History

Help preserve the untold stories of the Stonewall Riots by donating personal photos, letters
June 21, 2018

Help preserve the untold stories of the Stonewall Riots by donating personal photos, letters

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Via Wikimedia Did you participate in the Stonewall Inn Riots of 1969 and the period of LGBTQ activism in New York City between 1968 and 1971? Do you know someone who did? If so, consider contributing pride memorabilia from that moment in history to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, which is compiling a collection to preserve the history of Stonewall. The project, Stonewall Forever, launched last year after Google granted the LGBT Center $1 million to preserve oral histories and experiences of those present during the riots.
Find out more
How preservationists and Jackie O got the supreme court to save Grand Central Terminal in 1978

Grand Central Terminal Lobby via Wikipedia

June 21, 2018

How preservationists and Jackie O got the supreme court to save Grand Central Terminal in 1978

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On June 26th, 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a momentous decision that wouldn't just save a cherished New York landmark, it would establish the NYC Landmarks Law for years to come. This drawn-out court battle was the result of a plan, introduced in the late 1960s, to demolish a significant portion of Grand Central Terminal and erect a 50-story office tower. Though the proposal may seem unthinkable now, it wasn't at the time. Pennsylvania Station had been demolished a few years earlier, with the owners citing rising costs to upkeep the building as train ridership sharply declined. The NYC Landmarks Law was only established in 1965, the idea of preservation still novel in a city practicing wide-scale urban renewal. Finally, Grand Central wasn't in good shape itself, falling apart, covered in grime, and home to one of the highest homeless populations in New York City. But a dedicated group of preservationists--aided by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis--took the fight to the highest levels of the court. Keep reading to find out how, as well as learn about the celebrations planned by the MTA surrounding the anniversary.
Here's how Grand Central was saved
The city wants you to nominate historic NYC women who deserve a public monument
June 20, 2018

The city wants you to nominate historic NYC women who deserve a public monument

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Statue of Eleanor Roosevelt on Riverside Drive is just one of a handful of monuments to women in NYC; via Wikimedia City officials announced on Wednesday an initiative aimed at bringing more commemorations of historic New York City women to public spaces. First lady Chirlane McCray and Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen are seeking ideas of women or events in women's history that should be honored with monuments. The Department of Cultural Affairs has committed up to $10 million for the program, called She Built NYC!. "This is a first step to creating a public art collection that more accurately represents the diversity of New York City's history," McCray told NY1.
Learn more
June 18, 2018

The 1936 ‘Summer of Pools’: When Robert Moses and the WPA cooled off NYC

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On June 24, 1936, thousands of Lower East Siders turned out for a spectacle the likes of which New York had never seen. They jammed Hamilton Fish Park, filled Pitt Street, and perched on surrounding fire-escapes and rooftops to get a glimpse. With great fanfare (and the swim stylings of the Jones Beach Water Troupe) Mayor La Guardia and Parks Commissioner Robert Moses officially opened Hamilton Fish Pool. The dedication kicked off New York’s “Summer of Pools.” One by one, for each week of the summer, 11 gleaming outdoor pools, financed and built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), opened in underserved neighborhoods across the city, providing recreation and relief to millions of heat-addled, Depression-strapped New Yorkers.
Learn more about the summer of 1936
The history of Brooklyn blackout cake: German bakeries and WWII drills

Photo via Kirti Poddar/Flickr

June 15, 2018

The history of Brooklyn blackout cake: German bakeries and WWII drills

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Chocoholics all over the country know Brooklyn blackout cake, a three-tiered devil's food cake with layers of chocolate pudding and chocolate frosting topped with cake crumbs. In recent years, the rich cake has become re-popularized from its heyday in the first half of the 20th century. But most of us who gluttonously indulge in this tasty dessert have no idea where its borough-centric name came from or just how long this confectioner's delight has been around. It all started in 1898 at a German bakery called Ebinger's on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, but it wasn't until World War II that the moniker took hold.
Get the full story here
Remembering the worst disaster in NYC maritime history: The sinking of the General Slocum ferry
June 15, 2018

Remembering the worst disaster in NYC maritime history: The sinking of the General Slocum ferry

