn’t dig anything up in newspaper archives. So many of New York’s small factories seem to have vanished with few traces.
May 1, 2009 at 5:16 pm |
I enjoy visiting your website. Thought you might be interested in knowing about my new website 98Bowery.com, a mix of art and reminiscences about downtown NY from 1969-1989. Lots of visual memories here; your readers might find especially interesting the portrait of Harry Mason, an owner of a Bowery Bar in the section entitled “First Years.” Keep up the good work.
May 1, 2009 at 5:31 pm |
Thanks. Love your site–lots of great pictures. I’ll add it to the blogroll.
July 17, 2009 at 2:05 pm |
I absolutely LOVE this site! Thanks so much for maintaining it
July 17, 2009 at 2:34 pm |
Thank you for reading it!
July 20, 2009 at 8:35 pm |
I just came across your site through a link on Bowery Boogie and I LOVE it!
LL
July 20, 2009 at 8:56 pm |
Thanks Lux! Keep on keeping tabs over there at Stuy Town.
July 28, 2009 at 3:37 pm |
Thanks again for this wonderful site. Please consider doing a piece on the history of the Dakota building (ie: John Lennon, etc). Was reading a nice thread on the building here (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=189342) and it made me think of your site. The history is so interesting.
July 28, 2009 at 4:32 pm |
Thanks! That’s a cool link too. Check back for a Dakota post soon.
August 15, 2009 at 12:06 am |
Hi Eph-
West 20th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues is a beautiful block. The General Theological Seminary runs the length of the north side of the block. The south side has some beautiful Greek Revival buildings. But I’m writing about 454 W 20. Based on an exhibit I once saw at the 5th Avenue Public Library, this building was where Jack Kerouac wrote “On the Road”. In a place like London, this house would proudly display a plaque to that effect. Here there is nothing. Could you consider a mini series showing these undocumented literary landmarks that pepper our wonderful city?
August 17, 2009 at 5:31 pm |
Thanks for the fab idea. When I started this site, I intended to do a lot of literary postings–places writers lived, blocks where famous books took place, that kind of thing. But with so much history in New York, it’s easy to get distracted. Kerouac is a great writer to cover, since he lived and wrote in so many little apartments and residence hotels all over the city.
August 17, 2009 at 5:54 pm |
It’s amazing there are so many photos of Jack Kerouac, from being stoned at Columbia University, to working on a ship around the world, to being drunk in Times Square on New Years Eve etc.. Can imagine what he would have left us in the age of the Internet…
My brief somewhat contact with him was I knew his printer at the time, Igal Roodenko, who printed his “Vanity of Duluoz” in the early 60s but Igal remembers him as not a nice man. I never found out what he did…
August 17, 2009 at 6:24 pm |
He was probably drunk all the time. Or maybe he stole his printer’s girl? Kerouac had a way with the chicks. Joyce Johnson’s bio, Minor Characters, and the book of Kerouac letters she published are pretty insightful.
August 26, 2009 at 4:14 am |
Have been reading your site with interest for some time.
You might enjoy:
or even a few of the items at:
August 26, 2009 at 10:51 pm |
The card with the Lenox 25 number is clearly pre-1920. In late 1920 the first dial exchanges happened, and the number would have been changed to LENox 0025.
August 26, 2009 at 4:54 am |
Very cool ephemera; thanks for the links. I love the museum ticket and the ice company business card. The Lenox 25 phone number is a treasure. And the polar bear postcard.
September 14, 2009 at 5:03 pm |
I remember a quick news story on channel 5 when I was growing up (late 80s to early 90s) – a construction worker decided, on his lunch break, to climb the cables of a downtown bridge (I can’t recall if it’s the Brooklyn bridge or what). The story showed him swinging from cable to cable, like it was a trapeze for him to play on – do you have anything on that? The video has haunted me (but in a good way) for years, and I’ve yet to find anything about it. A part of me wonders if it truly did happen.
September 22, 2009 at 3:38 am |
Hi–I’m an original New Yorker–please add me to your blog list: http://melaniemusings-melanie.blogspot.com AND
http://melaniemusings2wordpress.com
My blogs deal with the nitty and gritty of daily life in the East Village and surroundings. I am visual.
Thanks.
Melanie
September 23, 2009 at 1:21 pm |
I love your blog and always learn something when I visit, which is a great pleasure. I also blog about old New York (and Brooklyn) – and various odd corners of Victorian popular culture/history at
http://thevirtualdimemuseum.blogspot.com
I grew up in Manhattan (upper East Side) in the late 60s and 70s, back when the phone numbers started with two letters and TV cartoons were only on on Saturday morning.
Your feline assistant is most charming – I have 2 Russian Blues who could be cousins; grey cats (they might prefer me to call them silver, though) are my favorites.
Cheers, Lidian
September 23, 2009 at 2:44 pm |
Thank you; the virtual dime museum is pretty neat itself. I will have my feline assistant add it to the blogroll.
October 7, 2009 at 4:23 pm |
I just wish to take a moment and gush – I subscribe to 8 or 9 NYC blogs and this is by far my favorite. Don’t change a thing.
October 7, 2009 at 4:30 pm |
Thanks!
October 17, 2009 at 10:44 am |
What are the addresses of your ‘rustic cabins’, please and thank you?
October 17, 2009 at 4:12 pm |
Oh, I can’t give out addresses–lets just say East and West Village.
October 23, 2009 at 1:02 pm |
I have 6 New York Transit tickets (uncut) that are over 100 years old and would like to know if you have an idea where I might be able to sell them? I have pictures I can email you if you receommend how I can do so. Any input would help. Thanks.
November 10, 2009 at 4:55 pm |
I am looking for any information regarding Lincoln Place, a short street that cut through the block between E. 118th Street and E. 119th Street and Third and Lexington Avenues. It appears on city maps from 1894 through 1934
November 13, 2009 at 6:05 am |
Great site! Love reading about the hidden treasures in NY, yet sad how things are changing so quickly…
November 28, 2009 at 12:47 am |
I have just spent a good part of today going through all the pages on Ephemeral New York, and love it!
I have 2 photographs of work crews from Blackwell’s/Welfare/Roosevelt Island taken in the early 1900s. One of the crews has 2 African-Americans. My great-grandfather was part of these crews. Would you be interested in having me email you copies of these pictures?
November 28, 2009 at 9:35 pm |
Thanks! Sure, send the photos along and any info you have about them. Do you know what the crews are working on? You can email it to me at ephemeralnewyork at gmail dot com.
November 30, 2009 at 1:27 am |
Hi. I really enjoy your blog.
One question that’s been gnawing at me is: I seem to recall reading about an ancient Manhattan neighborhood that still exists somewhere in the West 60s. If not mistaken, it’s a gated community consisting of gingerbread-type houses.
Can you provide any information? I can’t seem to find mention of it anywhere.
Thanks in advance.
January 12, 2010 at 8:39 pm |
Excellent site with a lot of content.
I’m sure you’ve seen it but
Forgotten New York is also good
http://www.forgotten-ny.com/
Love to see something about Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop
virtually unchanged since 1928.
Thanks
January 28, 2010 at 4:36 pm |
I absolutely love this site!…cannot get enough of my NY…I have some old photos I would love to share, please tell me how to send them for posting consideration…
February 13, 2012 at 9:05 pm |
My husband is descended from Robt. Blackwell/Manningham, I would like a picture of the arch that reads Blackwell, I have all info I need for this family, I am a genealosit of many years, will share any info., Bonnie Blackwell, bonniegeneology@att.net.
