History

November 24, 2021

Thanksgiving ‘ragamuffins’ started a door-to-door tradition that preceded Halloween

Before Thanksgiving became a holiday known for stuffing down food with the people you love, it looked a whole lot like Halloween. That is thanks to the Thanksgiving "ragamuffins," children who dressed up in costume and wandered the streets in search of swag, asking passerby and shop owners, "Anything for Thanksgiving?" The practice could be found everywhere from Missouri to Los Angeles, but it was a particularly strong tradition in New York City. "Thanksgiving masquerading has never been more universal," said a New York Times report from 1899. "Fantastically garbed youngsters and their elders were on every corner of the city. Not a few of the maskers and mummers wore disguises that were recognized as typifying a well-known character or myth. There were Fausts, Uncle Sams, Harlequins, bandits, sailors. All had a great time. The good-humored crowd abroad was generous with pennies and nickels, and the candy stores did a land-office business."
Read more about the ragamuffins

The 97-year history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Pilgrim balloon in 1946. Photo via Macy’s Inc.

November 16, 2021

The 97-year history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

By Rebecca Paul

There are many famous traditions synonymous with New York City, and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is at the top of that list. The first parade marched down Broadway in the winter of 1924, and in the years since, it's grown into an event with more than 3.5 million spectators. After a television-only event last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is returning this year with in-person spectators. Ahead, learn all about the parade's 97 years and see some incredible archival photos.
This way for the full history

NYC unveils new memorial in Flushing honoring African and Native American burial ground

Photo: NYC Parks/ Malcolm Pinckney

November 10, 2021

NYC unveils new memorial in Flushing honoring African and Native American burial ground

By Devin Gannon

Hundreds of New Yorkers, mostly African and Native American residents, who were buried in Flushing at least 150 years ago were finally honored with a memorial this week. The city's Parks Department and Queens officials on Tuesday cut the ribbon on a new commemorative plaza at the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground. The site, located north of 46th Avenue between 164th and 165th Streets, was used as a public burial ground starting as early as 1840, with over 1,000 individuals buried there until 1898. A new memorial wall includes the name of the sacred site, a brief history, and 318 recorded names of those buried there, and the new plaza has a butterfly garden and surrounding benches.
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History

Explore literary landmarks of Brooklyn with new self-guided walking tour from BPL

Screenshot courtesy of the Brooklyn Public Library

November 2, 2021

Explore literary landmarks of Brooklyn with new self-guided walking tour from BPL

By Devin Gannon

Discover the fictional places where novels are set and the real-life apartments where authors once lived as part of a new audio tour launched this month by the Brooklyn Public Library. The self-guided literary walking tour, which can be downloaded on your smartphone or opened via web browser, covers eight miles of the borough, from Fort Greene to Bushwick.
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History

The NYC Marathon: history, greatest moments, and what to expect this year

The lead female runners at 81st Street and 1st Avenue in 2015, photo © 6sqft

November 1, 2021

The NYC Marathon: history, greatest moments, and what to expect this year

By Dana Schulz

The world's largest marathon takes place this Sunday, returning to the five boroughs after a pandemic hiatus last year. On November 7, the 50th New York City Marathon will look slightly different this year, bringing together roughly 33,000 runners, which is about 20,000 fewer participants than usual because of Covid-19. The marathon wasn't always the largest in the world, however. Started by the New York Road Runners Club in 1970, the race began as a few loops around Central Park with just over 100 runners. But the passion of its founders, coupled with the spirit of the city, grew the marathon into a monumental event. In honor of the upcoming 2021 Marathon, 6sqft is taking a look back at the history of the race, its greatest moments, and what's in store for this year.
All that right this way

After $5M restoration, NYC’s historic Highbridge Water Tower reopens for public tours

Photo by Shinya Suzuki on Flickr

October 27, 2021

After $5M restoration, NYC’s historic Highbridge Water Tower reopens for public tours

By Devin Gannon

Described in 1967 by the Landmarks Preservation Commission as "one of Manhattan's most picturesque architectural monuments," the Highbridge Water Tower reopened on Wednesday following a restoration project. Located in Washington Heights, the octagonal tower opened in 1872 and served as part of the Croton Aqueduct system, helping increase water pressure throughout the borough. While it no longer is part of the city's water system, the 200-foot landmark is the only one of its kind that remains today. The Parks Department also announced free public tours of the inside of the tower led by the department's Urban Park Rangers will resume next month.
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What it was like the day the NYC subway opened in 1904

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “City Hall Subway Station, New York” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1906.

