History

Black Friday marks the start of frantic holiday shopping, the day when retailers offer their best deals of the season to lure in eager shoppers. While some gift-givers now choose to digitally add items to shopping carts from the comfort of bed instead, many still line up outside of stores at the crack of dawn in search of major discounts. This is not a modern phenomenon, as these photographs from the Library of Congress of 20th century New York City reveal. Like today, New Yorkers of the early 1900s were drawn to the magical window shops and displays. Ahead, explore vintage photos of shoppers browsing New York City stores looking for the perfect presents, postcards and more.
See the photos here

The 100-year history of New York’s settlement house collective

United Neighborhood Houses’ Rally for the Bury the Slums Campaign in 1936

November 22, 2019

The 100-year history of New York’s settlement house collective

By Emily Nonko

Look back to early 1900s New York and you’ll find a city not only transformed by an influx of immigrants from around the world, but a movement to improve their living conditions. As newcomers to the city increasingly faced poverty, hunger, disease, crime and unsafe housing, community hubs like churches and synagogues began advocating for better living conditions. Settlement houses also played an important role in this movement for social justice. Their initial purpose of bringing more privileged, outside “settlers” into immigrant communities could be controversial, but it also forged bonds between different classes of New Yorkers who fought for issues like housing protections, stronger labor laws, and city sanitation efforts. Exactly 100 years ago, an organization emerged to better coordinate the efforts of settlement houses and ensure their advocacy into the future. United Neighborhood Houses was the city’s first umbrella organization for settlement homes with the goal to fight for equality and social change. Today the organization exists as one of the largest human service systems in New York City, holding up the city’s still-robust collection of settlement houses. The history of United Neighborhood Houses tells a larger story of the evolving role of settlement houses in New York: why they were introduced, how they integrated — with some bumps — into impoverished communities, and how they’ve grown into community hubs still servicing New Yorkers today.
The full history ahead

History

10 things you didn’t know about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Photo courtesy of Macy’s, Inc.

November 13, 2019

10 things you didn’t know about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Since New York City invented the Holiday Season as we know it, it’s only fitting that this city kicks things off in fine form. Thankfully, the good folks at Macy’s have been doing just that since 1924, when they sent the very first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade sauntering down Broadway. The Parade has been synonymous with Thanksgiving for more than 90 years, and it has more secrets up its sleeve than it has balloons in the air. From “balloonatics” and “falloons” to the only time in history the parade was canceled, here are 10 things you might not know about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Float on!

First major exhibition to highlight African American culinary history coming to Harlem next year

Exhibition renderings courtesy of the Museum of Food and Drink

November 6, 2019

First major exhibition to highlight African American culinary history coming to Harlem next year

Next February the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) will bring together the country’s first exhibition celebrating the countless ways in which African Americans have shaped American cuisine. Curated by Dr. Jessica B. Harris, a leading expert on the foods of the African Diaspora, African/American: Making the Nation’s Table will take place at The Africa Center in Harlem and feature musical selections by Questlove, tastings by Chef Carla Hall, and a restoration of the historic Ebony Magazine Test Kitchen.
More details

November 6, 2019

Where to see pieces of the Berlin Wall in NYC

By Dana Schulz

This Saturday, November 9th, marks the 30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down. Many people might know of pieces of the wall on display in various museums such as the Newseum in DC and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in southern California, but did you know there are four places in NYC to see segments of the Berlin Wall? One is in a touristy Times Square museum, another at the United Nations, a third at a public plaza in Battery Park City, and the last inside a public office building lobby in Midtown (though recent reports say this piece has been moved to storage).
Learn more about these four spots

History

November 4, 2019

Three years after promising $5M West Village house to the Lenape, Louise Bourgeois’ son backtracks

Three years after Jean-Louis Goldwater Bourgeois announced plans to transfer the deed of his West Village townhouse to a nonprofit organization run by a former chief of the Ramapough Indians—part of the Lenape Nation, the original Manhattanites—the millionaire activist (and artist Louise Bourgeois' son) has decided to hold onto it after all. Bourgeois was working on plans to transform the historic wood-frame home into a patahmaniikan, or a prayer house, when he decided that he was in fact "married to this building" and no longer eager to give it away, as the New York Post reports.
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History

Learn about 16th-century Native American culture with a paddling tour of the Bronx River

Photo by Elena Gaillard on Wikimedia

October 31, 2019

Learn about 16th-century Native American culture with a paddling tour of the Bronx River

To celebrate Native American Heritage Month, New Yorkers can take a free paddling tour of the Bronx River this weekend while learning about the experiences of 16th-century indigenous communities. Hosted by the Bronx River Alliance and Moskehtu Consulting, the event takes visitors on a 30-minute canoe paddle through the Mitshubishi River Walk in the Bronx Zoo and explores the life and culture of Native Americans with a living village.
How to sign up

Photo credit: Daniel Avila / NYC Parks.

