Few people are allowed to go onto Hart Island, the quiet, narrow island in the Long Island Sound, a lonely place in sight of the bustling community of City Island. For over 150 years, Hart Island has been New York’s potter’s field, the burial site for over one million people — unclaimed bodies, stillborn babies,… Read More

One of the great narratives of American history — immigration — through the experiences of the Irish. We just reedited and reworked our 2017 show on Irish immigration in time for St. Patrick’s Day and a celebration of all things Irish! So much has changed in our world since 2017 and this history feels more… Read More

The 71st Infantry Regiment of New York has an interesting history. In 1852 eight companies formed to become the 71st regiment of the state militia, led under Colonel Abraham S. Vosburgh. On April 16th, 1861, 380 men mustered under Colonel Vosburgh and paraded down New York Ave in response to Lincoln's request for troops to fight in the United States Civil War. The 71st played critical roles in two of the most famous Civil War battles including the First Battle of Bull Run where they protected the retreat, and two years later where they fought at the battle of Gettysburg. On July 4th, 1867 the 71st Infantry regiment joined the 7th New York and served as riot control during the riots in the Sixth Ward between the Bowery Boys and the Dead Rabbits.

Are you tough enough to mess with them? PODCAST Extra! Extra! Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst vs. the newsboys! Pandemonium in the streets! One hot summer in July 1899, thousands of corner newsboys went on strike against the New York Journal and the New York World. Throngs filled the streets of downtown Manhattan for… Read More

Newsies hawk newspapers to riders of a passing trolley [LOC] One hundred and twenty five years ago this week, hundreds of newsboys took to the streets in protest of unfair pricing and competition practices. Â It was not their first time and, most memorably, it would not be their last. “For an hour or two they… Read More

The destructive force of tornado season has made itself abundantly evident in the Midwest this week, and New Yorkers can sometimes develop a false sense of security by the rarity of twister activity here. But tornados do occasionally make their way to the five boroughs. In fact Staten Island was under a tornado warning just this past… Read More

PODCAST New York’s Crystal Palace seems like something out of a dream, a shimmering and spectacular glass-and-steel structure — a gigantic greenhouse — which sat in the area of today’s Bryant Park. In 1853 this was the home to the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, a dizzying presentation of items, great and small,… Read More

PODCAST Fifth Avenue’s role in the ‘revolution’ of beauty, as led by Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, New York’s boldest businesswomen of the Jazz Age. The Midtown Manhattan stretch of Fifth Avenue, once known for its ensemble of extravagant mansions owned by the Gilded Age’s wealthiest families, went through an astonishing makeover one hundred years… Read More

PODCAST Your ticket to Truman Capote’s celebrity-filled party at the Plaza. This month FX is debuting a new series created by Ryan Murphy — called Feud: Capote and the Swans — regarding writer Truman Capote‘s relationship with several famed New York society women. And it’s such a New York story that listeners have asked if we’re going… Read More

PODCAST The story of the Lenape, the native people of New York Harbor region, and their experiences with the first European arrivals — the explorers, the fur traders, the residents of New Amsterdam. Before New York, before New Amsterdam — there was Lenapehoking, the land of the Lenape, the original inhabitants of the places we… Read More

PODCAST Fifth Avenue’s role in the ‘revolution’ of beauty, as led by Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, New York’s boldest businesswomen of the Jazz Age. The Midtown Manhattan stretch of Fifth Avenue, once known for its ensemble of extravagant mansions owned by the Gilded Age’s wealthiest families, went through an astonishing makeover one hundred years… Read More