February 4, 2010 at 1:35 pm |
A friend who blogs in L.A. turned me on to your site – wonderful, wonderful! I’ve written on some NY ephemera, including the Amiable Child Monument up past Grant’s Tomb. I’ll be checking back regularly, and will link to your site on my own blog.
February 4, 2010 at 5:31 pm |
Thanks! Love the raccoons and wildlife on your site.
February 6, 2010 at 3:52 pm |
That “tough old guy” on the tenament you posted today may be a Green Man – a symbol of rebirth and Spring that dates back to the middle ages. Actually he’s a pretty universal mythical figure across many cultures but he turns up in a lot of architecture in the UK. There are some good examples on Wikipedia if your interested. Tough Old Guy may be a restrained example or just a Tough Old Guy, who knows.
I adore this site and have made it my homepage. Keep up the good work. You keep me looking up and that can’t be bad!
February 6, 2010 at 4:04 pm |
Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for the info on Green Man! I’ll look it up. I need lots of brushing up on my mythological figures.
February 7, 2010 at 5:32 pm |
Hello,
I love your site!
I am starting a site that focuses on NYC architecture, real estate, and culture in general. I wondered if I could occasionally re-post your posts? Would you mind emailing me? Thanks so much!
February 7, 2010 at 5:33 pm |
PS: Crediting your page, of course!
February 15, 2010 at 2:14 am |
Have always enjoyed looking at “old” maps and seeing how things have changed. Marble Hill Happens to be a favorite. I have put together three maps that show the three different stages of “evolution”. Will send to your e mail. Keep up the good work!
February 15, 2010 at 11:23 pm |
Thanks! Is there a way you can send me a link to your maps, which I will then post on the site? I’m sure other readers would like to see them.
February 16, 2010 at 3:13 pm |
Marble Hill is where I grew up, so if you could send those maps to me as well, I’d be interested.
February 15, 2010 at 6:48 pm |
This is one of my favorite blogs, and I’ve only been to NY once.
I too am interested in the past and what we do with it.
Please keep it up! I wish Denver had a blog like this.
February 15, 2010 at 11:23 pm |
Thanks so much. Someone needs to start Ephemeral Denver….
February 16, 2010 at 3:44 pm |
How do I send you the map compilation (Marble Hill)? It is a single page attachment.
February 16, 2010 at 4:57 pm |
Steven Tenenbaum:
Just send it to me at brg1942@gmail.com It would be much appreciated.
February 19, 2010 at 6:32 pm |
Hi,
Just checking in to see if you received my request to link?
thanks!
February 19, 2010 at 7:14 pm |
Yep, it’s up. Welcome, http://www.village-agent.com, to the NYC blogosphere!
February 26, 2010 at 3:55 am |
Thanks so much and keep up the great work!
June 8, 2010 at 12:34 pm |
This blog is a delight to find. I lived in Brooklyn from 2003-2008 and miss NYC every day I draw breath.
Thank you for creating and maintaining this wonderful blog!
June 8, 2010 at 1:36 pm |
Thank you!
June 14, 2010 at 12:05 pm |
Have you ever heard of the Straw Hat Riots in the 20’s? I have some info on it I can send along if you’d like, PDFs and such, but it’d be perfect for you. It’s as hysterical as it sounds. You can probably do a little Googling yourself but I like to do Nexis searches on the stories here I find interesting and dig a little deeper. Enjoy the site.
June 18, 2010 at 7:51 pm |
Awesome stuff. I have a fairly large collection of NYC Subway signs that I am just starting to market……thought maybe this site might have some info for me. Let me know, I’d be happy to send you some pictures. I have Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street, Yankee Stadium, Times Square….and the list goes on. Keep up the good work.
Stephen
June 28, 2010 at 3:49 pm |
I repeat….I love this site; as a ny boy living in “paradise”…I always feel closer to home after checking in…somebody PLEASE do a piece on Campbell’s Apt….
June 28, 2010 at 4:15 pm |
Thanks! I will look into Campbell’s Apt and see if there’s a fresh spin.
June 30, 2010 at 2:59 pm |
Thanks a lot! Due to your website I have just spent 3 hours FREAKING LOVING IT!!!
GREAT site… amazing photos.
June 30, 2010 at 3:01 pm |
BTW… I just moved to 42nd and 12 to a too modern building… I want to put some picture on my walls of the way things ‘used to be’ as dark as they might have been…
Do you know any resources where I can get digital images of Hells Kitchen, Times Square, the piers and such from prior to 1970?
If you have any, please, please,please send 😉
Love your site, really.
July 4, 2010 at 2:05 am |
If you have any interest in original porcelain signs, I have quite a few. Pricey but all orginal and some in mint condition. My website only has 10 or so on there but I have over 100 signs to sell. Let me know and if you have the time check out the site.
Thanks,
Stephen
June 30, 2010 at 3:44 pm |
Thanks so much!
The New York Public Library has a digital collection with absolutely fantastic photos:
http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/index.cfm
The Museum of the City of New York is also an excellence resource:
http://www.mcny.org/museum-collections
July 27, 2010 at 10:05 am |
Check out my blog posting for today (July 27, 2010) in which I reference your wonderful blog.
July 27, 2010 at 1:46 pm |
Thank you for the post! Very interesting blog.
July 31, 2010 at 7:41 pm |
Is there a problem with the RSS feeds? I get them thru my ATT/Yahoo home page, and the last one showing is July 21. Thought you were on vacation until I clicked on the link and found the latest posts.
Allen St. picture is great – reminds me of my roots in NYC.
August 1, 2010 at 1:03 am |
I think it’s fine, I haven’t heard about any other problems. But let me know if you don’t get the next posts.
August 9, 2010 at 8:37 pm |
I’m trying to find information/pictures of Menemsha bar and cocktail lounge on 57th St. It was decorated with marvelous murals of sea scenes. Every so often, speakers would come on that played ocean sounds. Was an incredible place for dates in the 50s and 60s. And good drinks too!
September 6, 2010 at 5:05 am |
So interesting.
September 30, 2010 at 10:53 am |
Born, raised, and still living on the Upper East Side, I am amazed at how awesome this website is. I “liked” it on facebook and am glad I accidentally came accross this while web browsing. Does every New Yorker proud! I could spend hours getting lost on your site. Thank you!
September 30, 2010 at 3:35 pm |
Thank you so much! I’ve got to get the Facebook page in better shape though.
October 14, 2010 at 12:16 am |
Wilde. your site is great. i’m avid picture taker and see many of the weird and fantastic posted here on your blog. forgetfull as i am though what’s your facebook name so i can add to my friends.
many thanks for your dedication (and i hope your enjoyable hobby for you) phil
October 14, 2010 at 2:40 am
Thanks! The Facebook page isn’t really active. When I have some spare time I’ll get it up and running for real and let everyone know.
October 8, 2010 at 7:37 pm |
Hi, I received an email notification about the referenced post, but when I click on the link, all I get is “Error 404 – not found.” So I went directly to your site and the only the last entry I’d already read, about the arch at the entrance to the old Inwood estate. I assume you’ve taken down the Pell & Mott street entry in order to edit or something like that, but thought I’d let you know that it’s unavailable in case something else is wrong. I was intrigued by your observation that there were no Chinese people in the picture. How could that have happened? 🙂 I look forward to seeing the post when it’s back up. Thanks.
Johannah (sometimes sign comments as “Josie”).
October 8, 2010 at 8:46 pm |
Thanks Josie for your email. I’m having trouble with wordpress.com; I’m not able to upload photos for some reason, which is why I yanked the post down. I managed to get it back up but don’t know if I’ll be successful with the next post. I hate being at the mercy of technology I don’t understand!