October 27, 2021

What it was like the day the NYC subway opened in 1904

By Emily Nonko

The Interborough Rapid Transit Subway, or IRT, was the first subway company ever in New York City. The company formed as a response to elevated train lines springing up around the city--it was time to go underground and build a rapid transit railroad to help combat street congestion and assist development in new areas of New York, according to NYCsubway.org. On October 27, 1904, the first IRT subway line opened with the City Hall station as its showpiece. It's no overstatement to say that after this date, the city would never be the same. And the day was one to remember, with pure excitement over the impressive feat of moving the city's transit system underground.
Here's what you need to know

10 offbeat haunted spots in New York City

St. Paul’s Chapel via Flickr cc

October 25, 2021

10 offbeat haunted spots in New York City

By Lucie Levine

'Tis the season to voluntarily spook yourself! But if haunted houses and tourist-friendly ghost tours are not for you, New York's bustling burrows are home to a slew of the more naturally born spirits. You’ll find Dracula’s extended family on 23rd Street, a host of oracles on Orchard Street, and the site of the cruel crime that led to the nation’s first recorded murder trial on Spring Street. If you’re searching for a necropolis in the metropolis, here are ten of the best sites in New York to spot specters.
See all the haunted haunts here!

History

NYC’s historic Five Points neighborhood is officially recognized with street co-naming

Photo on the left courtesy of Lloyd Trufelman; Photo on right courtesy of Wikimedia

October 14, 2021

NYC’s historic Five Points neighborhood is officially recognized with street co-naming

By Devin Gannon

The intersection that formed the notorious Five Points neighborhood in Manhattan will now be officially part of New York City's street grid. The city has installed a sign at Baxter and Worth Streets in Lower Manhattan, marking the exact location of the original Five Points, a notorious 19th-century slum that was home to a diverse group of immigrants. Before this year's street co-naming, there was no official marker at the site to honor the historic spot, considered to be one of the country's first "melting pots." But a successful effort spearheaded by Lloyd Trufelman, who is a tour guide with the Municipal Art Society of New York, along with groups like the New York Adventure Club and the Historic Districts Council led to the street co-naming, symbolizing the return of Five Points to the city 125 years later. Ahead, hear from Trufelman about his campaign to recognize the legendary neighborhood and learn how to sign up for his upcoming walking tour.
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History

Waldorf Astoria launches 90th anniversary oral history project

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

September 28, 2021

Waldorf Astoria launches 90th anniversary oral history project

By Dana Schulz

October 1 marks 90 years since the Waldorf Astoria opened its doors on Park Avenue. It was the world's tallest hotel for 32 years and became perhaps the most famous hotel on the globe, too, attracting Hollywood’s elite, world leaders, and famed cultural events and galas. Since 2016, the landmark has been closed for a restoration and reimagination that will bring 375 hotel rooms and suites, along with 375 luxury condos as part of The Towers of the Waldorf Astoria. In anticipation of the reopening in early 2023, and to mark its nine-decade-long history, a new website called Waldorf Stories will "honor, document, and preserve the oral history of the world’s most famous hotel through stories told by the people that lived them."
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Latin in Manhattan: A look at early Hispanic New York

By Lucie Levine

Every year starting on September 15, we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month to recognize the contributions and accomplishments of Hispanic Americans. Over 2.4 million New Yorkers, or nearly one-third of the city's population, identify as Hispanic or Latino. The city’s thriving Latin community marks the most recent chapter in the history of Latin New York, which stretches over 400 years. Ahead, learn about early Hispanic New York, starting with the arrival of Juan Rodriguez, the first non-Native American person to live in New York City.
Learn more about Early Latin NY!

History

An illustration of the first Labor Day parade, via Wiki Commons

September 3, 2021

In 1882, Labor Day originated with a parade held in NYC

By Emily Nonko

Though Labor Day has been embraced as a national holiday--albeit one many Americans don't know the history of--it originated right here in New York City as a result of the city's labor unions fighting for worker's rights throughout the 1800s. The event was first observed, unofficially, on Tuesday, September 5th, 1882, with thousands marching from City Hall up to Union Square. At the time, the New York Times considered the event to be unremarkable. But 138 years later, we celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday of every September as a tribute to all American workers. It's also a good opportunity to recognize the hard-won accomplishments of New York unions to secure a better workplace for us today.
Keep reading for the full history

100 years after WWI, all-Black unit Harlem Hellfighters awarded Congressional Gold Medal

New York’s famous 369th (Old 15th) Infantry Regiment arrives home from France. From the National Archives via Wikimedia Commons

September 1, 2021

100 years after WWI, all-Black unit Harlem Hellfighters awarded Congressional Gold Medal