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PS General Slocum; photo via Wikimedia On June 15, 1904, a disaster of unprecedented proportions took place in New York City, resulting in the loss of over 1,000 lives, mostly women and children. This largely forgotten event was the greatest peacetime loss of life in New York City history prior to the September 11th attacks, forever changing our city and the ethnic composition of today’s East Village. It was on that day that the ferry General Slocum headed out from the East 3rd Street pier for an excursion on Long Island, filled with residents of what was then called Kleindeutschland, or Little Germany. This German-American enclave in today’s East Village was then the largest German-speaking community in the world outside of Berlin and Vienna.
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Photographer Ray Simone restores negatives of NYC’s past, pixel by pixel

Central Park, 1900 © Ray Simone

June 14, 2018

Photographer Ray Simone restores negatives of NYC’s past, pixel by pixel

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6sqft’s series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, Ray Simone shares vintage photographs of New York City he has lovingly restored to stunning quality. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. Born-and-raised Manhattanite Ray Simone has a native knowledge of New York, as well as an intimate understanding of its past lives. When he’s not taking current photos of the city, he's in his Williamsburg studio, restoring its past, negative by negative to shocking quality. While some negatives take under an hour to restore, the more badly damaged ones can require more than 40 hours of painstaking work, going pixel by pixel. “You can only work at something a certain amount of hours at a time,” Simone reflects, “You get tunnel vision after a while; carpal tunnel.” Ahead, 6sqft talks to Simone about his photo restoration business and his thoughts on NYC's history and future, and we get a special look at some of his greatest restoration works.
Travel back in time
Ride six different vintage trains in Brighton Beach this weekend to celebrate Father’s Day

Image via New York Transit Museum

June 12, 2018

Ride six different vintage trains in Brighton Beach this weekend to celebrate Father’s Day

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Is there anything more dad-approved than trains and tattoos to celebrate Father’s Day? Not much! This weekend, celebrate with pop at the New York Transit Museum’s 4th Annual Parade of Trains. Hop on and off six different types of vintage train cars, including the oldest train cars in the Transit Museum fleet, dating from 1904. Visitors can also stop by the museum’s membership station to get a super cool, Father’s Day temporary transit tattoo while learning more about the New York Transit Museum's ongoing exhibits. The event takes place Saturday (6/16) and Sunday (6/17) from 11 am to 4 pm at the Brighton Beach (B/Q) station. The Parade of Trains shuttle rides are free with the swipe of a MetroCard and will run continuously to and from the Brighton Beach station B/Q platforms.
Get the details
From the ‘Queens Riviera’ to Robert Moses: The history of Rockaway Beach
June 8, 2018

From the ‘Queens Riviera’ to Robert Moses: The history of Rockaway Beach

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Eleven blocks of Rockaway Beach will be closed this summer due to erosion, but that’s just one setback in a long history of resilience on the peninsula. Four-and-a-half miles of the beach are open right now, with every block steeped in history. The Rockaways ushered Henry Hudson into the New World; Walt Whitman into paradise; Hog Island into oblivion; and the Transatlantic Flight into existence. As “the brightest jewel within the diadem of imperial Manhattan,” the pristine beaches of the “Queens Riviera” became the preferred summer locale for New York’s most illustrious citizens. Later, the “people’s beach” at Riis Park helped make the Rockaways accessible to more New Yorkers. From, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, to Patti Smith to Robert Mosses, everybody wanted to be at Rockaway Beach.
Get the full history here
How the cardboard box was accidentally invented in a NYC factory

55 Washington Street in 1907, courtesy of the Skyscaper Museum

June 7, 2018

How the cardboard box was accidentally invented in a NYC factory

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New Yorkers are known for their innovative thinking: Inventions like Scrabble, credit cards, and even Baked Alaska all came from local creators. A little less exciting, but still a crucial contraption, the cardboard box was also invented in New York City. Like many discoveries, the box came to be only after a careless mistake. Scottish-born entrepreneur Robert Gair owned a paper bag factory on Reade Street in Manhattan. One day in 1879, a pressman accidentally cut through thousands of small seed bags, instead of pressing them. Following the accident, Gair, who moved headquarters to Dumbo, developed a method for the mass production of cardboard boxes and later supplied major companies like Kellogg and Nabisco.
Find out more
Torn off by a fan in 1973, a right field sign from the old Yankee Stadium just sold for $55K

Photo via Clean Sweep Auctions

June 7, 2018

Torn off by a fan in 1973, a right field sign from the old Yankee Stadium just sold for $55K

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On September 30, 1973, during the last home game at Yankee Stadium before the historic arena underwent two years of renovations, diehard baseball fans came wielding screwdrivers and hammers. Not to fight fans from the opposing team of that night's game, the Detroit Tigers, but to dismantle any memorabilia from "The House That Ruth Built." One fan somehow got his hands on a right field sign wall that designates the 296-foot distance from home plate (h/t Forbes). A family member of the brazen fan put up the sign for auction last month and on Wednesday, after 18 bids, the 1960s era sign sold for a final sale price of $55,344.
Find out more
The West Side Cowboys and the railway cars that killed 436 people before 1906

West Side Cowboy on Death Avenue, via Kalmbach Publishing Co.

