Postcard Thursday: The Stadt Huis

If you read James's piece on Curbed last week about looking for traces of Dutch New Amsterdam, you saw that one of the illustrations was this postcard from our collection of New Amsterdam's City Hall (or Stadt Huis in Dutch).*

The Stadt Huis was originally built as the city tavern, which served as as both a pub and a hotel. Tiny New Amsterdam was crammed with watering holes (as many as 25% of the buildings were equipped to with beer taps), but this was the only one run under the auspices of the city, which for most of New Amsterdam's history meant the Dutch West India Company.

When the company was forced to cede some control of the city to its citizens in 1653, the city tavern was the natural choice to become the seat of the new city government. After the English takeover in 1664, the Stadt Huis remained the seat of New York City government until the English could build a bigger building on Wall Street. This British City Hall ultimately was converted into Federal Hall, where Washington became president in 1789.

All of these old city halls are gone. Today, the site of the original Stadt Huis is commemorated with a yellow rectangle of bricks on the Pearl Street sidewalk of 85 Broad Street. Archaeological excavations in 1979-80 of the Stadt Huis block turned up all sorts of fascinating finds from the Dutch and English periods, but no trace of the old city hall.

If you read Footprints in New York, this spot comes into play in the first chapter. This is where James's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents lived in 1650s and 1660s, when his ancestor, Johannes Nevius, was city secretary. Who knows -- maybe that's him strolling with Peter Stuyvesant in this postcard?

* Oddly, this postcard is labelled "New York City Hall When Occupied by the English," despite the fact that it clearly depicts a Dutch scene.

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Read more about the Dutch and English colonial eras in
Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers

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

Postcard Thursday: Second Avenue, 1861

Today's postcard shows the leveling of Manhattan that took place throughout much of the 19th century. When the 1811 street grid was first published, wary landowners like Clement Clarke Moore (author of A Visit from St. Nicholas) were aghast. Moore wrote, "Nothing is to be left unmolested which does not coincide with the street commissioner’s plummet and level. These are men…who would have cut down the seven hills of Rome."

And cut them down they did. As you can see in this 1861 view*, the house at the corner of Second Avenue and 42nd (or 43rd) Street sits precipitously above the newly graded avenue. Eventually, all of Midtown would be more or less flattened out, though there are still a few mild peaks along the avenues.

Also, note the differences between the homes on the two sides of the postcard: The home on the right, built when 42nd Street was still the countryside, was on an open lot and has windows on all sides; the home on the left is a city townhouse. It has no side windows, as its owners know it will eventually have some other house built flush up against it.

By the time the postcard was printed, ca. 1905, the elevated railroad ran up Second Avenue. Here's this intersection in 1915, the view obscured by the El station:

And here's the same view today:

* The original 1861 image is by Egbert Viele, one of New York's greatest surveyors and engineers. It was reproduced at the turn of the 20th century to invoke nostalgia for a bygone era.

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Read more about the 1811 grid (and Egbert Viele's role in Central Park) in
Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers

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

Looking for Traces of Dutch New Netherland

Peter Stuyvesant and a Dutch burgher (perhaps James's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather?)
outside the Stadt Huis in New Amsterdam.

James has a piece published today at Curbed NY in which he hunts down 11 places where you can time-travel back to the Dutch Colonial Era.

Check it out:
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/05/05/see_11_centuriesold_remnants_of_new_amsterdam_in_nyc.php.

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There's lots more about the Dutch colonial era in
Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers

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

Postcard Thursday: Washington's Inaugural

President Washington Taking the Oath, Federal Hall, 1789; courtesy of the New-York Historical Society

Today's postcard is, once again, not an actual postcard, though we've certainly seen views similar to this on cards over the years. This 1839 painting by Guiseppe Guidicini depicts the moment on April 30, 1789 -- 225 years ago yesterday -- that George Washington placed his hand on the Bible and was sworn in as America's first president.

If you happened to be on Wall Street yesterday, you might have seen some activity at the building that occupies the site of the old Federal Hall. Every year on the anniversary of the inauguration, the Masons do a reenactment of Washington's swearing in, complete with costumed interpreters and period-appropriate music. The Masons are the custodians of Washington's Bible, but it's not clear if they bring it with them for the reenactment.

