The Bowery Boys: New York City History

At the heart of New York’s Gilded Age — the late 19th-century era of unprecedented American wealth and excess — were families with the names Astor, Waldorf, Schermerhorn, and Vanderbilt, alongside power players like A.T. Stewart, Jay Gould and William “Boss” Tweed. They would all make their homes — and in the case of the Vanderbilts, their great many homes — on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. The image of Fifth Avenue as a luxury retail destination today grew from the street’s aristocratic reputation in the 1800s. The rich were inextricably drawn to the avenue as early as the 1830s when rich merchants, anxious to be near the exquisite row houses of Washington Square Park, began turning it into an artery of expensive abodes. In this podcast, Tom and Greg present a world that’s somewhat hard to imagine — free-standing mansions in an exclusive corridor running right through the center of Manhattan. Why was Fifth Avenue fated to become the domain of the so-called “Upper Ten”? And what changed about the city in the 20th century to ensure the eventual destruction of most of them? The following is a re-edited, remastered version of two past Bowery Boys shows — the Rise and Fall of the Fifth Avenue Mansion. Combined, this tells the whole story of Fifth Avenue, from the initial development of streets in the 1820s to its Midtown transformation into a mecca of high-end shopping in the 1930s. This could also serve as a primer to the HBO series The Gilded Age, the official podcast co-hosted by Tom Meyers! You can listen to the Official Gilded Age Podcast on all audio podcast players as well as YouTube. For even more Gilded Age tales, check out The Gilded Gentleman Podcast.

People who live in Inwood know how truly special it is. Manhattan's northernmost neighborhood (aside from Marble Hill) feels like it's outside of the city -- and in some places, even outside of time and space. Unlike the lower Manhattan's flat avenues and organized streets, Inwood varies wildly in elevation and its streets wind up hills and down into valleys. It's a twenty minute walk from the mysterious "Indian caves" to some of the best Dominican food in New York City. You can experience the ghosts of Gilded Age mansions close to New York's last remaining forest. Revolutionary War artifacts sit a few blocks away from vestiges of a 20th century Irish community. In this special on-location episode, Greg Young and producer Kieran Gannon wind their way through the streets of Inwood and through (that's right) thousands of years of history -- from salt marshes to old amusement parks, from ancient arches to Broadway musicals, with ducks and egrets and dogs and beavers making guest appearances along the way. And since we're on the subject -- what IS the deal with Marble Hill? What do you mean, it's a Manhattan neighborhood? Featuring special guests Melissa Kieweit (Dyckman Farmhouse), Cole Thompson (Lost Inwood) and Led Black (Uptown Collective) This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon. The Bowery Boys Podcast is proud to be sponsored by FOUNDED BY NYC, celebrating New York City's 400th anniversary in 2025 and the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. Read about all the exciting events and world class institutions commemorating the five boroughs legacy of groundbreaking achievements, and find ways to celebrate the city that's always making history. foundedbynyc.com

The children of the Gilded Age were seen but not heard. Until now! Listener favorite Esther Crain, author and creator of Ephemeral New York joins The Gilded Gentleman for a look at the world of children during the Gilded Age. As she shared in the episode “Invisible Magicians: Domestic Servants in Gilded Age New York” with writings by actual servants, Esther has uncovered documents written in children’s own voices that capture their world and reality. From a 12-year-old boy in Gilded Age Harlem to a teenage girl on what would become Manhattan’s Upper East Side, we can finally meet children who are both seen and heard. A special replay from The Gilded Gentleman podcast, in honor of the upcoming season of HBO's The Gilded Age. And listen to The Gilded Gentleman podcast for a wide range of shows about America's Gilded Age including this week's show on Frederick Douglass. This episode was edited by Kieran Gannon

While you may know the Brooklyn Museum for its wildly popular cutting-edge exhibitions, the borough's premier art institution can actually trace its origins back to a more rustic era -- and to the birth of the city of Brooklyn itself. On July 4, 1825, the growing village laid a cornerstone for its new Brooklyn Apprentices Library, an educational institution to support its young "clerks, journeymen and apprentices." This was a momentous occasion in the history of Brooklyn, a ceremony overseen by the Marquis de Lafayette and observed by a young boy named Walt Whitman. The library was part of a movement -- started a century before by Benjamin Franklin-- to make knowledge readily available within the young country. The Brooklyn Museum's celebratory new exhibition Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200 looks back at its storied origins and eventual growth, encompassing most of the young city's cultural institutions and soon expanding into a monumental new home next to the new Prospect Park, designed by McKim, Mead and White. Abigail Danziger, the Director of Libraries and Archives, and Meghan Bill, the Coordinator of Provenance, join Greg on this week's show to explain the unusual origins of the Brooklyn Museum and the unique philosophies which inform its exhibitions. PLUS: A couple genuine mysteries lurk within the new exhibition, including a bottle-shaped niche within the cornerstone and an Egyptologist's unencrypted notebook. This episode was edited by Kieran Gannon

