Postcard Thursday: The Year at Curbed

The Elevated Railway near Morningside Park

'Tis the season for year-end wrap-ups and "Best of 2018" lists.

James is pleased to have been awarded two slots in Curbed New York's list of  the "Thirteen Best Longreads of 2018" for his history of Co-op City in the Bronx and his look back at the 150th anniversary of the first elevated railway to be erected in the city.

If you aren't already a reader of Curbed NY, it is a great resource for journalism on architecture, urbanism, transportation, and more. The other stories in the "best of" list include Karrie Jacobs's trek to La Guardia airport on foot, Nathan Kensinger's photo essays about Canal Street and Long Island City, and a first-hand look at "glamping" on Governors Island.

Check out the entire list at https://ny.curbed.com/2018/12/19/18146998/best-longreads-new-york-city-history-architecture-2018.

James had a number of other pieces published by Curbed NY this year, including

• Long Island City's Forgotten History
• How Wall Street became Wall Street
• When Trinity Ruled Lower Manhattan
• A Walking Tour of 1909 New York
• A "Futuristic Vision for Harlem"

Thank you for your support this year. We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!

Michelle and James Nevius

If you are looking for a great gifts this holiday season, Inside the Apple and Footprints in New York look great on anyone's shelves!

 

Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers

Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City

Postcard Thursday: Walking Tour in Central Park on September 10

Join us for Walk in the Park -- Central Park, that is....

On Sunday, September 10, at 10:00 AM, join us a walking tour of the northernmost -- and often least-visited -- section of Central Park.

Some potential highlights (though the itinerary is still in flux):

• The block house from the War of 1812 (above)
• The Harlem Meer
• The memorial the "Father of Greater NYC"
• The loch
• The Conservatory

The tour will cost $20 per person for early-bird subscribers who sign up between now and Tuesday, September 5.

PLEASE NOTE: This tour involved many stairs and a certain amount of uphill climbing and uneven terrain. While not exactly a strenuous hike, this isn't the best outing for those who aren't as nimble as they used to be.

To register send an email to walknyc@gmail.com

1. Your name
2. Number of people in party
3. A cell number where we can reach the day of the tour in case of emergency

The meeting place will be emailed to you within 24 hours of your reservation.

Best wishes,
Michelle and James Nevius
www.walknyc.com | authors of "Inside the Apple" and "Footprints in New York"

Postcard Thursday: Fort Hamilton

Fort Hamilton, 1875. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York

This weekend marks the anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn. On June 11, 1825, construction began on what is now New York's oldest military installation. It is named for General Alexander Hamilton, America's first Treasury Secretary. (This Sunday, the musical based on Hamilton's life is poised to make history by sweeping the Tony Awards.)

Though the fort's position at the mouth of the Narrows makes it a crucial defensive position, it never saw action; however, artillery mounted near the same spot was used during the American Revolution by patriots to attack incoming British vessels.

The home of Robert E Lee, then a captain and the commander of Fort Hamilton from 1841-1846, is still preserved within the grounds.

***

James has a piece in today's Guardian about the debt Hillary Clinton's historic run for the presidency owes to New Yorker Eleanor Roosevelt.

You can read it at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/09/hillary-clinton-nomination-history-women-rights-advocates

***

OUR NEXT PUBLIC WALKING TOUR

is Sunday, June 19, at 1pm

of MADISON SQUARE

Early bird sign ups end on June 14

Read all about the tour and sign up by

CLICKING HERE

***

And last but not least

SAVE THE DATE

We'll be talking about "Alexander Hamilton's New York"

at the New-York Historical Society

on Friday, July 29, at 6:30pm

Details to follow

* * * * Read more about NYC history in   Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City

Postcard Thursday: Madison Square Walking Tour on June 19

Thanks to everyone who came out for our Third Annual Alexander Hamilton walk this past weekend. For June, we thought we'd try something a little different and offer a walk that covers a small amount of ground but a wide swath of history:

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About MADISON SQUARE (but were afraid to ask)

EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT MADISON SQUARE (But were afraid to ask) A WALKING TOUR OF MADISON SQUARE with JAMES NEVIUS author of "INSIDE THE APPLE" and "FOOTPRINTS IN NEW YORK" Sunday, June 19, 2016 at 1:00pm $20 per person -- early bird special (reserve on or before Tuesday, June 14) $25 per person -- for reservations made on or after June 15 *** add a copy of FOOTPRINTS IN NEW YORK for just $15 when you reserve online *** Madison Square is just 6.2 acres, but contains within its boundaries a fascinating cross-section of New York’s history, from the British-colonial era -- when it was a potter’s field -- to its designation as a military drilling ground on the 1811 street plan, to becoming a center of Gilded-Age high society. Who the heck was Roscoe Conkling? Why is Chester Arthur commemorated here? Why is the Flatiron Building so significant in the history of American architecture? All of these questions -- and many more -- will be answered during our perambulation around the park. RESERVE BY CLICKING THE BUTTON (BELOW) (or email your name, the number in your party, and cell phone contact number to walknyc@gmail.com) (You should receive a confirmation within 24 hours; if you haven’t received a confirmation in that time frame, please reach out again.) You may pay by cash or credit card at the start of the tour. Meeting place will be sent via email when you reserve.

RESERVE NOW | CLICK ME Share Tweet Forward

* * * * SAVE THE DATE If you couldn't make the Hamilton walk, take our "virtual tour" of Hamilton's city on Friday, July 29, at 6:30pm at the New-York Historical Society DETAILS TO COME * * * * Read more about NYC history in   Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City

Postcard Thursday: The Many Faces of Alexander Hamilton

Will the real Alexander Hamilton please stand up?

As you can see from these portraits (all drawn from the collections of the Library of Congress), knowing exactly what New York's most famous founding father looked like takes a little bit of guesswork. Look at the fellow in the bottom right corner -- that's a far cry the image we all know from the ten-dollar bill. But is it any less accurate? Portraits -- then and now -- are generally supposed to flatter the sitter. Does the image we know flatter him too much?

This is just one of the many aspects of Hamilton (the man and the musical theater phenomenon) that James will touch on during his Third Annual Hamilton Walking Tour taking place Sunday, May 29, at 1:00 pm.

$25 per person; let us know if you'd like a copy of Footprints in New York for an additional $15 when you reserve.

To sign up, email us using THIS LINK. You'll receive a confirmation within 24 hours with the meeting place. You can pay for the walk when it begins by cash or credit card.

This tour is almost sold out, so if you are thinking about joining us, please reserve as soon as possible.

Postcard Friday: The Knickerbocker Hotel

The former (and soon to be once again) Knickerbocker Hotel at Times Square is going to be one of the stops on our War & Peace in NYC walking tour this Sunday. On the day World War I ended, opera star Enrico Caruso came out on his balcony and serenaded the crowd with the national anthems of Italy, France, and the United States.

To read more about the tour and sign up, go to: http://blog.insidetheapple.net/2014/11/postcard-thursday-pearl-harbor-day-tour.html

To find out more about the Knickerbocker Hotel: http://blog.insidetheapple.net/2012/01/knickerbocker-hotel.html

And to hear a less salubrious story about Caruso, visit: http://blog.insidetheapple.net/2010/11/enrico-caruso-and-monkey-house-incident.html

Columbus Day Tour | Sunday, October 13, at 4:00pm

To celebrate Columbus Day, you're invited to a special immigration tour on Sunday, October 13, at 4pm, "From Farmland to Five Points," a look at the multiple, overlapping immigrants who've called the Lower East Side home.

Our new book, Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers (due out in the spring), focuses on this area of the city from multiple different perspectives. On our walk, we'll look at how people as different as Peter Stuyvesant, Alexander Hamilton, Calvert Vaux, Jacob Riis, Lillian Wald, and Martin Scorsese -- all subjects of the new book -- saw the area in their own time periods.

The walk will be about two hours. If you reserve from now until Tuesday, October 8, the cost is just $15 per person. Reservations taken on or after Wednesday, October 9, will be $20 per person.

Come experience this neighborhood through new eyes. Copies of our current book, Inside the Apple, will be available for sale and signing.

To reserve: email info@insidetheapple.net with your:

* Name
* Number in your party
* A cell number where we can contact you in case of emergency.

(Our general rule is to tour rain or shine, but we want to be able to be in touch with in a timely manner in case of inclement weather, so please do include a phone number.)

PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR PREVIOUS PUBLIC TOUR sold out pretty far in advance, so if you want to join us, don't forget to sign up while there is still space!

Our Private Walking Tours of New York City: Lower Manhattan

Recently, a reader and fan of Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City, was surprised to discover that we are available to personally lead the guided walks from the book. Not only are we available, we love conducting tours for people who've read the book and want the opportunity to explore a part of the city in greater depth.

Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to blog about some of our favorite walks around the city that we lead for clients. If you are interested to booking any of these tours for yourself, either visit www.walknyc.com for more details or email us at walknyc@gmail.com or info@insidetheapple.net.

WALKING TOUR OF LOWER MANHATTAN

We love walking in Lower Manhattan because it is the section of the city where the largest amount of history is contained in the smallest amount of space. From the first Dutch settlers to the capital of American finance, there are hundreds of tales to tell in Lower Manhattan. Did you know the Statue of Liberty was originally supposed to stand in Egypt? Or that eight million immigrants were processed through a War of 1812 fort in Battery Park before Ellis Island had been created? Our walk through this area weaves together architectural, historical, cultural (and pop-cultural: after all we are passing Men in Black HQ) sites to create a portrait of how New York City has emerged as America's premiere city over the last 400 years.

One of the best things about a guided walk of the Financial District is how many different tangents we can follow. Some groups opt for an entirely a colonial-era tour, focusing on the era from Henry Hudson's arrival in 1609 to the first rumblings of the Revolutionary War. Walking what is basically the entire outline of the old city, we see everything from the site of the famous wall that gave its name to Wall Street to the archaeological excavations that unearthed the oldest foundations in Manhattan, those of the 1670 Lovelace Tavern (which are still on view).

For those who'd rather focus on the Revolution and the Federal period, we traverse the same ground seeing the spot where George Washington was sworn in as America's first president; Alexander Hamilton's grave in Trinity Church; the fence at Bowling Green Park which still shows the marks of revolutionary fervor, and much more.

Interested in Financial History? We can walk four centuries of New York finance, from the place where Peter Minuit may have struck the so-called $24 deal to buy the island of Manhattan to the threshold of World Trade Center, poised to become the tallest building in the country and the cornerstone of a revitalized business district.

Or, of course, you can opt for the walk that combines all of these elements into a two-hour journey into the past.

To book, email us at walknyc@gmail.com or info@insidetheapple.net and we'll set it up. Tours are a flat fee of $80 for 1-4 people or $20 per person for parties larger than four. Discounts for larger parties and student groups.

Hope to see you on a walk soon!

* * *

For a self-guided walk of the Financial District, see

Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City

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Or, to subscribe via email, follow this link.

Also, you can now follow us on Twitter.

Hart Crane (1899-1932)

We were touring through Greenwich Village, showcasing places of literary significance, when we remembered that today marks the 80th anniversary of the death of poet Hart Crane.

Best known for his long-form poem The Bridge--a celebration of America using as its central symbol the Brooklyn Bridge--Crane was one of the greatest modernist poets of his generation.  Plagued by alcohol problems and the perils of being a gay man in a closeted society, Crane cut short his own life on April 27, 1932, when he jumped from a steamship in the Gulf of Mexico.

Crane lived a number of places in New York, including 45 Grove Street, 54 West 10th Street, and 79 Charles Street in the Village, and 110 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn Heights, where he wrote the bulk of The Bridge. Only later did he discover that the bridge's co-designer and chief engineer, Washington Roebling, had once lived in the same apartment building overlooking the East River.

James Franco's film, The Broken Tower, which is a biography of Crane, opened in limited release today.

* * *

Interested in a literary walk of Greenwich Village? We lead private tours for groups large and small; contact us at walknyc@gmail.com or events@insidetheapple.net for more information.

REMINDER: Walking Tour of Gilded Age Lower Manhattan on Sunday, April 22

REMINDER: Today's the last day to reserve at the $10 discount for our 4/22 tour of Gilded Age Lower Manhattan.

All the details can be found on our previous blog post at

http://blog.insidetheapple.net/2012/04/walking-tour-of-gilded-age-lower.html

Hope to see you there!

Michelle & James
www.insidetheapple.net

Walking tour of Gilded Age Lower Manhattan -- Sunday, April 22, at 10:00AM

On Sunday, April 22, 2012, at 10:00AM, we will be offering our next public walking tour:

Exploring the Gilded Age in Lower Manhattan

Reservations taken 4/15 or earlier: $10 per person
Reservations taken 4/16 or later: $15 per person
RESERVATIONS TAKEN ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS
events@insidetheapple.net

Join James Nevius, co-author of Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City, on Sunday, April 22, to explore Beaux Arts architecture in Lower Manhattan. This is the era of JP Morgan, and we’ll see a number of sites associated with him, including the House of Morgan and International Mercantile Marine (IMM) ticket office. IMM owned, among other ships, White Star’s Titanic; since the centennial of that boat’s sinking is just one week earlier, we’ll also talk about the golden age of New York as a port for both goods (as evidenced in Cass Gilbert’s triumphant US Custom House) and people. The tour will last between 1.5 and 2 hours.