By Devin Gannon

One of the most decorated all-Black American regiments is finally getting nationally recognized more than a century after World War I. President Joe Biden last week signed into law the Harlem Hellfighters Congressional Gold Medal Act, which posthumously honors the 369th Infantry Regiment. Made up mostly of New Yorkers, the Harlem Hellfighters spent 191 days on the front-line trenches, longer than any other American unit. Despite their courage and sacrifice, the soldiers returned home to face racism and discrimination.
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Take a tour of Untermyer Gardens, one of the world’s finest Persian gardens, just north of NYC

Photo © 6sqft

August 24, 2021

Take a tour of Untermyer Gardens, one of the world’s finest Persian gardens, just north of NYC

By Devin Gannon

Located just over an hour from Grand Central Terminal on Metro North’s Hudson line, the renowned Untermyer Gardens is a 43-acre historic park in Yonkers that features a Persian Paradise garden, a small amphitheater, a classical pavilion, the “Temple of Love,” and a “Vista” staircase. The park was developed in the early 20th century by philanthropist Samuel Untermyer, who purchased the estate in 1899. For 40 years, Untermyer transformed the sprawling greenery into some of the most acclaimed gardens in the United States, known today as “America’s Greatest Forgotten Garden.” Following his death, the property was not well maintained and fell into disrepair. For the last ten years, the Untermyer Garden Conservancy has worked to restore the site to its former glory and to provide a beautiful public space for all.
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August 19, 2021

The world’s first air conditioner was invented in Brooklyn in 1902

By Michelle Cohen

Photo of Willis Carrier (left) courtesy of Wikipedia; Photo of air conditioners in NY building courtesy of Marcel Oosterwijk on Flickr It figures, but history shows us yet another way Brooklyn was cool, like, forever–though this particular example is a bit more literal. A classic New York City heatwave was just enough to turn up the Brooklyn ingenuity in a junior engineer named Willis Carrier, who devised a system of fans, ducts, heaters, and perforated pipes that became the world’s first air conditioner. The problem: blistering temperatures that were literally melting the equipment in a Williamsburg printing house. The solution was one that had eluded centuries of inventors through sweltering summers. The system was installed in the summer of 1902, according to the New York Times, and Carrier went on to found Carrier Corporation. He had hit on the idea while walking in the fog.
It's the humidity

History

Green-Wood Cemetery honors Battle of Brooklyn’s 245th anniversary with revolutionary event

Battle of Brooklyn reenactment in Green-Wood Cemetery; Photo by Allison Meier on Flickr

August 13, 2021

Green-Wood Cemetery honors Battle of Brooklyn’s 245th anniversary with revolutionary event

By Devin Gannon

The first major battle to take place during the Revolutionary War after the United States declared independence took place in Brooklyn on August 27, 1776. During the Battle of Brooklyn, fighting took place across the borough, including throughout present-day Prospect Park, Fulton Ferry Landing, and Green-Wood Cemetery. To commemorate the 245th anniversary of the historic struggle, Green-Wood Cemetery is hosting a family-friendly event this month with Revolutionary War reenactors, music, demonstrations, and other activities.
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The history of Central Park’s Hooverville, the Great Depression shanty town

“A Scene in Shantytown, New York” appearing in the March 4, 1880 edition of the New York Daily Graphic, via Wikimedia Commons

August 4, 2021

The history of Central Park’s Hooverville, the Great Depression shanty town

By Rebecca Paul

Following the October stock market crash of 1929, there was an unprecedented number of people in the U.S. without homes or jobs. And as the Great Depression set in, demand grew and the overflow became far too overwhelming and unmanageable for government resources to manage. Homeless people in large cities began to build their own houses out of found materials, and some even built more permanent structures from brick. Small shanty towns—later named Hoovervilles after President Hoover—began to spring up in vacant lots, public land and empty alleys. Three of these pop-up villages were located in New York City, the largest of which was on what is now Central Park's Great Lawn.
Learn more here

History

NYC’s first subway was a pneumatic tube that moved passengers one block

Image via Rawpixel/ Wikimedia Commons

July 12, 2021

NYC’s first subway was a pneumatic tube that moved passengers one block

By Diane Pham

Nearly 150 years ago, something quite momentous happened in New York history: the first subway line was opened to the public. The system was the invention of Alfred Ely Beach and his company Beach Pneumatic Transit Company. Beach put up $350,000 of his own money to build the first prototype and tunnel and his company managed to put it together, somewhat covertly, in just 58 days. The tunnel measured about 312 feet long, eight feet in diameter, and was completed in 1870.
more on the history of NYC's 1st subway line here