In 1939, Robert Moses sprung his latest project upon the world -- the Brooklyn-Battery Bridge, connecting the tip of Manhattan to the Brooklyn waterfront, slicing through New York Harbor just to the north of Governor's Island. To build it, Moses dictated that the historic Battery Park would need to be redesigned. And its star attraction the New York Aquarium would have to be demolished. The aquarium was housed in the former military fort Castle Clinton which had seen so much of New York City's history pass through its walls under the name Castle Garden -- first as an early 19th century entertainment venue and later as the Emigrant Landing Depot, which processed millions of newly arriving immigrants. This valuable link to American history would surely have been lost if not for activists like Albert S. Bard, a revolutionary landmarking advocate who countered and disrupted Moses every step of the way. In this episode, Greg interviews another landmarking superstar -- author and civic activist Anthony C. Wood -- on the occasion of his new biography of Bard titled Servant of Beauty: Landmarks, Secret Love, and the Unimagined Life of an Unsung New York Hero. In his research, Wood discovered a personality far more interesting than his public persona and a man with far more at stake than just his beliefs in preservation. Visit the website for more information and images of things discussed on this show. This episode was edited by Kieran Gannon.

A long, long time ago in New York — in the 1730s, back when the city was a holding of the British, with a little over 10,000 inhabitants — a German printer named John Peter Zenger decided to print a four-page newspaper called the New York Weekly Journal. This is pretty remarkable in itself, as there was only one other newspaper in town called the New York Gazette, an organ of the British crown and the governor of the colony. But Zenger’s paper would call to question the actions of that governor, a virtual despot named William Cosby, and in so doing, set in motion an historic trial that marked a triumph for liberty and modern democratic rights, including freedom of the press and the power of jury nullification. This entire story takes place in lower Manhattan, and most of it on a couple floors of old New York City Hall at Wall Street and Nassau Street. Many years later, this spot would see the first American government and the inauguration of George Washington. Many could argue that the trial that occurs here on August 4, 1735, is equally important to the causes of democracy and a free press. We're marking the 290th anniversary of this landmark trial with a newly re-edited, remastered version of our show from 2013.

When Prospect Park was first opened to the public in the late 1860s, the City of Brooklyn was proud to claim a landmark as beautiful and as peaceful as New York’s Central Park. But the superstar landscape designers — Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux — weren’t finished. This park came with two grand pleasure drives, wide boulevards that emanated from the north and south ends of the park. Eastern Parkway, the first parkway in the United States, is the home of the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, its leafy pedestrian malls running through the neighborhood of Crown Heights. But it’s Ocean Parkway that is the most unusual today, an almost six-mile stretch which takes drivers, bikers, runners and (at one point) horse riders all the way to Coney Island, at a time when people were just beginning to appreciate the beach’s calming and restorative values. Due to its wide, straight surface, Ocean Parkway even became an active speedway for fast horses. When bicycles became all the rage in the late 1880s, they also took to the parkway and avid cyclists eventually got their first bike lane in 1894 — the first in the United States. FEATURING: A tale of two cemeteries — one that was demolished to make way for one parkway, and another which apparently (given its ‘no vacancy’ status) thrives next to another. Get your tickets for the Bowery Boys Evening Cruise of New York Harbor by visiting Like Minds Travel Visit the website for more information about other Bowery Boys episodes