October 31, 2019

Harlem’s historic Mount Morris Fire Watchtower returns to Marcus Garvey Park after a $7.9M restoration

By Andrew Berman and Hunter Lane of Village Preservation

The Harlem Fire Watchtower, also known as the Mount Morris Fire Watchtower, is the last structure of its kind in New York City. The 47-foot-tall tower was erected in 1856, the third of 11 fire towers built in Manhattan. Fire watchtowers were discontinued after 1878, but the bell in its tower continued to ring at 9am and noon for years after. The historic cast-iron tower has been restored and reunited with its original surroundings in Marcus Garvey park after having been in storage since 2015.
Find out more

History

17 legendary musicians who called Greenwich Village home

For generations, Greenwich Village, and particularly the historic district which lies at its core, has attracted musicians of all stripes. They’ve been inspired by its quaint and charming streets and the lively cultural scene located in and around the neighborhood. It would be a fool’s errand to try to name every great musician who ever laid their head to rest within the Greenwich Village Historic District’s boundaries. But as we round out a year’s worth of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the district’s designation, here are just a few of the greats who at one time or another called it home, from Bob Dylan to John Lennon to Jimi Hendrix to Barbra Streisand.
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History

October 28, 2019

8 of New York City’s spookiest abandoned sites

It often seems as if the jackhammer is the soundtrack to New York, as construction is a constant in this city. Given the frenetic pace of development in the five boroughs, it feels almost unbelievable that there are abandoned sites all over New York, left to go to seed as the steel skeletons of ever higher, newer, glassier structures rise around them. Here are eight of the most interesting abandoned sites in NYC, from the site of the city's first airport to a defunct freight line.
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History

Plan to honor historic black settlement Seneca Village with statue in Central Park faces backlash

Photo by Si B on Flickr

October 24, 2019

Plan to honor historic black settlement Seneca Village with statue in Central Park faces backlash

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

As part of the city's plan to diversify public art and recognize figures overlooked by history in New York City, Central Park is getting another statue, as the New York Times reports. The privately-funded monument will commemorate Seneca Village, the predominantly black community that was thriving until the 1850s in what became Central Park. Once again, however, the city's commemorative statue planning has fallen afoul of historians. The proposed structure won’t be located at the site of Seneca Village, which for nearly three decades stretched between West 83rd and 89th streets in Central Park. Instead, the monument’s home will be in the park, but 20 blocks to the north on 106th street.
Find out more

Photo by Beyond My Ken / Wiki Commons

October 17, 2019

Publishing giants, radical literature, and women’s suffrage: More secrets of Union Square South

The area south of Union Square, on the border between Greenwich Village and the East Village, is changing. The approval of the new 14th Street Tech Hub south of Union Square combined with an explosion of tech-related development in the area has resulted in the demolition of mid-19th-century hotels and Beaux-Arts style tenements, with new office towers like 809 Broadway taking their place. Aside from being rich in 19th- and early-20th-century architecture, this area is overflowing with history connected to many of the great American artists, writers, musicians, publishers, activists, innovators and artisans of the last century and a half. As part of Village Preservation's work to document and bring to light some of that often forgotten history, we wrote this piece last year exploring the connections to Mark Twain and Walt Whitman, Alexander Graham Bell and Leroi Jones (among many others). Now, we've uncovered even more history-making people and events connected to this area and its buildings, from Hammacher Schlemmer (NYC's first hardware store) to a slew of influential publishing houses (including that which published the first U.S. edition of "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland") to the Women’s Suffrage League headquarters.
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History

PHOTOS: See the views from the Empire State Building’s new 102nd-floor observatory

View looking north, with Central Park and the towers that dot Billionaires’ Row clearly visible; Photo courtesy of Empire State Realty Trust

October 11, 2019

PHOTOS: See the views from the Empire State Building’s new 102nd-floor observatory

After four years and $165 million, the revamp of New York City's first supertall is nearly complete, bringing a more contemporary and visitor-friendly experience to one of the world's most historic buildings. The Empire State Building's 102nd-floor observatory, which boasts 360-degree panoramic views at 1,250 feet above street level, officially opens to the public on Saturday, Oct. 12. Building owner Empire State Realty Trust redesigned the observatory to be less obstructive for guests, allowing more picture-perfect views and less time waiting.
All the way up