October 28, 2010 at 11:04 pm |
I thought you and your readers would like to see The New York Times’ episode of Streetscapes this week, which takes a look at J.P. Morgan’s Library, built in 1906:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/10/28/realestate/1248069252105/streetscapes-j-p-morgan-s-library.html?scp=1&sq=Streetscapes%20|%20J.P.%20Morgan%27s%20Library&st=cse
November 3, 2010 at 1:47 pm |
Your site is phenomenal. It is an amazing example of what passion, research, and an appreciation for the ordinary can do. I am sharing this site with my 11th grade U.S. History class, since we’re doing urbanization/immigration/industrialization in the late 19th century (and we’re in New York). They should be finding something that interests them on the site and adding a valuable, informed comment. Hope it works. Anyway, thank you for the extraordinary resource!
November 3, 2010 at 2:25 pm |
Thanks so much—I look forward to hearing from Trevor kids! I hear they’re a very creative, independent bunch.
November 14, 2010 at 9:11 pm |
I really love this informative site. I remember screaming in horror and laughing at the same time over the headline “Headless Body in Topless Bar” in 1983. I also recognize many stories from 1930s NYC, especially Queens, where my mother grew up (Sunnyside, Woodside, Laurel Hill).
I wonder if any readers have information about Gypsy camps in 1920-and 30s Queens (Laurel Hill perhaps?) My mother told me that every year the gypsys came, and all the Irish mothers would try and frighten their kids into staying away from them.The Gypsies, Calvery Cemetery and cannibal child killer Albert Fish seemed to provide a lot of excitement to the kids of the area back then.At any rate, it is hard to imagine hills, woods,meadows and Gypsy caravans in Western Queens!
November 14, 2010 at 10:03 pm |
Thanks! Interesting about the Gypsy camps; I’ve never heard of them.
November 15, 2010 at 2:31 am |
The existence of Gypsy camps in Queens can be confirmed by this page on the Smithsonian’s education web site.
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/migrations/gyp/gypstart.html
I heard about these gypsies first from old timers in Sheepshead Bay in 60s and 70s. Apparently this was somewhat well known at the time.
November 15, 2010 at 11:50 am |
Here’s a story I’d be interested in. Have you ever done anything on them? Julian’s Pool Hall was on 14th Street just across the street from Con Edison Building, on the side of the Academy of Music. Was up one flight of stairs and attracted a sleazy group of pool players who looked like they were from the 1950s. I was there last for a pool game in the 90s and there was little difference from what I remember in the early 60s. Shifty, smoking characters were the norm. It was late at night about one or two in the morning but the pool hall seemed to be having business at a steady pace. The only difference was in the prices, up astronomically from the 60s, as usual. But it’s now a NYU Building.
http://www.nypl.org/blog/2010/05/11/clue-cue
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/26/nyregion/manhattan-pool-halls-fade-in-bloom.html
Anything you can find would be greatly appreciated,
Mick
http://www.MykolaDementiuk.com
Lambda Literary Awards Winner 2010/Bisexual Fiction for Holy Communion
November 17, 2010 at 3:51 am |
Thanks Lisanne! I got this from Wikipedia:
*At this time, Another unique character of Maspeth was the presence of a distinct group also called Maspeth home. Undeveloped Eastern Maspeth became a camping ground for the Maspeth Gypsies. The Maspeth Gypsies were a tribe of Ludar Gypsies who settled in the area. They were well known for their performances and shows involving trained animals. They wore bright colored clothing. They had a tribal king named Georgevitch, and their village stood within Maspeth until 1934, when it was razed. *
Maspeth is close enough to where my mother grew up- this tribe could be the ones my mother remembers- she was 9 yrs old in 1934.
November 17, 2010 at 4:37 am |
That’s more specific.
I did know a clan of Gypsies that lived in Sheepshead Bay in the 1990s; One of their families rented an apartment from a friend of mine. And I took their cat when they didn’t wish to keep it anymore.
They’re less noticeable nowadays, but still not totally acclimated into the mainstream.
November 23, 2010 at 3:18 pm |
I’m a regular reader who visits the city a few times a year. Can you please recommend a totable book that identifies old NYC landmarks? Thanks and keep up the great work.
December 2, 2010 at 9:11 pm |
I’ve just came across this blog and went through every post in 3 days. May I suggest a post on Harts Island? According to my research this island has quite a history…
As “potter fields” progressed northwards with city’s north expansion, most were turned into parks. Washington Square Park, Madison Garden, etc… have had thousands of bodies buried before they became parks. Hart’s Island, which served as a farm, hospital, insane asylum, civil war cemetery and Nike missile base, has been turned into a modern version of potters field. Please read the bible’s description of potters field…following of Jesus’ execution, Judas felt horrible for betraying in return for 30 silver coins. Feeling guilty he threw the coins into a temple, with which the priest bought infertile clay fields outside the town walls to bury the unwanted. This is currently Harts Island’s function: burial grounds for unwanted, unclaimed and stillborn. If I am not mistaken there are close to 1 million New Yorkers buried there. Burial is performed by Rikers Island inmates Monday thru Friday. I think that each day of the work week is dedicated to each borough. There was a photographer that documented this process…I forgot the name of the photographer, but the images are very striking (especially seeing prisoners standing around number of small wooden caskets of stillborn). Because real estate is hard to get by in NY and Island is already filled to its capacity (water runoff in the spring causes graves to expose themselves), every ten years bodies are exhumed and cremated. I looked at the records of the unwanted/unclaimed and noticed a very interesting pattern…dead in the past were documented much more thoroughly than today. As a matter of fact there is a constant decline in details on the person. I think that today it limits itself to name, age and gender.
Also, first AIDS victim in NY is buried on the island.
January 18, 2011 at 2:20 am |
Hello!
What a wonderful website, thank you so much for all your hard work. I have been trying to find out more information on catacombs in Manhattan. Have you found any mention of them? I found a NY Times piece about “veritable” catacombs from Dec 1905, but not much on actual catacombs. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F20817FC3F5C1A728DDDAA0894DA415B858CF1D3
I am aware of Green-Wood Cemetery’s catacombs, but where can I find info on catacombs in Manhattan?
Many thanks for any leads.
January 18, 2011 at 3:55 pm |
Thanks! I’d never heard the that burial ground described as catacombs. Have you contacted the administrators of either of the two Manhattan Marble Cemeteries?
http://www.nycmc.org/home.html
http://www.marblecemetery.org/
This is also a fascinating book–you may want to track down the author:
http://www.amazon.com/York-Rubbers-Paradise-Roberta-Halporn/dp/0930194543
February 8, 2011 at 2:12 pm |
enjoying the site. i’m a 61 yr old painter..i do streetscenes of nyc…mostly greenwich village, soho, chinatown…my site: bluehillartist.com (check out denizen of the dark, magazine)…i’m back in nyc in apri ..i can be found on the corner of prince/w.bway….most days…selling my pix. glcrosby
February 8, 2011 at 3:04 pm |
I’m glad you’re enjoying it! Lovely work, by the way. I know many of those corners well.
February 9, 2011 at 5:49 pm |
I am looking for photos of 337 Broadway, either the whole building or photos of part of the front in the time frame of 1860 to 1920. My understanding is that the building was demolished about 1922. Thanks in advance for your help.
February 9, 2011 at 5:51 pm |
The prior posting left out the name of the building. Sorry about that!