On October 29, 1975, President Gerald Ford walked into a press conference at the National Press Club and, using more precise, more eloquent words than legend remembers, but in no uncertain terms, told New York City that the federal government was not going to bail it out. The following day the New York Daily News -- the city's first tabloid newspaper summarized his blunt, castigating speech into one succinct and memorable headline -- FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD. Of course, the president never literally said DROP DEAD. But his words did signal the severity of New York City's problem -- the city was on the brink of bankruptcy. In this episode, Greg dives into life in New York City during the year 1975 and the circumstances surrounding its most dire financial crisis, one which threatened the livelihoods of its millions of residents and damaged New York City’s reputation for decades. Directors Peter Yost and Michael Rohatyn join Greg to discuss their new film on the New York financial crisis Drop Dead City, which uses gritty archival footage and a series of special guests (such as Harrison J. Goldin, Charlie Rangel, Betsy Gotbaum and former Bowery Boys guest Kevin Baker) to explain this complicated story. If Michael's name looks familiar, that's because his father Felix Rohatyn played a critical role in bailing out the bankrupt city. Visit the website for more information More information on DROP DEAD CITY here

Join us for an interview with Instagram historian Keith Taillon (@keithyorkcity), whose detailed posts about New York's history have earned him nearly 60,000 followers and launched a successful tour business. Keith shares the story behind his remarkable pandemic project of walking every single block of Manhattan in 2020, capturing the empty city in photographs that now appear in his first book, "Walking New York: Manhattan History on Foot." From his childhood fascination with urban history to his graduate studies at Hunter College, Keith reveals how his personal journey led him to become one of the city's most engaging historical storytellers. You'll hear how he crafts walking tours that go beyond landmark-hopping to explain why New York looks and functions the way it does. Plus: Listen to Keith's appearances on The Gilded Gentleman Podcast episodes on The Real Mamie Fish, The Hidden World of Gramercy Park, and a Gilded Age Tour up Manhattan. Visit the Bowery Boys website and become a member of the show at Patreon.com/BoweryBoys.

We invite you to come with us inside one of America’s most interesting art museums – an institution that is BOTH an art gallery and a historic home. This is The Frick Collection, located at 1 East 70th Street, within the former Fifth Avenue mansion of Gilded Age mogul Henry Clay Frick, containing many pieces that the steel titan himself purchased, as well as many other incredible works of art from master painters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Goya, Turner, and Whistler. Frick himself had a rather complicated legacy. As a master financier and chairman of Andrew Carnegie's massive steel enterprise, Frick helped create the materials for America's railroads and bridges. But his intolerance of labor unions led to a bloody confrontation in the summer of 1892, making him, for a time, one of the most hated men in America. New Yorkers' love for the Frick Collection, however, remains far less complicated. The institution, which as been a museum since 1935, allows visitors to experience the work of the great master painters in an often regal and intimate setting, allowing people to imagine the fanciful life of the Gilded Age. The Frick Collection reopens this month after an extensive renovation (temporarily relocating the collection to the Breuer Buildiing for a few years) and we've got a sneak preview, featuring Frick curator and art historian Aimee Ng.

The history of the United States Postal Service as it plays out in the streets of New York City -- from the first post road to the first postage stamps. From the most beautiful post office in the country to the forgotten Gilded Age landmark that was once considered the ugliest post office. The postal service has always served as the country's circulatory system, linking the densest urban areas to the most rural outposts, a necessary link in moments when the country feels very far apart in other ways. The early American colonies knew this. Benjamin Franklin knew this The Founding Fathers who placed the postal service within the Constitution knew this. And inventions such as the stagecoach, the steamship, the railroad, the pneumatic tube and even the electric car have helped keep the mail steadily flowing over the centuries. New York has even played a pivotal role in the development of the American mail service, from the creation of the Boston Post Road (the first mail road which snaked through Manhattan and the Bronx) to the first mail boxes. Even the first postage stamps were sold in New York -- within former church-turned-post office in lower Manhattan. Why are there so many post offices from the 1930s? Why is New York's largest post office next to Penn Station? And why does New York City have so many individual ZIP codes? And who, pray tell, is Barnabas Bates? Visit our website for more information and images More information here on the Bowery Boys: Gilded Age Weekend This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon

A special bonus episode! Two years ago we featured Patrick Bringley on the show, the author of All The Beauty In The World (Simon & Schuster), regarding his experiences as a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the life lessons he learned strolling silently past priceless works of art. The book has become a massive best-seller worldwide and has even become a cultural phenomenon in South Korea, selling more than a quarter million copies in that country alone. So we thought we'd bring Patrick back to the show, on the occasion of his new off-Broadway show based on the book. How do you transform an off-Broadway stage into the Metropolitan Museum of Art? What life lessons can you absorb from walking around museum This episode was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon Tickets to All The Beauty In the World here.

