Postcard Thursday: Happy Birthday to the Cyclone

Fans of wooden roller coasters probably already know that today is the 87th birthday of the Cyclone, which opened on June 26, 1927, and is still going strong.

However, the history of roller coasters at Coney Island is much older than the Cyclone; in fact, America's first roller coaster, the Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railway, opened on June 6, 1884, at an amusement park just off the boardwalk.

The switchback was the brainchild of LaMarcus A. Thompson. Visitors would climb to the top of a tower and board a car that then dropped six hundred feet over an undulating track. At the far end the car would be "switched back" to another track and returned to the tower. Thompson envisioned his ride as wholesome family entertainment -- in a period when amusement parks were often seen as dens of sin and iniquity -- and the cars, traveling at an "invigorating" six miles per hour, provided great views of the Coney Island beach and boardwalk. He charged 5 cents a ride and made back the $1600 he'd invested in the roller coaster in less than three weeks.

It is unclear how long the Switchback Railway lasted at Coney Island (or even precisely where it stood). Despite its early success, Thompson soon faced a host of competitors and his original coaster may only have stood for three years.

By the 1920s, roller coasters were all the rage at Coney Island, and the Cyclone was just one among a number of rides with names like the Tornado and the Thunderbolt. This season, a new Thunderbolt--with a precipitous drop--has been added to Luna Park:

Of course, when we think of Coney Island roller coasters, we think of this:

And speaking of Brooklyn.........

Don't forget that this Sunday, June 29, at 4:00pm, we wil be at WORD Bookstore in Greenpoint for a talk and walking tour. Details: http://wordbookstores.com/event/bk-footprints-new-york-james-and-michelle-nevius

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Read more about Coney Island in
Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers

If you haven't had a chance to pick up a copy of Footprints yet, you can order it from independent bookstores across the country

And, of course, Inside the Apple is available at fine bookstores everywhere.

Postcard Thursday: The Birth of Baseball

The House That Ruth Built, ca. 1929

June 19 marks the anniversary of the modern game of baseball, which was played in Hoboken, New Jersey, at Elysian Fields in 1846. The New York Base Ball Club (also known as the "New York Nine") destroyed their rivals, the New York Knickerbockers, by a score of 23-1, even though it was a member of the Knickerbockers, Alexander Cartwright, who'd codified the new rules to baseball.

Cartwright, a Wall Street broker and member of the Knickerbocker volunteer fire company, formed his baseball club in 1845. Though "base ball" had been around since at least 1791, Cartwright is credited with introducing the diamond-shaped playing area, foul lines, three strikes per out, and--perhaps most crucially for the players--eliminating the old rule that you could get somebody out by hitting him with the ball.

There is still an Elysian Fields park in Hoboken near the spot where the modern game was born.

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Hoboken makes a few cameo appearances in
Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers

|| AVAILABLE NOW ||

If you haven't had a chance to pick up a copy of Footprints yet, you can order it from independent bookstores across the country

And, of course, Inside the Apple is available at fine bookstores everywhere.

Postcard Thursday: Talk + Walking Tour in Greenpoint with WORD Bookstore | Sunday, June 29, at 4pm

On Sunday, June 29, at 4:00 pm we will be at WORD Bookstore in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to do a book talk, signing, and short walking tour of the Greenpoint historic district.

The event will begin at the bookstore, 126 Franklin Street, where we'll present a brief, illustrated talk about the history of the area and how Greenpoint fits in to the greater history of Brooklyn.

Then we'll walk around the neighborhood, looking at the historic architecture of the houses, shops, and churches (including St. Anthony of Padua, pictured above), circling back to end at the store. Books will be available for sale and signing.

This promises to be a fun day in Brooklyn, so if you want to know more about Greenpoint than what you've seen on Girls, please join us!

The bookstore would like a headcount, so if you are on Facebook, please go to https://www.facebook.com/events/394753103997104/ to RSVP. Thanks.

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Read more about Brooklyn in
Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers

|| AVAILABLE NOW ||

If you haven't had a chance to pick up a copy of Footprints yet, stop by WORD Bookstore
or you can order it from independent bookstores across the country

And, of course, Inside the Apple is available at fine bookstores everywhere.

Postcard Thursday: Anniversary Day

Anniversary Day 1915, courtesy of the Brooklyn Historical Society

If you've noticed that kids aren't in school today, that's because it is Brooklyn-Queens Day, an offshoot of a much older holiday known as Anniversary Day.

The anniversary in question was the founding of the first Sunday School in Brooklyn in the 1800s. In 1829, a parade was held to commemorate the event, and by 1901, the New York Times estimated 90,000 children participated in Anniversary Day festivities.

Then, in 1905, the State of New York passed a law declaring the first Thursday in June a holiday--but only in Brooklyn. In 1959, Gov. Nelson Rockefeller signed a bill that converted anniversary day to "Brooklyn-Queens Day" and both Kings and Queens county kids got the day off. When, exactly, the holiday was added to the calendar for students in the other three boroughs is unclear, but it is now known as "Chancellor's Conference Day" within the DOE.

Anniversary Day, ca. 1905, in a postcard issued by the department store Abraham and Straus.
More images for twentieth-century Anniversary Day parades can be found at http://www.tapeshare.com/Parades2.html

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Read more about fiercely independent Brooklyn in
Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers

|| AVAILABLE NOW ||

And, of course, Inside the Apple is available at fine bookstores everywhere.