March 7, 2011 at 8:29 am |
Suggested minor correction to the current post, “Eating–and getting picked up–at the Automat”: The spelling of Ginsberg’s first name appears several times, consistently, as “Allan” but it should be “Allen.” If it appeared as “Allan” in Patti Smith’s book, it was erroneous there too. An easy fix. I didn’t want to put this suggestion as a comment on the page itself. Great post, thanks.
March 7, 2011 at 4:10 pm |
Thanks Josie. I was a little loopy last night when I wrote that post, but I’m pretty sure I copied the spelling of “Allan” straight from the book. Though it’s hard to believe it would be wrong there. I’ll look tonight and adjust accordingly.
March 10, 2011 at 1:47 am
It’s “Allen” in the book, too. I looked on Amazon, “search inside this book” and found the passage. Don’t worry, we’re all loopy half the time, trying to keep up with this kind of stuff.
March 10, 2011 at 3:05 am
Ah, thank you for reminding me. I’ll fix it now. Allan, Allen, you’d think I would know by now.
March 10, 2011 at 12:11 am |
hi there–just found your site. i was looking up the hotel McAlpin for my father, who was visiting NY and stayed at the McAlpin as a kid during WWII. fabulous info, and he was so pleased to see pics of the hotel. i looked at some of your other posts, what a terrific blog. thanks!
March 10, 2011 at 12:50 am |
Thank you so much! A kid staying at the McAlpin–must have been quite a treat.
March 17, 2011 at 9:38 pm |
What a terrific blog! I happily discovered it while trying to find out whether there were elephants at the CP Zoo in 1925, and now I know there was at least one, Jewel. I’m researching a novel set partially in 1920’s New York and am looking for photos and any info I can find about the city, Central Park, apartment buildings (grand and less so), tearooms, restaurants, speakeasies, shops, everyday people, etc. I recently discovered Rider’s Guide to New York City (the 1923 version) at the NY Hist. Society, which is fantastic. Do you have any recommendations for other books or exhibits that could help?
Thanks so much!
Jenny
March 17, 2011 at 11:50 pm |
Thanks so much! There are a lot of resources covering New York in the 1920s, so it really depends on what you’re looking for and what neighborhoods you’re focused on. If you can narrow down the scope, I (and other ENY readers) may be able to help.
March 18, 2011 at 2:10 am
Narrowing is so hard when I want to read and look at everything I can get my hands on. I’d say I’m primarily interested in midtown (for office buildings), Upper East Side (for grand apartment houses or town houses), Upper West (more modest town houses), Harlem as an entertainment destination, and Central Park — who was using the park and how were they using it. I’m also interested in transportation — subway, the el, street cars and taxis. I know this is a lot. I’d love any insight you or anyone else may have.
Thanks so much!
March 31, 2011 at 3:05 am |
Hi –
I absolutely love your site! Thanks for all of the NYC insight.
I’ve been living in a back house on Powers St. (between Judge and Olive) in Brooklyn for a few years and have been having difficulty finding any info about the hidden homes (there are about 8 that I can see from my yard but I think there are more on my block). I’ve read everything I can find about the rear houses in Manhattan but have found next to nothing about the ones in Brooklyn.
Do you have any insight?
Thanks, Alicia
March 31, 2011 at 3:39 am |
Thanks! I’m fascinated by back houses too but any resource I point you to is probably about them in general, nothing specific to Brooklyn.
So I’d have to defer to Brownstoner on this one; as a Brooklyn real estate site, they may have more specifics on your stretch of Powers Street.
And of course there’s always the Brooklyn Historical Society: http://www.brooklynhistory.org/default/index.html
March 31, 2011 at 7:39 am
How about Brooklyn Before Now. Has interesting tales about old Brooklyn
http://brooklynbeforenow.blogspot.com/
March 31, 2011 at 2:53 pm |
Thanks so much!!
April 22, 2011 at 3:11 am |
Hi, so for this Modernist Poetry class, we’re annotating the poem The Bridge by Hart Crane and I came across the picture of Columbus Circle that you featured in this blog. I was wondering if it would be okay to use it on the website I provided above. thanks!
April 22, 2011 at 3:43 pm |
Two of the photos are in the public domain and I’m not sure about the third, so I think it depends on the photo. But since they’re not photos I own, I can’t give or not give permission.
May 19, 2011 at 2:12 pm |
My wife and I have always been fascinated by the large ornate building on the east side of 6th avenue between 18th and 19th sts (now subdivided into many clothing outlets). It looks as if it might have
been a major department store at one time in the distant past.
Does anyone know who was the original tenant of this building?
P.S. I DO recall (as a youngster) the Wanamaker’s store on Broadway
(at 9th, I think) that had a monorail (sort of) that circled the interior
atrium. Do photos exist?
Thanks
May 26, 2011 at 1:01 pm |
The faded remnants of The Fat Black Pussycat Bar on Minetta St. was painted over yesterday by the owners of Panchitos Restaurant. Tour groups would often stop to see the faded signage and the building, where Dylan wrote Blowin’ In The Wind. It’s stupefying…ARGH!!
May 27, 2011 at 1:11 am |
What a shame! I’ll bet they had no idea what they were doing. Weren’t even curious. Businesses (and tenants) moving into the old neighborhoods because they understand them to be newly-desirable “locations” are often actually clueless as to their history and value.
May 26, 2011 at 1:59 pm |
That’s depressing. I know that faded sign. Or I guess I should say “knew.”
May 27, 2011 at 1:21 am |
The Lost City blog has some interesting background history of Panchito’s, the Fat Black Pussycat, Kettle of Fish, Lion’s Head, and other memorable Village establishments, here: http://lostnewyorkcity.blogspot.com/2010/02/fat-black-pussycat-then-and-now.html
May 27, 2011 at 3:34 am |
… I sure hope that Ephemeral New York, as a great voice, educator, custodian and proponent for NYC history and historic preservation posts something about the arrogance and ignorance of the owners of Panchitos. With one coat of paint, Panchitos robbed countless people for generations to come, the pleasure of wandering down Minetta Street and “discovering” a true rare moment of ephemeral NY. I suspect that Panchitos knew exactly what they were doing.
As the Village continues to lose a big part of its DNA… I don’t see this as a small loss..
May 31, 2011 at 5:37 pm |
Hi W, I apologize for not addressing this sooner–Brooks over at Lost New York gave it the appropriate coverage:
http://lostnewyorkcity.blogspot.com/2011/05/bye-bye-black-pussycat.html
June 3, 2011 at 2:49 am |
Thanks for the link to Lost City
Jeremiah’s Vanishing NY picked up the story too.
http://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2011/06/pussycat-gone.html
There’s to much vanishing goin’ on these days..
July 22, 2011 at 11:31 pm |
I love your blog, but I wish you would credit the sources for your images with either a click through link or a note.
September 5, 2011 at 8:46 pm |
Does anyone remember the Bun ‘n Biurger places? Don’t know how many there were. The one I went to frequently was on Madison about 50th St. The burgers and steak fries were superb in memory. At lunchtime there was always 2 or 3 people standing in back of you waiting for a seat at the counter
November 4, 2011 at 3:28 pm |
Hi, I am writing my memoir, and I used to work at the Martinique Hotel on 32nd and Broadway. I would like your permission to use your content in my book. The pages about Herald Square and welfare hotels. If this is ok, how would you like me to credit you.