Kimlau War Memorial becomes NYC’s first landmark related to Chinese American history

Photo by Ken Lund on Flickr

June 22, 2021

Kimlau War Memorial becomes NYC’s first landmark related to Chinese American history

By Devin Gannon

New York City gained its first landmark related to Chinese American history and culture on Tuesday. The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Kimlau War Memorial, a tribute to Chinese American veterans located in Chinatown. Designed by architect Poy Gum Lee, the memorial honors Americans of Chinese descent who died during World War II and has served as a gathering place for veterans.
Details this way

The New York City flag, photo via Wikimedia Commons

June 14, 2021

The meaning behind every New York City borough flag

By Devin Gannon

The United States celebrates Flag Day as a way to remember the adoption of the country’s first official flag on June 14, 1777. Later in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that established June 14 as Flag Day. While all of us honor the American flag today, each borough in New York City has its own flag that can be celebrated. The city of New York also has its own flag, which features the colors of blue, white, and orange and has the city's seal on the front. The colors are derived from the flag of the Dutch Republic as used in New Amsterdam in 1625.
Get the scoop on the borough flags

History

Historic mansion in Park Slope asking $30M could set record in Brooklyn

All listing photos courtesy of Ryan Lahiff/Rise Media

June 3, 2021

Historic mansion in Park Slope asking $30M could set record in Brooklyn

By Devin Gannon

The Park Slope mansion owned by the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture for the last 75 years has hit the market for $30 million. If sold for the asking price, the property would set a record for the most expensive home sale in the borough. Located at 53 Prospect Park West, the grand four-story building boasts 5,724 square feet of interior space and a landscaped outdoor space nearly double that size, which the listing describes as the "largest private garden in Brooklyn."
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Photo by Ling Tang on Unsplash

May 24, 2021

10 secrets of the Brooklyn Bridge

By Emily Nonko

On May 24, 1883, throngs of New Yorkers came to the Manhattan and Brooklyn waterfronts to celebrate the opening of what was then known as the New York and Brooklyn Bridge. It was reported that 1,800 vehicles and 150,300 people total crossed what was then the only land passage between Brooklyn and Manhattan. The bridge--later dubbed the Brooklyn Bridge, a name that stuck--went on to become one of the most iconic landmarks in New York. There's been plenty of history, and secrets, along the way. Lesser-known facts about the bridge include everything from hidden wine cellars to a parade of 21 elephants crossing in 1884. To celebrate the anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge, 6sqft rounded up its top 10 most intriguing secrets.
All the secrets right this way

Effort continues to restore New York’s Titanic Memorial Lighthouse to its original 1913 condition

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. (1915). Seamen’s Church Institute of New York, 25 South Street

April 26, 2021

Effort continues to restore New York’s Titanic Memorial Lighthouse to its original 1913 condition

By Devin Gannon

The campaign to landmark and restore the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse, a monument in New York City built in 1913 to honor those who died aboard the Titanic, continues. Designed by Warren and Wetmore, the architecture firm behind Grand Central Terminal, the 60-foot-tall lighthouse originally sat atop the roof of the Seamen's Church Institute and featured a working time ball that dropped down the pole each day, along with a green light. Preservationists are now raising funds that would help restore the lighthouse, currently located at the entrance to the South Street Seaport, to its original condition.
More here

History

April 13, 2021

20 underground and secret NYC attractions you need to check out

By Devin Gannon

While visiting the major, most popular attractions of New York City can be fun, it can also be stressful, overwhelming and full of selfie-taking tourists. However, the great thing about the Big Apple is that plenty of other attractions exist that are far less known or even hidden in plain sight. To go beyond the tourist-filled sites and tour the city like you're seeing it for the very first time, check out 6sqft's list ahead of the 20 best underground, secret spots in New York City.
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The history behind NYC’s iconic Anthora coffee cups

Photo via banjo d’s Flickr

April 7, 2021

The history behind NYC’s iconic Anthora coffee cups

By Devin Gannon

In a city full of symbolism, from bright yellow taxis to black-and-white cookies, New Yorkers also find comfort and nostalgia in a certain cardboard coffee cup. Known as the Anthora, the blue-and-white drinking vessel first became an icon of New York City in 1963 when Leslie Buck, a Czech-American immigrant, designed the first-ever to-go coffee cup to appeal to Greek-owned coffee shops and diners. With its customer-friendly “We Are Happy to Serve You” inscription and Greek-style letters, the Anthora has now become an important part of the city's identity.
The whole history here

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