It's one of the most foundational questions we could ever ask on this show -- how did New York City get its name? You may know that the English conquered the Dutch settlement of New Netherland (and its port town of New Amsterdam) in 1664, but the details of this history-making day have remained hazy -- until now. Russell Shorto brought the world of New Amsterdam and the early years before New York to life in his classic history The Island At The Center of The World. His new book Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America functions as a sequel of sorts, revisiting the moment when New Amsterdam ceased to be -- and New York was born. Shorto joins Greg and Tom for a very spirited discussion of international warfare, displaced princes, frantic letter writing and ominous warships in the harbor. At the end of this story, you will not only know how New York -- the city, the state, the whole place, from Buffalo to Long Island -- got its name, you will know the exact forgotten historical figure who gave it that name. Visit the Bowery Boys website for more information. Get Russell Shorto's new book Taking Manhattan This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon

The New Yorker turns one century old -- and it hasn't aged a day! The witty, cosmopolitan magazine was first published on February 21, 1925. And even though present-day issues are often quite contemporary in content, the magazine's tone and style still recall its glamorous Jazz Age origins. The New Yorker traces itself to members of that legendary group of wits known as the Algonquin Round Table -- renowned artists, critics and playwrights who met every day for lunch at the Algonquin Hotel. And in particular, to two married journalists – Harold Ross and Jane Grant – who infused the magazine with a very distinct cosmopolitan zest. High fashion, martinis and Midtown Manhattan mixed with the droll wit of a worldly literati. A new exhibition at the New York Public Library -- “A Century of the New Yorker” -- chronicles the magazine’s history, from its origins and creation by Harold Ross and Jane Grant to its current era, under the editorship of David Remnick. Greg and Tom interview the show's two curators Julie Golia and Julie Carlsen about the treasures on display from the New Yorker's glorious past -- from the magazine's first cover (featuring everybody's favorite snob Eustace Tilly) to artifacts and manuscripts from the world's greatest writers. Visit the website for more information and other Bowery Boys podcasts This episode was edited by Kieran Gannon

Greg and Tom have taken off their historian hats and have become -- movie critics? Close but not quite! This week we're giving you a 'sneak preview' of their Patreon podcast called Side Streets, a conversational show about New York City and, well, whatever interests them that week. In honor of the Academy Awards, the Bowery Boys hosts pay homage to the great Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert while looking at five award-worthy films with strong New York City connections: -- Anora with its captivating south Brooklyn locations -- A Complete Unknown, taking us back 1960s Greenwich Village -- Wicked, a spritely interpretation of the Broadway musical -- The Brutalist, an epic about more than just architecture -- Saturday Night, a frenetic tribute to the comedy-show icon which turns 50 years old this year To listen to all episodes of Side Streets, support the Bowery Boys on Patreon This episode was edited by Kieran Gannon

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Alain Locke's classic essay "The New Negro" and the literary anthology featuring the work of Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen and other significant black writers of the day. The rising artistic scene would soon be known as the Harlem Renaissance, one of the most important cultural movements in American history. And it would be centered within America's largest black neighborhood -- Harlem, the "great black city," as described by Wallace Thurman, with a rising population and growing political and cultural influence. During the 1920s, Harlem became even more. Along "Swing Street" and Lenox Avenue, nightclubs and speakeasies gave birth to American music and fostered great musical talents like Count Basie, Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington. Ballrooms like the Savoy and the Alhambra helped turn Harlem into a destination for adventure and romance. What were these two worlds like -- the literary salons and the nightclubs? How removed were these spheres from the everyday lives of regular Harlem residents? How did the neighborhood develop both an energetic and raucous music scene and a diverse number of churches -- many (like the Abyssinian Baptist Church) still around today? Visit the website for more details and more podcasts Get tickets to our March 31 City Vineyard event Bowery Boys HISTORY LIVE! here And join us for our Gilded Age Weekend in New York, May 29-June 1, 2025. More info here. This episode was edited by Kieran Gannon