In 1854 socialite Caroline Webster Schermerhorn married the enormously wealthy William Backhouse Astor Jr., grandson of the famous fur trader John Jacob Astor. As a wedding present William's Father William Backhouse Astor Sr. presented the couple with half of a large empty lot John Jacob Astor had bought during his real estate buy out spree. The large corner lot they were given was at the corner of 34th street in a neighborhood that was becoming fashionable. Since the couple didn't plan on entertaining much ( Because the reigning Mrs. Astor at that time was Margaret Astor, Caroline's mother-in-law ) the couple didn't need a huge brownstone with numerous entertaining rooms, although it did have three reception rooms. The result was a modest brownstone which was quite comfortable and actually quite wide, to make room for the needed drawing room. At the left side of the property was a small walled garden and fountain. The comfortable interiors were done in old world styles and had exquisite antiques. The first floor had a beautiful georgian drawing room, three reception rooms done in the Adam, Louis XVI and Empire styles, a Regency styled dining room and a oak paneled library. Shortly after William and Caroline built their brownstone, William's older brother, John, and his family built a brownstone on the remaining half corner lot. Their home was done in a more french rivera style but was still done in brownstone. William's brother John's residence next door The neighboring brothers was content with each other but didn't exactly agree on everything ( one was John was a Democrat and William was a Republican like his family ) which drove them apart until they became practically unspeakable to each other. Everything changed when William Sr. died. In his will William Sr. had set out $90 million of his $100 million fortune to be divided in half between his sons giving each $45 million. This left it unclear who was the head of the family, John assumed it was himself since he was the older son but Caroline felt differently and named her husband head of the house and her The Mrs. Astor. Since she was the Mrs. that meant she was going to have to do a major amount of entertaining, but that didn't bother her. Since old society disgraced lavish display of wealth on the exterior of one's home to show how wealthy you were ( like the unfortunate A. T Stewarts and their mansion they built across the street from Caroline's brownstone but they might as well hav lived o the moon because the great lady never noticed them ) The A. T. Stewart mansion made the modest but costly Astor brownstone across the street look like second class so Caroline decided to stay at her comfortable brownstone and do renovations. She had the Georgian drawing room completely redone and turned into the then fashionable Rococo style, it was in this room the family had their signature family portrait done Next came the Regency dining room which was completely ripped out of everything and replaced with Louis XV interiors ( which were latter copied by the Wideners for their dining room ). The library and reception rooms stayed the same along with the entrance hall. Caroline also needed a ballroom for her lavish entertaining and someplace to house her huge art collection so she added a ballroom wing to the house. The ballroom wing would replace the stables and was to be the largest room in the house. It would have beautiful polished parquet floors covered by the Schermerhorn heirloom rugs, in the center of the room was Caroline's huge round red velvet ottoman which was right below the chandelier. Around the room were various plush chairs and sofas and Caroline's famous red silk divan ( called behind her back the "Throne" since she was the queen of society ) the walls were completely covered with art work. The ballroom could hold 400 people and since that was how many people her ballroom could fit comfortably that became the magic number for how many people were in society starting the famous "400" and the ballroom from then on became society's inner sanctum. Mrs. Astors's divan now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Upstairs was Mr and Mrs Astor's master suites, his featured his bedroom, bath, dressing room and private study while her's featured her bedroom, bath, dressing room and boudoir. Because of family feuds Caroline's nephew tore down his father's mansion next door and built the Waldorf hotel which towered over caroline's brownstone The noise, traffic and dust literally forced Caroline out of her home of more than 40 years. She moved to a much safer location, while her son commissioned a hotel on the site to out rank the Waldorf, which he named Astoria. The hotels eventually merged to form the Waldorf-Astoria the biggest and most luxurious hotel in the city. Today the Empire State Building stands on the spot where Caroline once received guests.

The Lusitania gets dwarfed by recollections of the Titanic. But in many ways, the destruction of the Cunard Line’s premier ocean liner on May 7, 1915, was a deeper tragedy than that of the White Star liner. As a casualty of war — sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of southern Ireland —… Read More

PODCAST The Rockettes are America’s best known dance troupe — and a staple of the holiday season — but you may not know the origin of this iconic New York City symbol. For one, they’re not even from the Big Apple! Formerly the Missouri Rockets, the dancers and their famed choreographer Russell Markert were… Read More

The Lusitania gets dwarfed by recollections of the Titanic. But in many ways, the destruction of the Cunard Line’s premier ocean liner on May 7, 1915, was a deeper tragedy than that of the White Star liner. As a casualty of war — sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of southern Ireland —… Read More

Charles Norris and the toxicology laboratory at Bellevue Hospital [source]The Poisoner’s HandbookPBS: American ExperiencePremieres January 7, 20148pm EST / 7pm CST“In 1922 101 New Yorkers hanged themselves. Four hundred forty-four died in car accidents. Twenty were crushed in elevators. There were 237 fatal shootings and 34 stabbings. And that year, nine hundred and ninety-seven New Yorkers died… Read More

PODCAST Fifth Avenue’s role in the ‘revolution’ of beauty, as led by Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, New York’s boldest businesswomen of the Jazz Age. The Midtown Manhattan stretch of Fifth Avenue, once known for its ensemble of extravagant mansions owned by the Gilded Age’s wealthiest families, went through an astonishing makeover one hundred years… Read More