Considering the fact that this year marked a major anniversary of the presidency, there has been little press, though Slate did run a good article a few days ago; over at the Congressional Archives, they posted the minutes from the Senate describing the event.

The image above is in the collection of the New-York Historical Society and prominently displayed in their lobby gallery. We'll be giving a talk at the Society on Thursday, June 26, using objects from the collection like this, so save the date!

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Read more about Washington's New York in
Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers

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

Theater Review: Some NYC History Currently on Stage

This past week, we saw three theater pieces, each of which had a connection to New York: Red-Eye to Havre de Grace, Act One, and If/Then.

Red-Eye to Havre de Grace is a fascinating evening of dance/music/theater that revolves around the final days of Edgar Allan Poe. The title stems from the recollections of one of the last people to see Poe alive; though Poe was on his way home to the Bronx from Philadelphia, he somehow ended up in Havre de Grace, Maryland, on a train heading to Baltimore, wearing another man’s clothes. Using Poe’s own writings--from his most famous poem, “The Raven,” to the final work published in his lifetime, Eureka--the four-person cast does a terrific job of (in all senses of the word) journeying into what Poe’s psyche might have been like at the end of his life. There’s also a very funny park ranger.

(Poe’s Bronx home, which we visit in Footprints in New York, still stands and is open for visitation on weekends: http://www.bronxhistoricalsociety.org/poecottage.html)

If/Then, from the team who created Next to Normal, is a star vehicle for Idina Menzel (Rent, Wicked). Though it’s a light-weight concoction, we were fascinated that in one of Idina Menzel’s lives--the “if” and “then” of the title refer to the fact that the story bounces between the lead characters two possible fates--she is a New York City urban planner who seems to simultaneously embody traits of Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses. If you’ve read Footprints in New York, you know that we ask the question in our Jacobs/Moses chapter whether the struggle between two such figures is important to urban development. It was intriguing to see that dialectic embodied in one figure...with peppy songs. Both the If/Then score and Menzel have both just been nominated for Tony Awards.

And speaking of the Tonys, Act One, playing the Vivian Beaumont, Lincoln Center’s Broadway house, has also just been nominated for five awards, including best play. Act One is based on playwright Moss Hart’s autobiography of the same name. Born in the Bronx in 1904, Hart rose to prominence with plays such as You Can’t Take it With You and The Man Who Came to Dinner, both written with George S. Kaufman. Act One details Hart’s early career, from office boy for a bus-and-truck touring company to his first collaboration with Kaufman, Once in a Lifetime. Playing the roles of Kaufman, Moss Hart (as an older narrator), and Hart’s father is veteran film, television, and theater actor Tony Shalhoub, who does a superb job. Worth the price of admission is the set, a rotating, two-story extravaganza that transports theater-goers from the Harts’ Bronx tenement to Times Square to Brighton Beach and the Broadway stage. Not surprisingly, Shalhoub and set designer Beowulf Boritt are among Act One’s Tony nominees.

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Read more about Edgar Allan Poe, urban planning, and much more in
Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers

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

Postcard Thursday: Moxie and the Brooklyn Bridge

In honor of our talk tomorrow night (April 25) in Brooklyn (details here if you want to join us), here's a great, early shot of the Brooklyn Bridge, probably from about 1900.

Even better than the image is the message. It seems our correspondent, F.W. Haase is responding to someone suffering from digestive problems. Haase recommends: "Next time, drink a little Moxie or eat some Quaker Oats."

Moxie, one of America's oldest sodas, was first produced as Moxie Nerve Food in the 1870s. By the 1880s, carbonated water had been added, creating the soft drink that it still available--mainly in New England--today. The supposed medicinal properties of Moxie come from the bitter gentian root, which is a tonic and is supposed to aid digestion. The use of the word to mean "courage" or "nerve" is derived from the drink.

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

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

Join us on Friday, April 25 for our first book talk for "Footprints in New York."

Join us on Friday, April 25, 2014, at 7:00 p.m.

for our first event to celebrate the launch of

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

STH RE:CREATION CENTER

748 Union Street at Sixth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn

(Map)

We are pleased to be the featured authors at the kick-off event for The Salon @ Spoke the Hub, a monthly evening of readings, plays, music, film, and informal performance curated by Chiwoniso Kaitano-Price and Donnaldson Brown.