The hopping history of German breweries in Yorkville

Jacob Ruppert’s Knickerbocker Beer, 1912, via Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division

October 10, 2019

The hopping history of German breweries in Yorkville

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

If you spent the first weekend of October hoisting lager and Oomph-ing it up for Oktoberfest, then you joined a long and proud tradition of German beer production and consumption in New York City. In fact, New York’s German-owned breweries were once the largest beer-making operations in the country, and the brewers themselves grew into regional and national power-players, transforming Major League Baseball, holding elected office, and, perhaps most importantly, sponsoring goat beauty pageants in Central Park. While brewing flourished in both Manhattan and Brooklyn throughout the 19th century, the city’s largest breweries were clustered in Yorkville. In fact, much of the neighborhood’s storied German cultural history can be traced to the rise of brewing in the area, and the German-language shops, cultural institutions and social halls that sprang up to cater to the brewery workers.
Get more Hopping History Here!

History

October 3, 2019

12 historic Italian-American sites of the East Village

October, the month we mark Columbus Day, is also Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month. That combined with the recent celebrations around the 125th anniversary of beloved pastry shop Veniero’s inspires a closer look at the East Village’s own historic Little Italy, centered around First Avenue near the beloved pastry shop and cafe. While not nearly as famous or intact as similar districts around Mulberry Street or Bleecker and Carmine Street in the South Village, if you look closely vestiges of the East Village’s once-thriving Italian community are all around. In the second half of the 19th century, the East Village was a vibrant checkerboard of ethnic enclaves. Germans were by far the dominant group, until the turn of the century when Eastern European Jews took over the Second Avenue spine and much of what’s now Alphabet City, Hungarians congregated along Houston Street, and Slavs and Poles gravitated towards the blocks just west and north of Tompkins Square. But a linear Italian-American enclave formed along and near First Avenue, broadening at 14th Street. Vestiges of this community survived into the third quarter of the 20th century, with just a few establishments and structures connected to that era continuing to function today.
Get the full list

History

Image courtesy of Urban Archive.

September 20, 2019

Urban Archive’s new History Crush feature lets you swipe right on your favorite images of NYC’s past

6sqft previously featured Urban Archive, the technology nonprofit that has been building (no pun intended) connections  between people, places, and historical institutions through a growing map of New York City’s unique architecture, culture, and stories for several years. Last February saw the launch of their citywide project seeking crowd-sourced histories and photographs to be included in the UA app. Now, the Urban Archive app has a fun new feature: History Crush serves users a steady randomized supply of historic images of NYC buildings, places and events. You can weigh in with a swipe left or right on each new image; yes, it's like the dating app (without the stress). This Adderall-era add-on actually makes the app even more addictive–and encourages users to check out more images. Even better, right-swiped and liked images are saved to a folder in your My Archive collection for future investigation.
Every picture tells a story

New design revealed for Central Park women’s suffrage statue, but objections delay vote

Rendering of “Women’s Rights Pioneer Monument” (courtesy of Monumental Women).

September 17, 2019

New design revealed for Central Park women’s suffrage statue, but objections delay vote

Last year’s unveiling of designs for the first statue in Central Park’s 165-year history that depicts real historic women–a sculpture of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, set to be dedicated in August of 2020 to mark the 100th anniversary of nationwide women’s suffrage–was met with the criticism that it didn't adequately represent the many African-American women who aided in the cause. As 6sqft previously reported, a redesigned statue honoring women’s rights advocates will now include Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and escaped slave and abolitionist Sojourner Truth, who aided in the fight for women’s rights. The updated design has been revealed. But, as AM New York reports, The city's Public Design Commission has said the statue still falls short, and has postponed the vote to confirm the new design–possibly jeopardizing an August 26, 2020 unveiling.
Critics weigh in

A history of Book Row, NYC’s long-time downtown haven for bibliophiles

“Pageant Book Store, 109 East 9th Street., north side between 3rd & 4th Avenues; Hannah and Her Sisters Bookstore scenes shot here,” Village Preservation (GVSHP) Image Archive, accessed September 9, 2019