June 5, 2018

The West Side Cowboys and the railway cars that killed 436 people before 1906

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The now-defunct elevated train lines of Manhattan are well known today thanks to their reincarnation as the High Line. But before this raised structure was put in place, the west side was home to a deadly train system appropriately referred to by locals as "The Butcher." The full-size railway line ran from 1846 to 1941 between 10th and 11th Avenues without barriers, fences or platforms, earning the route the nickname "Death Avenue" before it was taken out of operation for causing more than 430 fatalities--deaths that not even true western cowboys could stop.
The whole history right this way
She shot Andy Warhol: The story behind actress Valerie Solanas’ attempt to assassinate a NYC icon

Photo of the Decker Building via Wally Gobetz on Flickr; photo of Andy Warhol via Wikimedia

June 1, 2018

She shot Andy Warhol: The story behind actress Valerie Solanas’ attempt to assassinate a NYC icon

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1968 was a turbulent year marked by riots, massive protests, and assassinations of notable political figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. But 50 years ago on June 3, 1968, an attempted assassination in New York City shook the downtown art world more deeply and personally than any of these other headline-grabbing events. Perhaps that was because it involved two quintessentially downtown figures — one a world-famous artist; the other, a struggling, mentally unbalanced aspiring writer/performer/self-proclaimed social propagandist, whose greatest claim to fame ended up being her attempt to kill the former, her one-time employer.
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Downtown’s historic glass sidewalks will be saved after Landmarks reverses rule changes

Vault lights in Soho, via WooJin Chung for 6sqft

June 1, 2018

Downtown’s historic glass sidewalks will be saved after Landmarks reverses rule changes

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"Viva Vault Lights!" wrote the Historic Districts Council in response to the Landmarks Preservation Commission's decision to backpedal on its rules amendments, which called for "more oversight by LPC staff but less time for public review" in proposals for alterations to historic buildings. HDC's celebratory sentiment is in response to one of the now-moot stipulations that Soho and Tribeca's vault lights--historic, industrial-era sidewalks made from small circular glass bulbs--could be removed by building owners and replaced with modern sidewalks.
Find out about all the other victories
8 things you didn’t know about LGBT history in NYC
May 30, 2018

8 things you didn’t know about LGBT history in NYC

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This Saturday, 6sqft is excited to sponsor "The Hunt: NYC LGBT Sites." Put on by our friends at Urban Archive and the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, the three-hour historic scavenger hunt will mark Pride Week by focusing on the history of the LGBT community in NYC. To give 6sqft readers an idea of what to expect, the Historic Sites Project has put together eight things you probably don't know about LGBT history in New York, from the four remaining lesbian bars in the city to the first LGBT activist organization.
All this and more history!
One week after the Brooklyn Bridge opened, a rumor of its collapse caused a fatal stampede

Drawing by a staff artist at Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper

May 30, 2018

One week after the Brooklyn Bridge opened, a rumor of its collapse caused a fatal stampede

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On May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge officially opened, with roughly 1,800 vehicles and over 150,000 people crossing what was then the only passageway between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Less than a week later, 12 people were killed and over 35 others injured in a violent stampede. On that fateful day, the bridge was brimming with people celebrating the Memorial Day holiday and checking out the new overpass, which was considered the longest bridge in the world at the time. A woman had tripped and fallen down the wooden stairs headed toward Manhattan, which caused another woman to scream. In a grand misinterpretation, a rumor was started that the bridge was about to collapse, sending the crowd into complete hysteria. Pedestrians ran to get off the bridge, stampeding their way to the entrance and pushing others to the ground.
Get the scoop
A mecca of African American history and culture, Central Harlem is designated a historic district

Photo via LPC

May 29, 2018

A mecca of African American history and culture, Central Harlem is designated a historic district