One of America's first great Italian neighborhoods was once in East Harlem, once filled with more southern Italians than Sicily itself, a neighborhood almost entirely gone today except for a couple restaurants, a church and a long-standing religious festival. This is, of course, not New York's' famous "Little Italy," the festive tourist area in lower Manhattan built from another 19th-century Italian neighborhood on Mulberry Street. The bustling street life of old Italian Harlem exists mostly in memory now. If you wander around any modern American neighborhood with a strong Italian presence, you'll find yourself around people who can trace their lineage back through the streets of Italian Harlem. Perhaps that includes yourself. But it's not all warm nostalgia and fond recollections. Life could be quite hard in Italian Harlem, thanks to the nearby industrial environment, the deteriorating living conditions and the street crime, the early years of New York organized crime. So who were these first Italian settlers who left their homes for what would become a hard urban life in upper Manhattan? What drew them to the city? What traditions did they bring? And in the end, what did they leave behind, when so many moved out to the four corners of the United States? Visit the Bowery Boys website for more adventures into New York City history This show was produced by Kieran Gannon. Join us on Patreon for extra podcasts and lots of other goodies Share your love of the city’s history with a Bowery Boys Walks gift certificate! Our digital gift cards let your loved ones choose their perfect tour and date. Grab a Bowery Boys tee-shirt, mug or water bottle at our merchandise store.

A star of the New York City skyline is reborn -- the Waldorf Astoria is reopening in 2025! And so we thought we'd again raise a toast to one of the world's most famous hotels, an Art Deco classic attached to the Gilded Age's most prestigious name in luxury and refinement. Now, you might think you know this story -- the famous lobby clock, Peacock Alley, cocktail bars! -- but do we have some surprises for you. The Waldorf Astoria — once the Waldorf-Astoria and even the Waldorf=Astoria — has been a premier name in hotel accommodations since the opening of the very first edition on 34th Street and Fifth Avenue (the location of today’s Empire State Building). But the history of the current incarnation on Park Avenue contains the twists and turns of world events, from World War II to recent diplomatic dramas. In essence, the Waldorf Astoria has become the world’s convention center. Step past the extraordinary Art Deco trappings, and you’ll find rooms which have hosted a plethora of important gatherings, not to mention the frequent homes to Hollywood movie stars. To celebrate the renovated hotel's reopening this spring, the Bowery Boys present a newly re-edited and re-mastered version of their original show from 2016. This show was re-edited and remastered by Kieran Gannon. Join us on Patreon for extra podcasts and lots of other goodies Share your love of the city’s history with a Bowery Boys Walks gift certificate! Our digital gift cards let your loved ones choose their perfect tour and date. Grab a Bowery Boys tee-shirt, mug or water bottle at our merchandise store.

There were very few history podcasts around back in the year 2008, but the Bowery Boys Podcast was certainly here ... and so was The Memory Palace, hosted by Nate DiMeo, presenting small, often forgotten vignettes from history in a descriptive, narrative format. In this special interview episode, Greg talks with Nate on the occasion of his new companion book "The Memory Palace: True Short Stories of the Past" (Penguin Random House) which features many of his fable-like historical portraits, including many from New York City history -- from revolutionary amusements on Coney Island to less frequented corridors within the Metropolitan Museum of Art And Greg and Nate go deep on the relationship between history and memory, on the reliability of memory to help us relive the past and how our own experiences can help fill in the gaps within histories that seem lost to us today. Featuring a couple of elephants, the Wallendas, Parks and Recreation, the X-Men, a very large painting of Versailles, and the big secret about the monster hiding in your closet right now. Listen to episodes of The Memory Palace here. it's also available on Spotify, Apple and the other podcast players, the same places you find the Bowery Boys. This episode was produced by Kieran Gannon. To donate to those affected by the California wildfires, head over to these verified fundraisers at GoFundMe Join us on Patreon for extra podcasts and lots of other goodies Share your love of the city’s history with a Bowery Boys Walks gift certificate! Our digital gift cards let your loved ones choose their perfect tour and date. Grab a Bowery Boys tee-shirt, mug or water bottle at our merchandise store.

Just the name "Tiffany" evokes the glamour and elegance of the Gilded Age. But there is much more to the story than just the eponymous retailer who continues to sell fine jewelry and decorative objects today. In this episode of the Gilded Gentleman podcast, Carl Raymond is joined by Lindsy R. Parrott, the Executive Director of The Neustadt Collection, one of the country's most important collections of Tiffany glass and archival materials, to discuss the two Tiffanys - Charles Lewis Tiffany who began the original retail silver and jewelry and his son Louis Comfort Tiffany who created revolutionary designs in stained glass. Subscribe and follow The Gilded Gentleman Podcast for more tales of America during the Gilded Age. This episode was edited by Kieran Gannon