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Thursday, June 29, 2017

Postcard Thursday: Little House on the Prairie


Do you remember these? You can visit this lunch box -- and lots of other Little House on the Prairie memorabilia from the books and TV shows -- at the various Laura Ingalls Wilder museums scattered across the Midwest. In honor of Wilder's 150th birthday, we drove the route the Ingalls family took in their travels for a story James was working on for The New York Post. You can read it here: http://nypost.com/2017/06/26/150-years-after-laura-ingalls-birth-explore-the-midwest-little-house-on-the-prairie-style/.

Thanks also to the big crowd that turned out for the Bowery walk last Sunday. Keep your eyes peeled for our next public tour in the fall.

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Thursday, June 22, 2017

Postcard Thursday: Frank Lloyd Wright at MoMA

Model of the Price Tower in Bartelsville, OK

If you haven't yet had the chance, we highly recommend heading over to the Museum of Modern Art to see "Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive," a wonderful collection of architectural drawings, renderings, and models. The show, curated by Columbia University's Barry Bergdoll, spans Wright's career from early work in and around Oak Park, Illinois, to his final, unrealized plans for a mile-high skyscraper. Many of the works on display are for commissions that were never brought to fruition -- and some, like that skyscraper, weren't even commissions -- and it's a rare treat to see these lesser-known ideas.

The exhibition runs through October 1, 2017. As preparation, you might want to check out some of James's recent work on Wright:

Frank Lloyd Wright. March Balloons. 1955. Drawing based on a c. 1926 design for Liberty magazine. Colored pencil on paper, 28 1/4 x 24 1/2" (71.8 x 62.2 cm). The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives (The Museum of Modern Art | Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York)

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Postcard Thursday: Last Chance for the Bowery


Reservations are going fast..... While the "early bird" deadline for signing up for our Sunday, June 25, tour of the Bowery is technically June 21, there are only a few spots left, so if you are planning to attend, do reserve at your earliest convenience. Full details below.

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THE HISTORY OF THE BOWERY WALKING TOUR

Sunday, June 25 | 11am - 1pm

Join award-winning journalist, author, and guide James Nevius for a walk up New York City's oldest street.

From country road to immigrant entertainment district to Skid Row (and beyond), the Bowery has witnessed New York's rich history. Together, we will explore 400+ years of New York's story along this famous thoroughfare.

The tour is $20 per person for those who reserve before Tuesday, June 21 (when the price goes up to $25 per person).

To reserve, email walknyc@gmail.com with
  • Your name
  • The number in your party
  • And a cell phone where we can contact you the morning of the tour if there's any problems
Exact details of where to meet will be emailed to you within 24 hours of receiving your reservation.

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Postcard Thursday: Frank Lloyd Wright at 150

The blueprints for Fallingwater, often called Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece
Today, June 8, marks the 150th birthday of Frank Lloyd Wright, who is considered by many to be America's most significant architect.

In his honor, Curbed has devoted a series of articles to Wright's work and legacy, and James wrote the one that looks at his early work in and around Chicago. Titled "Becoming Frank Lloyd Wright," the piece argues that even before the advent of the Prairie Style, Wright was incorporating architectural elements that he would revisit throughout his career.

You can read the story here: https://www.curbed.com/2017/6/8/15749604/prairie-school-chicago-early-frank-lloyd-wright

And check out the rest of Curbed's #FLW150 celebration at https://www.curbed.com/2017/6/8/15729452/frank-lloyd-wright-guide-legacy

* * * *
In other news.... reservations are now open!

On Sunday, June 25, at 11:00 am, we will be conducting a walking tour of The History of the Bowery.


From country road to immigrant entertainment district to Skid Row (and beyond), the Bowery has witnessed New York's rich history. Together, we will explore 400+ years of New York's story along this famous thoroughfare.

The tour is $20 per person for those who reserve before Tuesday, June 21 (when the price goes up to $25 per person).

To reserve, send an email to walknyc@gmail.com with

  • Your name
  • The number in your party
  • And a cell phone where we can contact you the morning of the tour if there's any problems


    Details of where to meet will be emailed to you within 24 hours of receiving your reservation.

This walk may sell out, and reservations are being taken on a first-come, first-served basis, so RSVP soon!

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Postcard Thursday: Fifty Years Ago Today, Sgt. Pepper Taught the Band to Play.... (more or less)


On June 1, 1967, the Beatles released what is widely considered to be their crowning achievement, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Except, it turns out, June 1 isn't the day it came out.

In the UK, the album had actually dropped on May 26, rushed into stores perhaps because illegal copies were already circulating. Meanwhile, the album didn't officially come out in the United States until June 2 -- though some stores may have put in on their shelves early here, too.

Though Rolling Stone magazine ranks Sgt. Pepper as its #1 album of all-time, it's instructive to remember that it wasn't fully appreciated at the time of its release. The venerable New York Times called it an "album of special effects, dazzling but ultimately fraudulent." If you have a Times subscription, the whole review is worth reading, but other highlights include:
Like an over-attended child, "Sergeant Pepper" [spelled out, of course, this being the Times] is spoiled. It reeks of horns and harps, harmonica quartets, assorted animal noises and a 41-piece orchestra.
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is an engaging curio, but nothing more. 
In substituting the studio conservatory for an audience, they have ceased being folk artists, and the change is what makes their new album a monologue.
Other contemporary reviews were more positive, but it's also interesting to note that most came out in columns labelled "Teen Scene" or something similar, an indication that no one over the age of 20 really needed to pay attention to popular music. In those columns, while the album is praised, there a sense of resignation that there's nothing with a good beat for dancing.

However, two aspects of the album were seemingly universally praised: the innovation of removing a space between each song so that the whole album played like a suite; and the inclusion of printed lyrics on the album sleeve. Commonplace today, this was a first for pop music.

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