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The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) on Tuesday designated three blocks in Central Harlem as a historic district in recognition of the significant role African Americans played in social change in New York City and beyond during the 20th century. The Central Harlem District measures West 130-132nd Streets, the mid-blocks between Lenox and Seventh Avenues. LPC notes how Harlem residents used residential buildings to accommodate cultural, religious and political activities, starting with the Harlem Renaissance through the civil rights movement of the 1960s. "This collection of buildings is exactly why we designate historic districts: it's an architecturally distinctive and historically significant set of structures that together tell an essential piece of Central Harlem's story,” Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said. The commission also launched an interactive story map as a way to illustrate the unique influence of this district through photos, maps and video.
Get the details
INTERVIEW: Author Julia Van Haaften on delving into the life of photographer Berenice Abbott
May 24, 2018

INTERVIEW: Author Julia Van Haaften on delving into the life of photographer Berenice Abbott

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Photographer Berenice Abbott has long captured the imagination of New Yorkers. Her storied career began after fleeing Ohio for Greenwich Village in 1918 and included a stint in Paris taking portraits of 1920s heavyweights. But she is best known for her searing images of New York buildings and street life--her photograph "Nightview, New York," taken from an upper-floor window of the Empire State Building in 1932, remains one of the most recognized images of the city. Well known is her exchange with a male supervisor, who informed Abbott that "nice girls" don’t go to the Bowery. Her reply: "Buddy, I’m not a nice girl. I’m a photographer… I go anywhere." Despite Abbott's prolific career and fascinating life, there's never been a biography to capture it all. Until now, with Julia Van Haaften's work, "Berenice Abbott: A Life in Photography." Van Haaften is the founding curator of the New York Public Library’s photography collection. She also befriended Abbott, as the photographer approached 90, while curating a retrospective exhibition of her work in the late 1980s. (Abbott passed away in 1991 at the age of 93.) With 6sqft, Van Haaften shares what it was like translating Abbott's wide-ranging work and life into a biography, and the help she received from Abbott herself. From her favorite stories to her favorite photographs, Van Haaften shows why Abbott's work has remained such a powerful lens capturing New York City to this day.
READ MORE
Reading between the lions: A history of the New York Public Library

Photo via Jeffrey Zeldman/Flickr

May 23, 2018

Reading between the lions: A history of the New York Public Library

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The New York Public Library first roared into existence on May 23, 1895, educating and inspiring countless millions, free of charge. The Library’s 92 locations include four research divisions and hold over 51 million items. Out of all these tomes, the greatest tale might be Library’s own history: Founded by immigrants and industrialists, it was equally admired by William Howard Taft and Vladimir Lenin; open to all, it has counted among its staff American Olympians and Soviet spies; dedicated to intellectual exploration and civic responsibility, it has made its map collection available to buried treasure hunters and Allied Commanders; evolving with the city itself, it has made branch locations out of a prison, a movie theater, and most recently, a chocolate factory. The history of the New York Public Library is as vital and various New York itself, so get ready to read between the lions.
The 123-year-old history of the NYPL
From casino to Malcolm X: The colorful history of Harlem’s Malcolm Shabazz Mosque

Photo via Wiki Commons

May 18, 2018

From casino to Malcolm X: The colorful history of Harlem’s Malcolm Shabazz Mosque

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At 102 West 116th Street in Harlem sits a mosque singularly incorporated into the cityscape. The building houses street-level commercial businesses and is topped by a large green dome, the structure in-between used as a Sunni Muslim mosque. While the property has seen much local history pass through it, it is not landmarked. Before becoming a religious structure, the lot used to contain the Lenox Casino, a space which was often rented for meetings by the Socialist Party and used as a theatrical performance venue for a number of then-renowned artists. Built in 1905 and designed by Lorenz F. J. Weiher, the Lenox Casino was raided in 1912 for showing "illegal films" in an escapade grippingly documented by the New York Times.
The structure has had many lives
Elizabeth Blackwell’s NYC: The historic sites where America’s first female doctor made her mark

An 1870 newspaper illustration of Elizabeth Blackwell giving an anatomy lecture alongside a corpse at the Woman’s Medical College of New York Infirmary. Courtesy of the U.S. Library of Congress.