And, your site is incredible!! Thank you so much for posting all of this for us! Wow! Lyn
November 4, 2011 at 3:30 pm |
Thank you! Lyn, can you please email me about using content?
ephemeralnewyork – at – gmail.com
November 27, 2011 at 4:09 am |
Hi there- i get the updates and LOVE them. This site is great. Actually, the only site i have ever signed up on for updates and open and read every one. Usually i end up deleting recurring email updates.
My husband and i live in south florida. We are going to nyc in two weeks. Staying at the W in union square. Other than making sure to make it to greenwood cemetery to take photos, we have nothing planned. Does anyone have any neat ideas? We go a few times a year every year and want to do new things. Any help is greatly appreciated!
November 27, 2011 at 10:13 pm |
thanks for the kind words! I don’t know how familiar you are with the city, but the two things that come to mind are the High Line; you must see New York’s abandoned railway turned lovely park. And Prospect Park, Olmsted and Vaux’s other beautiful city park, which some say beats Central Park.
November 27, 2011 at 5:37 pm |
Wonderful interesting site. My mother is 94 and has told me
there was a store in Manhattan in the 1930’s, she thinks on Madison Ave., named Milgram’s or Milgrims. Has anyone ever
heard of this store?
November 27, 2011 at 10:15 pm |
Thank you. I don’t know of a Milgrams or Milgrims. Anyone heard of it?
November 28, 2011 at 6:13 pm |
Hi —
I want to use an image I found on your blog for a restaurant that borders the park. It’s the old postcard with the flatiron building in it.
Please advise.
Thank you,
Harriet Spear
November 28, 2011 at 6:15 pm |
Sure, can you email me? It’s ephemeralnewyork -at- gmail.com
November 28, 2011 at 9:44 pm |
My wife and I were recently in the Midtown to Times Square area and saw a building on a corner where there were the latin names of Ivy League schools carved into the side of the building. Any idea what that building is and where it is located?
November 28, 2011 at 10:09 pm |
To Rick, that sounds like the University Club at the corner of 5th Avenue and 54th Street.
January 3, 2012 at 7:05 am |
Do this blog have a twitter handle?
February 13, 2012 at 7:32 am |
My grandfather immigrated from Italy in 1921, and he listed on his app for soc sec in 1936 that he was working for Angelo Marano at the Diana Ballroom at the corner of 14th st and 3rd ave. Does anyone have any info or images of the place? I find nothing on google. Thanks Bruce
February 19, 2012 at 4:35 am |
Anyone remember the Gallery Gwen on 74 E. 4th St and Irving Fiske– and the other members of the Fiske family, William, Ladybelle, Barbara, David, et al?
Irving gave talks on “Tantra, the Yoga of Sex” there for several years, as he did at the It Cafe across the street. He helped stand up with Allen Ginsberg against the movement to censor poetry in the early 1960s.
We held “folk sings,” poetry readings, and all sorts of gatherings, and then Irv would drive people to our land in Vermont for a weekend visit (donation-based, but costing $10). Many fascinating things came out of all this. I came to know the Underground Cartoonists– R Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Trina, Kim Deitch, Spain and many others… and was Art Spiegelman’s girlfriend from 1968 to about 1970 and was his friend later on.
I am writing a memoir and would be very happy to hear from anyone who remembers the Gallery and all of us, and would be interested in sharing their memories. If you came to Quarry Hill (in Vermont), I’d love to hear about that, too.
Thanks!
Ladybelle Fiske
February 19, 2012 at 4:44 am |
Ah, those were the days!
February 22, 2012 at 4:23 pm |
Hello:
I would to know if it’s possible to get a print of a photograph on this site?
The date is December 23, 2009.,
‘Is this the oldest photograph in New York?’
It’s a photograph off Broadway and Leonard Street in Manhattan.
My Irish great grandfather worked as a night watchman while some of these buildings were being built. My ancestors lived on Leonard Street around the corner off Broadway.
Tom Sinclair
Alexandria, Virginia
February 27, 2012 at 9:36 pm |
Re “The busty ladies on a Henry Street Tenement,” posted on February 27, 2012…..
I live just a few blocks from this tenement building on Henry Street near East Broadway and pass these figurines often. But it wasn’t until seeing them just now on your web site that I realized they are modeled after those old-fashioned ship mastheads……and that the bearded man in the middle is a representation of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. Not surprising…since this neighborhood was (and is) just a few blocks from the East River….which was still a working port when this building was built for an earlier generation of new immigrants.
Thanks so much for creating this web site! I visit often…..It’s always a pleasure to see what what’s new here!
Best wishes,
Jeff
February 27, 2012 at 9:42 pm |
Hi Jeff, great observation–I think you’re right about the ship mastheads and connection to the East River. Thanks for your kind words!
March 8, 2012 at 2:16 pm |
Great Blog – thank you for your work and for sharing your site!
March 8, 2012 at 3:02 pm |
Thank you very much for reading!
March 26, 2012 at 5:30 am |
Hello, love your blog! I am looking for old photos of Eat Harlem, from the 1950s-1980s. Any suggestions? Have already exhausted the Tax Photos.
March 27, 2012 at 4:25 am |
I discovered your site doing research on the “Arch-Conspirators” and like it very much. Do you mind if I add a link or feed to my site New York Arts (http://newyorkarts.net)? Keep up the great work!
March 27, 2012 at 5:42 am |
Thanks! I’ll add your link to my blog roll as well.
April 11, 2012 at 4:22 pm |
Hello,
The Gotham Center for New York City History, located at the City University of New York Graduate Center, would like to add its website to your Blogroll.
http://www.gothamcenter.org
Thank you!
May 4, 2012 at 7:40 pm |
any stories about the Marlton Hotel? Cause I got ’em if you need ’em.
May 4, 2012 at 7:40 pm |
at 5 west 8th street, new york 10011
June 1, 2012 at 9:40 pm |
I believe the arch in Astoria is at 33 street just north of 23 avenue. If is DEFINITELY part of the long hells gate bridge which runs from woodside all the way to astoria (not just the span crossing the east river) Hope this helps.
June 25, 2012 at 8:02 pm |
Trying to find origin of cows photo at Grand Central
July 12, 2012 at 2:12 pm |
Hi — is there any way to contact the editor of this site? I can’t seem to find a way.
Thanks.
July 12, 2012 at 2:37 pm |
sure, it’s ephemeralnewyork at gmail dot com
July 13, 2012 at 2:10 am |
Ah. Didn’t see it under the title. Thanks.
July 30, 2012 at 8:25 pm |
If you remember the It Cafe, Cafe Le Metro on 2nd AVE, Irving Fiske, Barbara Fiske, or any of the zany crew of Quarry Hill (Vermont) who traveled back and forth to E. 4th St… please let me know!
Thanks,
Ladybelle
August 7, 2012 at 4:30 am |
Got to tell you what a beautiful, informative and thoughtful blog this is. I’ve only been a visitor to New York but love the tiny details that give away clues to its history.
On a past visit went to the Tenement Museum in Orchard St – really well researched, blending the history of the city with the people who have created it.
I’ve got a couple of New York-loving friends reading as well – they feel similarly.
Thanks for the great work.
Cheers
Mel
August 10, 2012 at 2:24 pm |
Thanks so much! The Tenement museum is a treasure, I’m glad you got to visit it. They have their own wonderful blog too:
http://tenement-museum.blogspot.com/
September 6, 2012 at 3:50 pm |
Was in New York recently and saw many faded signs on building walls, many were not on main streets. Some were a little hard to read but were very cool. Had fun trying to work them out. Loved looking through the “ghost” signs on this site. Great to see someone recording these.