We will be presenting an illustrated talk highlighting some of our favorite stories from Footprints in New York, particularly ones with a focus on Brooklyn's history, from the Dutch colonial era to the unification of the five boroughs. There will be a Q&A following the talk, and books will be available for sale and signing. A cash bar will also be available for libations. More details about this and other upcoming events atwww.footprintsinnewyork.com/events.html.

The original, 17th-century layout of Gravesend, Brooklyn

Postcard Thursday: Hester Street

Today's postcard is appropriate for the middle of Passover: a street scene on the Lower East Side, showing vendors and shoppers along Hester Street. The architecture of this block (just west of Essex Street) is very similar to what one sees today. The building at the far right still stands, and the large edifice three-quarters of the way down the block is an elementary school that continues to welcome students.

Notice the wood-frame house, third from the right; until 2007, that building (or perhaps a similarly built successor) housed Gertel's, the beloved kosher bakery. After Gertel's moved out, the building was torn down so that high-rise apartments could go up in its place.

Around the corner on Essex is one of the only remaining kosher pickle places in the neighborhood, the Pickle Guys (which you've probably visited if you've taken our Lower East Side walking tour). The gregarious owner, Alan Kaufman, was recently on The Dinner Party Download, a syndicated radio program from American Public Media, to talk about the joys--and hazards--of making gallons of horseradish for the holidays. You can take a listen here. 

The streets of the Lower East Side aren't this crowded anymore, though if you go on Saturdays to the Hester Street Fair, you can experience the urban, hipster version of what the people in this postcard were doing over a century ago.

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Read more about the Lower East Side in
Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers

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

Win a copy of "Footprints in New York" + Ebook Release

Today is the official release date of our new book, Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers. As many of you know, the paperback edition has already been shipping and on store shelves for over a week.

However, as of today, ebook versions are now also available.

For Kindle click here.

For Kobo click here.

For Google Play click here.

If your preferred ebook format isn't listed above, please search for Footprints in New York on your favorite download site and let us know if it's there!

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We also wanted to let you know that if you'd like to try to win a free paperback copy of Footprints, Goodreads is currently sponsoring a contest and giving away 10 copies of the book.

To enter the contest, go to the Footprints page on Goodreads on or before April 18. There is no cost to enter, but you must be a Goodreads member (which is also free). Good luck!

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And don't forget that we'll be talking about Footprints in New York at the Salon @ Spoke the Hub in Park Slope, Brooklyn, on Friday, April 25, at 7:00 p.m. You can read more details at http://www.footprintsinnewyork.com/events.html.

Hope to see you there or at a walk or talk sometime this spring!

The Battle of Lake Erie

Today's postcard takes us back to the Battle of Lake Erie, which was a decisive American victory in the War of 1812. This image shows Commodore Oliver H. Perry transferring his colors from his wounded vessel, the USS Lawrence, to the USS Niagara. After taking command of the Niagara, the British expected the Americans to retreat; instead, Perry pressed the attack, and by 3:00 p.m., the British had surrendered--the first time in history that an entire British naval squadron had surrendered.

The figure seated in the boat tugging on Commodore Perry's coat is his brother, Alexander, who was a midshipman on the Lawrence. A third Perry brother, Matthew, also served on the Lawrence that day. He would go on to become a Commodore himself and "open up" Japan (by use of force) to western trade in the 1850s. Today, by the way, is Matthew Perry's birthday--he was born April 10, 1794.

Though Rhode Islanders by birth, the Perrys had many connections to New York City. One of Oliver Perry's daughters married John LaFarge, the great painter and stained-glass artist, whose work can be seen around the city. One of Matthew Perry's daughters was the wife of August Belmont, the banker and horse-racing enthusiast who gave rise to the Belmont Stakes. Matthew Perry was originally interred in the churchyard of St. Mark's-in-the-Bowery on Second Avenue, but eventually he and brother Oliver (who'd been buried in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad), were both exhumed and moved to the Island Cemetery in Newport, Rhode Island.

Though the postcard above (based on an 1865 painting by William Henry Powell) shows Perry transferring the Stars and Strips to the Niagara, the Commodore's battle ensign was actually emblazoned with the words "Don't Give Up the Ship," the exhortation of his friend James Lawrence, who'd died on June 4, 1813, and for whom the USS Lawrence was named. Lawrence is buried at Trinity Church, Wall Street.

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Read more about New York's role in the War of 1812 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.