May 17, 2018

Elizabeth Blackwell’s NYC: The historic sites where America’s first female doctor made her mark

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One of the most radical and influential women of the 19th century changed the course of public health history while living and working in Greenwich Village and the East Village. Elizabeth Blackwell, America’s first female doctor, established cutting-edge care facilities and practices throughout these neighborhoods, the imprint of which can still be felt to this day in surviving institutions and buildings. In fact, one recently received a historic plaque to mark this ground-breaking but often overlooked piece of our history.
Take a tour of Elizabeth Blackwell's NYC
Behind the scenes at the United Palace, Washington Heights’ opulent ‘Wonder Theatre’
May 16, 2018

Behind the scenes at the United Palace, Washington Heights’ opulent ‘Wonder Theatre’

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Earlier this year, 6sqft got an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour at the Loew's Jersey City, one of the five opulent Loew’s Wonder Theatres built in 1929-30 around the NYC area. We've now gotten a tour of another, the United Palace in Washington Heights. Originally known as the Loew's 175th Street Theatre, the "Cambodian neo-Classical" landmark has served as a church and cultural center since it closed in 1969 and was purchased by televangelist Reverend Ike, who renamed it the Palace Cathedral. Today it's still owned by late Reverend's church but functions as a spiritual center and arts center. Thanks to Reverand Ike and his church's continued stewardship, Manhattan's fourth-largest theater remains virtually unchanged since architect Thomas W. Lamb completed it in 1930. 6sqft recently visited and saw everything from the insane ornamentation in the lobby to the former smoking lounge that recently caught the eye of Woody Allen. We also chatted with UPCA's executive director Mike Fitelson about why this space is truly one-of-a-kind.
Take the incredible digital tour
INTERVIEW: New York legend Jay Maisel dishes on 190 Bowery and his new photo archive
May 14, 2018

INTERVIEW: New York legend Jay Maisel dishes on 190 Bowery and his new photo archive

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Jay Maisel is best known for the incredibly expressive stories he tells through his beautiful photography. But in recent years, he's become perhaps just as well known for his New York City real estate story where he made the deal of the century when he sold his home, the Germania Bank Building at 190 Bowery. What he's not at all known for, though, are the stories he tells through the hundreds of thousands of memories that fill his home and studio. Maisel, who may appear gruff on the exterior (at 87 years-old, he still likes to shock), is actually incredibly kind and sentimental. He misses his home and all his toys that once filled the 35,000-square-foot building. Although he was initially intimidated by the size and upkeep costs of 190 Bowery, Maisel grew to love the home and raise his family there for 50 years. In 2015, he sold the building for $55 million and purchased a stately townhouse on Pacific Street in Cobble Hill for $15.5 million. (At the time, it was the most expensive townhouse sale in Brooklyn.) 6sqft sat down with Maisel and discussed his real estate coup, his move to Brooklyn (which is not “the city” in his view) and his most recent New York City photography series, entitled “Jaywalking.”
Hear from Jay and get an inside look at his life and work
52 years ago, Donald Trump’s father demolished Coney Island’s beloved Steeplechase Park

Steeplechase Park circa 1930-45, via Digital Commonwealth

May 14, 2018

52 years ago, Donald Trump’s father demolished Coney Island’s beloved Steeplechase Park

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Steeplechase Park was the first of Coney Island's three original amusement parks (in addition to Luna Park and Dreamland) and its longest lasting, operating from 1897 to 1964. It had a Ferris Wheel modeled after that of Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition, a mechanical horse race course (from which the park got its name), scale models of world landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben, "Canals of Venice," the largest ballroom in the state, and the famous Parachute Jump, among other rides and attractions. After World War II, Coney Island's popularity began to fade, especially when Robert Moses made it his personal mission to replace the resort area's amusements with low-income, high-rise residential developments. But ultimately, it was Fred Trump, Donald's father, who sealed Steeplechase's fate, going so far as to throw a demolition party when he razed the site in 1966 before it could receive landmark status.
Get the full history this way
Inside the Ukrainian Institute of America, one of NYC’s best hidden architectural gems
May 10, 2018

Inside the Ukrainian Institute of America, one of NYC’s best hidden architectural gems

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Located on East 79th Street at the corner of Fifth Avenue and across from Central Park, sits one of New York City’s last turn-of-the-century, French-Gothic styled-structures. Designed by Gilded-Age architect Charles Pierrepont Henry Gilbert, the building was home to Isaac D. Fletcher and Harry F. Sinclair, giving it the fitting name of the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion. Now, the mansion is occupied by the Ukrainian Institute of America, a nonprofit organization that has promoted Ukrainian art, music and literature since 1948. Ahead, join 6sqft on a tour of the landmarked building and check out some of the unique features within this hidden-in-plain sight New York City architectural gem.
Take a tour
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