October 4, 2012 at 7:32 pm |
This site is just wonderful. I’m a NYC-lover (from Scotland) and am trying to work my way through all the amazing information you have gathered. I recently spent ages reading about the old telephone exchange names, full of character and romance somehow. Tonight I came across a photograph of the old Penn Station and was almost in tears to think that it had been destroyed – and by its own people!! How could they? Unbelievable!
A fabulous site – long may it prosper!
Ellen Campbell.
October 4, 2012 at 8:05 pm |
thanks so much!
October 10, 2012 at 3:46 pm |
Hello
My name is Adam from Kips Bay Optical. I noticed you posted our sign on your website. We recently moved and sign will be removed and destroyed. Do you think anyone would be interested in this vintage sign?
Please contact me ASAP at kipsbayoptical@gmail.com
Thanks
Adam
October 10, 2012 at 6:45 pm |
Thanks Adam–any takers? It’s a classic city store sign!
October 10, 2012 at 6:48 pm |
If anyone is interested please email me at kipsbayoptical@gmail.com
October 15, 2012 at 8:37 pm |
Hey! I was curious to hear what you think about the Marco Polo Festival. Do you think that festivities like this reinforce neighborhood identities or do you feel like they’re too commercial/ touristy?
November 7, 2012 at 3:46 pm |
I found great old picture of 2nd ave looking north from 42nd st in 1861 on the web today. Here is the link. You can see the grid starting to take hold with the country houses still hanging on.
November 18, 2012 at 12:21 am |
Hi, stumbled across your blog and really enjoy it.
Thought you might appreciate mine: http://cornerbycorner.wordpress.com/ – though it’s nowhere near as content filled!
Thanks for the resource.
November 18, 2012 at 12:54 am |
Thank you—-love your concept and writing!
November 26, 2012 at 7:01 am |
“The Astral” Greenpoint BK
Can you find more info on this building – I live in it and would like to know.
It’s on Franklin Street betweek Java and India – in Greenpoint BK
November 26, 2012 at 1:59 pm |
Zamartz – The Forgotten NY blog had an article a few years back that mentioned the Astral. Here’s the link: http://forgotten-ny.com/2001/02/enchanted-villages-of-greenpoint/
November 27, 2012 at 1:39 am |
Hello, readers of this truly wonderful site.
I’m writing an essay for an anthology about leaving New York (which I ill-advisedly did). I am trying to remember the particulars of a couple of places I frequented in the 80s: one was a Japanese lunch spot on Fifth around 35th Street that had a carousel in the center from which one took plates that were then counted up for the bill. The other was a tea room or lunch room in the east 30s– it had to have been there since the forties at least.
Please write in if you know the names of these places. Thanks.
Melissa
November 27, 2012 at 2:05 am |
I think that the Japanese restaurant was called Sushi Ginza. It was directly across the street from B Altman. The food came around in a kind of conveyor belt. You’re right about the plates – they were different shapes and sizes, representing different prices. I remember that they had at least one other location, inside Penn Station. Both gone now. Sorry, I can’t help with the tea parlor.
December 27, 2012 at 7:14 am |
I’d love to see what, if any, flyers or posters announcing Forrest Myers’ Aerial Light Sculpture in Tompkins Square Park from 1967 are around.
I happened upon the scene, quite by accident, and it blew my mind.
January 10, 2013 at 8:32 pm |
does anyone know about the metal funerture factory that was there years ago need info.gammies_girl@yahoo.com please and thank you
January 26, 2013 at 2:00 am |
Someone may have already asked but I am having a hell of a time finding a picture of the old lot that was at the corner of Broadway and Grand. The one with the unused pavillion type thing….do you have anything? I think now its a fancy glass building.
Thanks.
March 22, 2013 at 9:05 pm |
Remember those signs in Brooklyn and Queens pointing to Manhattan that said “To City.” Looking for one….
March 23, 2013 at 4:07 pm |
What relics! Does anyone know where one might be hiding?
March 23, 2013 at 4:31 pm |
Or how about those orange and blue ones that directed you from all over town to the World’s Fair and Shea Stadium?
April 10, 2013 at 7:41 pm |
A great link if you haven’t discovered it already. A bit on the dry side, but the history and details are amazing. http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/
May 7, 2013 at 7:18 pm |
I love how there’s always something new to see/learn about the city. Your blog is a fantastic resource. I’d like to add some 3D to the mix–https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/north-brother-island-history/id635455817?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4–
has original 3D photos taken on North Brother Island in 2007, accompanied by histories of Riverside Hospital, Typhoid Mary and the General Slocum disaster. Let me know if you would like an access code for a free download (via email).
May 18, 2013 at 2:32 pm |
Do you have the entire NYU Album from 1932? My mother-in-law was there at that time, and I would love to see the pages.
May 24, 2013 at 2:30 am |
I thought you and your readers might be interested to know that The former Utah House Hotel at 300 Eighth Avenue and 25th Street is currently under renovation and the sign for the Utah House Hotel is visible for the moment. The hotel appears in accounts and illustrations of the July 12, 1871 Eighth Avenue Riot.
May 24, 2013 at 3:09 pm |
Thanks! An Ephemeral reader contacted me about it yesterday, and I went up to take a few photos. A post will be coming soon.
May 24, 2013 at 2:32 pm |
Yes–email me off the board, and I can see if your mother-in-law is there.
June 6, 2013 at 3:34 am |
Please, if you will help me find pics and info on a bldg once located on eastward bound side of 125th street and Lenox/6th Ave. The bldg no. was 293. I may have found smthg from the 19h century. I would very much appreciate more. Smthg from every decade of existence. Information on the architects, owners, floor plans. The bldg holds a special place in my heart. It no longer exist and each time i have to acknowledge that fact my heart painfully skips a beat. I feel as though i let her down. I didnt protect her…from… the elements…
June 6, 2013 at 4:29 am |
Hello, love what youve done here. Please express, to Lin, for me that i spent a few mnths at the Martinique after an apt electrical fire rendered my family homeless. I would like to speak with her. Read her memoir.
July 14, 2013 at 9:16 pm |
Lived in NYC between 1956 and 1972, so many of your postings “hit home” as it were. Keep up the great work!
Ran across this today and thought you might enjoy it: a slideshow of color photos of NY in 1940.
http://biggeekdad.com/2013/06/new-york-city-in-color/
July 15, 2013 at 2:21 am |
Wow, dreamy and enchanting. Thanks Rich!
July 17, 2013 at 9:32 pm |
Hi- Re: A drama student left to die on a West Side roof –
I have followed your site for a long time and I really like what you do. I understand Mr. Guariano’s sentiment; I have daughters too, but there are plenty of places on the internet to vent, and this should not be one of them. Thanks for the edit. Keep up the good work!
Paul
July 18, 2013 at 3:17 am |
Thanks Gimelgort! I appreciate all comments and questions but yeah, lets not get carried away….
July 19, 2013 at 10:52 pm |
Love the site. One of my favorites, and I check back every couple of days for updates. I also refer friends and colleagues here as often as possible. Regarding the runaway elephant, I think that the elephant is not a runaway from the parade, but that the parade is turning a corner there. It seems that it might be a trainer leading the elephant and the kids are following alongside. There’s a sign on the right that starts with Pa. Since this is supposed to be at Atlantic and Nevins, could the sign say Parade Route? Thanks for the great work and see you soon.
July 19, 2013 at 11:00 pm |
Thank you Mark. I agree, the elephant is probably just turning the corner with the kids close by. And good eye for spotting PA!
August 26, 2013 at 12:19 am |
Hi. I really enjoy looking at your site. Thanks for posting it.