September 9, 2019

A history of Book Row, NYC’s long-time downtown haven for bibliophiles

The slogan of beloved NYC bookstore the Strand boasts the store's "18 miles of books," a number that seems incredibly vast yet was once just a small fraction of what book lovers could expect to find in the neighborhood. For almost eight decades, from the 1890s to the 1960s, the seven blocks of Fourth Avenue between Union Square and Astor Place were home to a thriving bibliophiles’ paradise known as Book Row. Here, book lovers and secondhand vendors gathered, and the pace of the city slowed down as they browsed the miles of stacks available. Speaking to the New York Times, collector Paul A. Solano—who went on to open his own used book shop in Morningside Heights—said it took him a week to stroll through all the stores on the seven-block stretch. In its heyday, Book Row was home to 48 bookstores and millions of volumes. Now, the recently landmarked Strand bookstore is the only remaining vestige of that era.
Find out about the history and what happened

History

Photo courtesy of the Dorrance Brooks Property Owners and Residents Association

September 4, 2019

Dorrance Brooks Square: A Harlem enclave with World War and civil rights ties

By Historic Districts Council

This post is part of a series by the Historic Districts Council, exploring the groups selected for their Six to Celebrate program, New York’s only targeted citywide list of preservation priorities. By many accounts, Dorrance Brooks Square is considered the first public square named for a black soldier. The little Harlem park, just east of the larger St. Nicholas Park, was dedicated in 1925 to honor African-American infantryman Dorrance Brooks for his bravery during WWI. Prior to that, the area was very much associated with the Harlem Renaissance, home to jazz musician Lionel Hampton and sociologist and civil rights activist W.E.B. DuBois, among others. Later, it became a key location for social and political gatherings and speeches during the Civil Rights era. Today, the quaint neighborhood is home to an incredibly intact collection of late 19th-century rowhouses, built at the time for upper-middle-class professionals, as well as four culturally and architecturally significant churches. For all these reasons, the Dorrance Brooks Property Owners and Residents Association is advocating for an official landmark designation of the Dorrance Brooks Square Historic District, which would run up Edgecombe Avenue between West 136th and 140th Streets. To give 6sqft more information on this history of this neighborhood, the Association has mapped out the six most significant sites.
Learn all the history right here

History

The history of Brooklyn’s Caribbean Carnival, the most colorful event in New York City

Via Run With Scissors on Flickr

August 28, 2019

The history of Brooklyn’s Caribbean Carnival, the most colorful event in New York City

Every Labor Day, millions of people gather in Brooklyn to celebrate Caribbean culture at the West Indian-American Day Carnival. Since the early 20th century, the Carnival, which first got its start in the United States in Harlem, has brought together New Yorkers through beautiful costumes, music, dance, and food of the West Indies. Starting in the 1960s, the festival has taken over Crown Heights' Eastern Parkway, uniting many islands (Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Haiti, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and Grenda, Guyana, Suriname and Belize, and others) in one extravagant party. As one of New York City's largest, and certainly most colorful, events, the Carnival should not be missed. Ahead, learn about the history of the parade, the traditions that thrive to this day and the details of this year's festival.
More this way

The Italian side of Williamsburg: History, famous joints, and today’s culture

Photo via Flickr cc

August 21, 2019

The Italian side of Williamsburg: History, famous joints, and today’s culture

A bustling Brooklyn enclave that is today an impossibly trendy and diverse mix of glassy condos, hip new restaurants and storefronts, and unassuming multi-family homes in the northeast section of Williamsburg was one of New York City’s notable Italian-American neighborhoods for much of the 20th century. While it may not have the tourist cachet of Manhattan’s Little Italy–or the old-fashioned village-y coziness of Carroll Gardens–this swath of the ‘burg, bounded roughly by Montrose, Union, Richardson, and Humboldt Streets, was a little bit of Italy in its own right from the 1800s until as late as the 1990s. The north end of Graham Avenue was even christened Via Vespucci to commemorate the historic Italian-American community.
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August 19, 2019

10 things you might not know about the Statue of Liberty

The debate around American immigration policy has become so contentious and dispiriting that the acting director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services has actually suggested amending “The New Colossus,” Emma Lazarus' immortal words of welcome inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty. But at the same time, writer Joan Marans Dim and artist Antonio Masi have brought out "Lady Liberty: An Illustrated History of America’s Most Storied Woman." After getting a sneak peek of the new book, it seemed timely to take a deep dive into the history of the Statue of Liberty, which represents not only our city but one of the most vital and necessary of all American values. Ahead, discover 10 things you might not know about the Statue of Liberty, from its beginnings on "Love Island" to early suffragette protests to its sister in Paris.
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History

Image via Google Maps

August 19, 2019

Developer who wants to raze abolitionist home in Brooklyn says he’ll build a museum in basement