Copies of Inside the Apple will be available for purchase at the tour.

To reserve, send an email to events@insidetheapple.net with

·         Your name

·         The number in your party

·         A contact cell phone number

·         A good email address where we can send you information about where the tour will start.

PLEASE NOTE that if you reserve no later than Sunday, April 15, the cost is just $10 per person. All reservations received starting Monday, April 16, will be $15 per person.

This tour will have only a limited number of spaces, so please reserve early to avoid disappointment.

Payment will be taken at the start of the tour by cash only. Directions to the tour’s starting point will be sent out after your reservation is confirmed. 

Hope to see you there! 

Reminder: October 9 Christopher Columbus / Central Park Tour

Greetings! Just a reminder that if you want to sign up for our walking tour of Central Park and the Upper West Side next Sunday (with a focus on Columbus Day and Italian-American history), your last chance to get the discounted price of $10 per person is today. Any reservations made through midnight tonight (EST) will be just $10 per person; tomorrow the price goes up to $15 per person.

The tour is Sunday, October 9, at 3:30PM, and we'll walk for about 90 minutes, covering topics as wide ranging as the origins of Columbus Day to the anti-immigrant ideas embodied in various places along Central Park's famous Mall.

You can read more about the tour at http://blog.insidetheapple.net/2011/09/christopher-columbus-and-central-park.html, including complete instructions on how to reserve.

Hope to see you there!

Christopher Columbus and Central Park Walking Tour

Sunday, October 9, 2011

at 3:30PM

Christopher Columbus & Central Park
Reservations taken 10/3 or earlier: $10 per person

Reservations taken 10/4 or later: $15 per person

RESERVATIONS TAKEN ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS

events@insidetheapple.net

Join James Nevius, co-author of Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City, on Sunday, October 9, at 3:30 PM, for a walk celebrating Columbus Day and the importance of Italian-Americans in New York’s history. There’s no better place to do that than Central Park; we will talk about the four (that’s right four) different Columbus memorials once slated for the park, visit the bust of Giuseppe Mazzini, explore the history of the Mall and Terrace, and more. (We’ll also be looking at things in Central Park that have nothing to do with Columbus or Italian-American heritage.)

Copies of Inside the Apple will be available for purchase at the tour.

è  To reserve, send an email to events@insidetheapple.net with

• Your name
• The number in your party
• A contact cell phone number
• A good email address where we can send you information about where the tour will start.

PLEASE NOTE that if you reserve no later than Monday, October 3, the cost is just $10 per person. All reservations received starting Tuesday, October 4, will be $15 per person.

This tour will have only a limited number of spaces, so please reserve early to avoid disappointment.

Payment will be taken at the start of the tour by cash only. Directions to the tour’s starting point will be sent out after your reservation is confirmed.

Hope to see you there!

Reminder: July 3rd Revolutionary War Walking Tour

There are a handful of spaces left for our walking tour this Sunday, July 3, at 4:00 p.m., which examines the history of the Revolutionary War in New York. And, even though the price to the general public is now $15 per person, readers of this blog can still get the special, $10 discounted price if they reserve and mention the word MONTPELIER somewhere in their email.

To read more about the tour--including what you need to do to reserve a space--see our previous blog entry at: http://blog.insidetheapple.net/2011/06/revolutionary-walking-tour-sunday-july.html

Hope to see you Sunday! But hurry.... once the tour is full, we will have to cut off reservations.

(Bonus points if you know why Montpelier is the secret code word....)

Revolutionary Walking Tour | Sunday, July 3, at 4:00 p.m.

As readers of our blog know, we like to think of America's birthday as not just taking place on a single day -- July 4th -- but over the course of week from July 2nd (the day we actually declared independence) to July 9th (the day New York finally got on board).

So, it's only fitting that as part of our week-long celebration of America's 235th birthday, James will be leading a walking tour of Revolutionary and early American sites in Lower Manhattan on Sunday, July 3, at 4:00 p.m.