I’m writing a children’s book that takes place in NYC in the early 1940’s. I need the names of a few theaters, night clubs, or other places where a comedy team of a man and a dog might have appeared. Can you help me? Thanks.
September 1, 2013 at 11:36 pm |
About four years ago someone started a blog called “Brooklyn Analog” which only lasted for a few posts, but one of those posts had some old maps of Brooklyn elevated lines, including the only map I’ve found that shows the original line from the early 1880s. Unfortunately, it was not scanned at as high resolution as I might like, but it is at http://brooklynanalog.blogspot.com/2009/04/old-elevated-train-maps-one-subway-map.html . Since the file name has “low” in it, she might have done a higher resolution scan somewhere, but it’s not on her blog. I wonsee if you, or anyone who reads your blog, knows where a hegher-resolution version of that map might be found.
September 4, 2013 at 4:58 pm |
Here’s something about old subway maps, maybe that might help: http://gizmodo.com/18-subway-maps-that-trace-nycs-transit-history-1242514280
September 6, 2013 at 11:35 pm |
Good try, but nothing on that site is anywhere near as old as what I’m looking for. The oldest item there is from 1924, and the map i’m looking for is about 40 years older than that.
September 7, 2013 at 12:46 am |
Bruce- Check this site: http://www.thejoekorner.com/indexfrm.html
The site is a bit hard to navigate but it is highly informative and even contains a few maps of the period you’re looking for. You may also want to contact him directly with your question.
September 16, 2013 at 7:19 pm |
I have an original color 1940 NY Worlds Fair map. It lists all of the restaurants and bars on the back, their prices which are insanely low, and indexes their location to the numbers on the front map side. I could scan it in and send it to you if you’d like to add it to the site. I found it at an antique shop in Fernandina Beach, Fl.
September 16, 2013 at 8:17 pm |
Ryan, I am interested in seeing your 1940’s NY World’s Fair Map. Would you be willing to send me a scan?
September 16, 2013 at 8:52 pm
Sure. I just scanned it in. B&W bc my work scanner isn’t the greatest. Do you want me to email it to you? Can you post an email on the site?
September 16, 2013 at 9:12 pm |
Yes, please send it to rochonfamily@gmail.com. Thanks.
September 21, 2013 at 6:50 am |
I was the doorman at the stonewall.want to hear the truth about what really happened at the stonwall?
November 20, 2013 at 7:29 pm |
There’s an interesting “manhole” or drain cover in Prospect Park. Its much smaller than a typical cover and has ornate letters that I believe are B O and I. Its near the main field close to the 3rd Street entrance. Wondering if you came across this during your manhole project.
December 10, 2013 at 4:53 am |
Can anyone identify the fountain and/or street shown in the photo on my web page at http://OmniDoc.org/generis/img114.jpg ? The photo is my father; the back reads “8/51”, which, I presume, is August 1951, which is when he was serving in the National Guard. Presumably, the area is Brooklyn, NY. Thanks!
December 10, 2013 at 1:36 pm |
Since there’s a store called “Mason’s” in the background, a look at one of the old phone directories from Brooklyn for 1951 (to be found in large public libraries such as BPL, NYPL, or LoC) should help identify the location.
January 24, 2014 at 1:56 am |
Just wanted to report to you a small but sad loss (possibly vandalism?) at the Borough Hall subway station (4/5 train platforms). The beautiful and ornate, original 1908 mosaic near the central entrance stairs recently received a huge hole right in its center, and it seems to be growing daily as people (or, rats) pick away at the loosened tiles.
Given its history (the first IRT subway station in Brooklyn to open) and the great attention the MTA has devoted to other historic station artworks (eg, the newly remodeled Bleecker Street), I hoped it would have been repaired quickly before the damage spreads, but no such luck. I guess with all the repair work still in progress from Hurricane Sandy, repairing 100-year-old mosaics has been given short shift on the MTA’s list of priorities.
Maybe give it a shout-out on your blog to raise awareness of its sad state? Thanks, and love this blog!
(Link below to pic of similar mosaic on Wikipedia, undamaged): http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Boro_Hall_45_wall_jeh.JPG
January 24, 2014 at 2:37 am |
What a travesty; those mosaics are beautiful and important. If anyone lives nearby and can tweet a photo tonight of the cracked mosaic to local reporters and news outlets, please do so.
July 7, 2014 at 4:44 pm |
I’ve been a devoted reader of your site for years – even wrote to you under my alias back in 2009.
I now have my own site, City Lights Photography, which chronicles the unexpected beauty and irony I see on my weekly bike rides. The site also includes a blog that is part photography, part humor and part NYC history. I’d appreciate it if you would include my site on your Blogroll. I think your readers would enjoy it.
http://citylightsphotos.tumblr.com/
Thanks
Mark Lutin
July 8, 2014 at 6:48 pm |
Posted! The photos are wonderful and I urge everyone to check it out!
July 8, 2014 at 7:28 pm |
That Fat Man in Chinatown was very funny, he looked out of place, but knowing the history of Doyers Street, he fit right in and was perfectly right at home!
Nice blog, one more to keep my eyes on. Good luck 😉
July 9, 2014 at 5:00 am |
Thanks so much. You really do have a great NYC site. A wonderful inspiration.
August 15, 2014 at 2:59 pm |
I love your site!!! I was born in the Bronx and lived many years in the Village and lower Manhattan. I remember the great streets that disappeared when the world Trade Center was built. There was a shabby three story pet store, Trefflich’s; on the third story it had wild animals that I’m sure today could not be sold.
I would like to get information about a photo you used in your Lusitania blog. It is the wide shot of the Lusitania docking with a building flying an American flag and the the NJ shoreline faintly in the distance. Can you tell me the source?
It is for possible usage in a fictional acoount of that era that I am trying to write.
thanks and keep up the great work.
November 27, 2014 at 8:30 pm |
What a wonderful time it was– what a wonderful place! The Lower East Side (E. Village) in the 1960s. “Bliss was it in that day to be alive…”
February 8, 2015 at 10:40 am |
Hi
I am interested in Hotel Olympia which was on 42/2nd around 1918. Does anyone know what happened to that hotel?
March 18, 2015 at 1:04 pm |
Hi, I am trying to find a postcard, photo, or other image, of The Boulevard Hotel which operated on 57th and Broadway at the turn of the last century, 1890s – 1912. Anyone?
March 25, 2015 at 4:03 am |
I came across this 1995 NYC time capsule on YouTube. The video host interviews mom-and-pop store owners, zooms in on faded building signs, etc. Ephemeral New York readers might be interested too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ome6yVU2fTE
March 25, 2015 at 4:59 pm |
Just watched it, heartbreaking and prescient. Thanks for sharing the link Bookpod.
May 28, 2015 at 2:07 am |
Wondering why I no longer get your emails.
September 13, 2015 at 1:39 pm |
In re “The boys of Xavier High School” posting of December 21, 2008, my dad, Jas. Edwd. Aloy. Cullen was attending Xavier around that time, i.e., 1933 – possibly a senior by then.
My brothers and I don’t have much history on him as our parents passed away when we were children.
Would you happen to have other pages of that Xavier High School’s 1933 yearbook?
December 20, 2015 at 5:59 pm |
Hi, just came across your blog and as a Brooklyn native, I’m having a blast looking at the past here. I’m pretty much blog/computer illiterate so I was wondering…ok embarrassing..but how do I or where do I sign up to get email updates on new posts? Thank you, Mike
January 30, 2016 at 9:19 pm |
I am a 60 year old lady from Wichita, KS and LOVE reading your posts. I have a certain fascination and great love for New York, all of it, old and new. So different from what I am used to here in Kansas. Someday I will get there – my 90 year old mom, who died last May, always wanted to go with me – so in her honor I will go – by myself, maybe, but go I will. Just as soon as I gather enough pennies. Keep up the good work and watch for me – I am the one with my mouth open in amazement!!!! I heart New York!
January 30, 2016 at 9:22 pm |
Thank you so much! When you come to the city, please document your trip and let me know what amazed you the most.
February 28, 2016 at 12:55 am |
My beloved Grandmother (Victoria Schneider) owned a small sign company at 54 Dey St when I was a little kid. 60’s etc. Best memories of the nice ‘elevator man’ and being grown up enough (!) to go get coffee and donuts for the office at Chock Full o’ Nuts right down the street. I hope to find more info/ pics etc to show my own little grandkids. They had to move to Fulton St after WTC became reality. Can’t remember that Bld number. My ‘Pop’ was also upset as he loved rummaging around Radio Row while awaiting her to be ready to leave. Best best memories of childhood ever- Grandparents and our NYC.
Thank you, Thank you for this!
April 27, 2016 at 1:42 am |
Do you have any photos showing what might have been located at 616 W. 17th, NYC in 1930?
April 27, 2016 at 9:25 pm |
In many apartment floor plans, these non-public areas
will be separated from busy public areas by physical boundaries.
June 2, 2016 at 4:38 pm |
Dear Ephemeral,
Charles Feltman’s bakery was never on Coney Island. His first bakery in 1865 was on Classon ave. When Feltman invented the hot dog in 1867 his bakery had moved to 10th st in modern day Park Slope. Although the sausage has been around for decades the sausage that Feltman used (curved sausage with thin casing) which was a precursor to the modern hot dog first appeared in Frankfurt, Germany in 1852. According to Feltman’s son the hot dog roll that Feltman created to accommodate the Frankfurt Sausage was originally used as a breakfast bun.
My grandfather delivered bread to Feltman’s Restaurant during the Depression. He told me
that Feltman’s hot dogs were manufactured on Flushing ave. near the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Feltman’s of Coney Island LLC is alive and well. As I am the owner of the Feltman’s brand and trademark. We’re manufacturing Feltman’s hot dogs using the original Frankfurt Sausage spices. Try it sometime.
Sincerely,
Michael Quinn
Feltman’s of Coney Island, LLC
June 2, 2016 at 5:33 pm |
Thank you Michael, I appreciate this extra info. Okay if I move your comment to the comment section of the Feltman’s post, so readers can see it too?
June 2, 2016 at 5:53 pm |
Certainly. As a native New Yorker, educator, and historian I really appreciate and enjoy your blog. I’m the editor of The Coney Island Blog as well as the founder of Coney Island Tours. Feel free to contact me anytime regarding NY or Coney Island history.
Regards,
Michael Quinn
September 16, 2017 at 4:00 pm |
In the article
https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2017/09/11/painting-prewar-new-york-from-the-outside-in/
about Leon Kroll, you say:
I love that the city skyline is barely in “Manhattan From Hoboken” (1915), another painting of the metropolis from the heights of New Jersey.The vibrant colors and web of tree branches—not to mention the thick clouds and smoke coming from boats and trains beside the river—almost obscure the Empire State Building and the rest of the cityscape.
Question: how can the Empire State Building appear in a 1913 painting when construction on it only began in 1930?
September 17, 2017 at 11:31 pm |
Excellent question, and you are right, it can’t be the Empire State Building. Another reader pointed out this error and here is my reply:
https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2017/09/11/painting-prewar-new-york-from-the-outside-in/#comments
July 16, 2018 at 7:32 am |
Hello Ephemeral,
I really super enjoy your website. I am doing some research of my own about an old hotel in NY and I wonder if you ever come across it.
200 East 4nd Street by the L Spur line.
Years 1900-1920
Chance Hotel (original name)
Olympia Hotel (new owner and renamed)
The image of the hotel is here to the left
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dd-04b4-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
You can see the name Olympia Hotel upon close inspection.
I wonder if you can point me in the right direction
to help me find out more. There was a murder in 1917 at this hotel and I want to track down more information about it. Are police blotters from that time period still available? The person murdered must have been taken away in an ambulance are there ambulance records? Its an old family story and I hope to find the truth behind it. Any help would be appreciated.
Regards
July 16, 2018 at 7:48 am |
Hello Ephemeral,
I super enjoy your website. I am doing some research of my own about an old hotel in NY and I wonder if you ever come across it.
200 East 42nd Street by the L Spur line.
Years 1900-1920
Chance Hotel (original name)
Olympia Hotel (new owner and renamed)
The image of the hotel is here to the left
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dd-04b4-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
You can see the name Olympia Hotel upon close inspection.
I wonder if you can point me in the right direction
to help me find out more. There was a murder in 1917 at this hotel and I want to track down more information about it. Are police blotters from that time period still available? The person murdered must have been taken away in an ambulance are there ambulance records? Its an old family story and I hope to find the truth behind it. Any help would be appreciated.
Best Regards
September 16, 2018 at 8:33 pm |
How do I sign up to receive your posts?
September 17, 2018 at 1:14 am |
Hi Larry, at the top right hand side of the home page is a button that says “Follow Ephemeral New York by Email.” Just click it! Let me know if you encounter any issues, and thank you for your interest!
November 21, 2019 at 9:32 pm |
I just got your book “GUILDED AGE”. AMAZON, brand new hard cover, $16, what a bargain. Hope you can sign it when in NYC.
November 21, 2019 at 9:40 pm |
Thanks Tom, give me a shout when you’re in NYC and I’d be happy to.
April 18, 2021 at 1:54 pm |
Does anyone have any idea where Thomas Hart Benton’s “Upper Manhattan” was painted? It is surprising that there could have been such a setting in Manhattan in 1917. Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mark Nelson
July 7, 2022 at 2:13 pm |
I enjoyed the Women of the Gilded Age program. Now I would like to subscribe to your blog but don’t see how to do it
Can you help?
July 7, 2022 at 5:54 pm |
Hi Pamela, I’m glad you enjoyed the program! To subscribe to ENY, go to the home page and add your email to the empty field in the top right. Below it is a button that says “subscribe.” Just click that button, and you’ll start receiving regular emails when they are published on the site. (Your email is private and will not be shared with anyone.)
October 3, 2022 at 9:18 pm |
I was born in New York, but I still do not get why it is called Gotham.
October 3, 2022 at 10:55 pm |
It goes back to 1807. In England, the town “Gotham” translated into goat town, or town of simple-minded people. Either way, it was a put-down. When he published the Salmagundi Papers, Washington Irving used it to refer to New York City. The name stuck!
October 4, 2022 at 2:11 pm
Dear Ephemeral New York: Many thanks for your kind reply. I am now relieved of thinking the name Gotham originated in the Joker movie of 2019. There was a staircase scene from near where i used to live in the Bronx.
October 26, 2022 at 2:26 pm |
Hi, I missed your post for a recent walking tour. Hoping that I don’t miss another one because I will sign up to get emails when you post. I’ve enjoyed your fascinating posts and articles for years.
October 27, 2022 at 12:51 am |
Thanks so much Claire! I have a Riverside Drive walking tour scheduled for November 13 at 1 pm. The signup link is here: https://www.nyadventureclub.com/event/exploring-the-gilded-age-mansions-and-memorials-of-riverside-drive-registration-440409445507/