Planned stops will include famous places, like Federal Hall, Fraunces Tavern, and Bowling Green (depicted above on night of July 9, 1776), but we’ll also talk about lesser-known sites, such as Archibald Kennedy’s house; George Washington’s presidential mansion on Broadway; Jefferson’s home where he brokered the deal to move the capital of the United States to Washington, DC; and many more. This will be a fast-paced, entertaining, and informative walk back in time.

Copies of Inside the Apple will be available for purchase at the tour.

To reserve, send an email to events@insidetheapple.net with

• Your name
• The number in your party
• A contact cell phone number
• A good email address where we can send you information about where the tour will start.

PLEASE NOTE that if you reserve no later than Tuesday, June 28, the cost is just $10 per person.

This tour will have only a limited number of spaces, so please reserve early to avoid disappointment.

Payment will be taken at the start of the tour by cash only. Directions to the tour’s starting point will be sent out after your reservation is confirmed. All reservations received starting Wednesday, June 29, will be $15 per person.

Hope to see you there!

Read more about New York's role in the Revolution in

Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City.

To get RSS feeds from this blog, point your reader to this link.
Or, to subscribe via email, follow this link.

FREE Walking Tour of the Columbus Circle/Carnegie Hall Neighborhood

Greetings friends, fans, and faithful blog readers:

On Sunday, October 17, at 3:00PM, we will be leading a free walking tour of the Carnegie Hall area in conjunction with the Borders store at Columbus Circle. We’ll look at some of the most interesting architecture of the neighborhood, including the Hearst Tower, the Museum of Arts and Design, Carnegie Hall, and some beautiful pre-war apartment buildings.

We’ll meet in the Special Events area of the Borders store, which is located on the second floor of the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle. In order to start on time, please plan to be at the store by 2:50PM.

We hope to see you there!

Walking tour of Greenwich Village on Sunday, June 27

On Sunday, June 27, at 4:00 p.m., we will join with Shakespeare & Co. Booksellers in Greenwich Village to offer a free, one-hour walking tour of the heart of this historic neighborhood. We’ll meet at Shakespeare & Company’s store at 716 Broadway and walk west toward Washington Square, highlighting some of the stories featured Inside the Apple. Sunday the 27th is also Pride Day and while we won’t get as far west as Sheridan Square and the Stonewall Inn, we will talk a little bit about the Village’s crucial role in the gay rights movement.

The tour will last about an hour and end back at Shakespeare & Co. for a Q&A. Books will, of course, be available for sale and signing.

Please meet at the Shakespeare & Co. store at 716 Broadway (at Washington Place). In order to start on time, please plan to be there by 3:50PM at the latest.

Upper West Side Walking Tour this Sunday at 4PM

Just a friendly reminder that this Sunday, May 2, at 4:00 p.m., is our free walking tour of the Upper West Side sponsored by Borders. This will be a great opportunity to explore the neighborhood just north of Columbus Circle, including Lincoln Center and some of the important apartment buildings in the area. The tour will last somewhere between 60 and 90 minutes; we will end back at Borders for a Q&A and book singing.

The tour will meet at the Special Events Area of the Columbus Circle Borders (inside the Time Warner Center on the second floor). In order to make sure that we get started on time, please plan to be at the store by 3:50 p.m.

We look forward to seeing you there!

 * * *

Read more about the Upper West Side in

Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City.

To get RSS feeds from this blog, point your reader to this link.
Or, to subscribe via email, follow this link.

Also, you can now follow us on Twitter.

Save The Date: Upper West Side Walking Tour + Book Signing on Sunday, May 2

Save the Date:
Sunday, May 2, 2010, at 4:00 p.m.

FREE EVENT

Following on our successful March walk in lower Central Park, we are returning to Borders, Columbus Circle, to lead a free walking tour of the part of the Upper West Side just outside their front door. We’ll talk about the history of Columbus Circle, walk up Broadway to Lincoln Center, and see some great residential architecture, too.

The tour will last between 60 and 90 minutes and will be followed by a Q&A and book signing back at the store.

Please meet at the Borders in the Time Warner Center, Columbus Circle, over in the special events area. In order to start on time, please plan to be there by 3:50PM at the latest.

* * *

Read more about the Upper West Side in

Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City.

To get RSS feeds from this blog, point your reader to this link.
Or, to subscribe via email, follow this link.

Also, you can now follow us on Twitter.