The Bowery Boys: New York City History

01:04:14

New York's Most Haunted Historic Places (Best of)

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/10/02

We have been recording Halloween podcasts about New York City -- for twenty years! The first Bowery Boys ghost story podcast was released on October 11th, 2007, the first time we used actual urban legends about wandering spirits and other unpleasant things as a way to share historical tales about the city.Before the arrival of next week's brand new episode, get in the mood with this best-of compilation of our favorite stories from past shows, featuring places that you can still visit today, pulled

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01:24:21

#493 The Mysterious Fox Sisters

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/09/25

In the town of Hydesville, south of the bustling city of Rochester, a traveling peddler was brutally murdered and buried in the cellar of a forlorn wooden farmhouse. His restless spirit, it was claimed, haunted the house.In 1848, the teenage girls Kate and Maggie Fox claimed to receive spiritual transmissions from the murdered man. Their gifts included interpreting mysterious knocking sounds and an unusual ability to conjure such otherworldly communications on a whim.Later joined by their sister

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01:01:33

#492 How Mamie Fish Partied Her Way to Gilded Age Power

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/09/18

In the summer of 1902, all of Newport was buzzing: a European prince was coming to town, and Mamie Fish — one of the reigning hostesses of American high society — was throwing a dinner in his honor.The young ladies practiced their curtsies. But what walked through the door that night was no prince, but did tell you everything about who Mamie Fish was.She hadn’t started anywhere near the top. Raised in the Gramercy Park neighborhood in the 1850s, she watched her family’s fortune vanish and they

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01:04:27

The World Trade Center in the 1970s (Rewind)

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/09/11

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the attacks on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. Today there’s an entire generation that only knows the World Trade Center as an emblem of tragedy. But people sometimes forget that the World Trade Center, designed by Japanese-American architect Minoru Yamasaki, was a very complicated addition to the New York skyline when it officially opened in 1973.While it might be fun to think of New York City in the 1970s through the lens of places like Studio 54 or

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00:54:50

Little Italy: From Immigrant Enclave To Italian Theme...

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/09/04

How do vibrant New York City neighborhoods react to major changes to city life while retaining their historic character? For the next three weeks, we will present three neighborhood-history shows from the Bowery Boys podcast in a new light, exploring how these historic areas survive sudden changes in economic growth, housing needs and tourism. And listen to our prior shows on SoHo and Downtown Brooklyn.Little Italy is the pocket-neighborhood reminder of the great wave of Italian immigration that

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00:59:12

What's Up With Downtown Brooklyn? (Rewind)

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/08/28

Downtown Brooklyn has a history that is often overlooked by New Yorkers. You’d be forgiven if you thought Brooklyn’s civic center — with a bustling shopping district and even an industrial tech campus — seemed to lack significant remnants of Brooklyn’s past; many areas have been radically altered and hundreds of old structures have been cleared over the decades.But, in fact, Downtown Brooklyn is one of the few areas to still hold evidence of the borough’s glorious past — its days as an independent

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00:55:40

The Story of SoHo: A Lofty History (Rewind)

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/08/21

How do vibrant New York City neighborhoods react to major changes to city life while retaining their historic character? For the next three weeks, we will present three neighborhood-history shows from the Bowery Boys podcast in a new light, exploring how these historic areas survive sudden changes in economic growth, housing needs and tourism.Picture the neighborhood of SoHo (that’s right, South of Houston) in your head today, and you might get a headache. Crowded sidewalks on the weekend, filled

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00:59:36

The Gossip Game: The Man Who Blackmailed the Gilded Age

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/08/14

Before the era of the tabloid, New Yorkers got their gossip fix from a publication known as Town Topics, where the shocking secrets of the Gilded Age were revealed. But its publisher, William D'Alton Mann, was into more than just a bit of sleaze; he used these scandalous revelations to blackmail members of New York’s high society.In this very special presentation of the Gilded Gentleman podcast, Carl Raymond and his special guest, Vanity Fair writer Joe Pompeo, introduce you to this forgotten

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01:14:18

#491 Adventures in Old New York

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/07/31

Our book, The Bowery Boys Adventures in Old New York, was just re-released as a 10th-anniversary edition with lots of brand-new entries. So to celebrate, we thought we would highlight three of our all-time favorite stories from the book. Featuring:— The Astor House, one of the first luxury hotels in the United States, owned by the original Astor himself — John Jacob Astor. When it opened in 1836, it wrote the rules for how people even stay in hotels in New York City. Why was it considered so

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00:49:29

#490 The Murder of Bill the Butcher

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/07/17

It’s a scene more commonly imagined today in a Wild West saloon -- a shootout at Stanwyx Hall, across from the most elegant hotel in New York. The year was 1855, and the combatants were bitter rivals who had fought many times, including once in the notorious neighborhood of Five Points.By the end, one man lie bleeding on the floor -- William Poole, a member of the Bowery Boys street gang, better known as Bill the Butcher. The Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York, loosely based upon the Herbert

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01:15:08

#489 Heated Rivalries from American History (Live at...

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/07/03

Alexander Hamilton vs Aaron Burr! Delmonico's vs Sherry's! John Adams vs everybody! Some of history's most fascinating stories involve important figures who did not like each other very much. In this edition of Bowery Boys History Live!, recorded at Manhattan's City Winery on May 26, 2026, Greg Young from the Bowery Boys brings some of these stories to a live audience, featuring author Laurie Gwen Shapiro, tour guide Billy Nemec, and the Gilded Gentleman himself, Carl Raymond. Featuring tales of

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00:37:01

Tearing Down King George: Revolutionary Summer 1776...

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/06/26

Bowling Green is best known today as the calming, flower-filled oasis in lower Manhattan, next to the decidedly less calming, lumbering sculpture Charging Bull, which is popular with tourists. But this peaceful park was once home to New York City’s most infamous statue -- and the stage for America's first No Kings protest. In 1770, the old park became the home of a monumental statue of King George III on horseback, an ostentatious artifact meant to remind the rebellious colonists of just who was in

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01:18:14

#488 Party Like It's 1976!

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/06/19

New York City will be at the center of celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the United States, thanks to the largest-ever flotilla of tall ships to sail into New York Harbor — a reminder of the city's storied maritime history. It will be like ghosts of the past returning from a long voyage.The parade of tall ships, known as Operation Sail, first assembled in New York waters for the 1964 World's Fair and later for the big U.S. Bicentennial of 1976. The city had a lot going on that year, most

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01:04:48

#487 The Knicks and the Knickerbockers: The Story of...

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/06/05

The New York Knicks are the ultimate New York City sporting franchise. Why would we make such a big claim? It's all in the name.The Knicks were founded in 1946 as one of the inaugural teams from the sports professional league which became the National Basketball Association (NBA). Their owner Ned Irish, from Madison Square Garden, chose the name Knickerbockers, quite literally pulled it from a hat, because the word evoked the spirit of Old New York and the early days of Dutch New Amsterdam. However

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01:18:50

Marilyn Monroe at 100: Her Life in New York City...

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/05/29

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson 100 years ago on June 1, 1926. In late 1954, on the cusp of major Hollywood stardom, Marilyn moved to New York City on a quest to become a better actress and to find a little peace on streets where she could sometimes go unnoticed.The year 1955 was one of discovery for the star of The Seven-Year Itch and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes — exploring the city, working on her craft and generally being the toast of the town. In particular, she came to New York to

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01:03:59

#486 The Many Intrigues of Eliza Jumel

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/05/22

She arrived in New York calling herself Eliza Brown — but she’d been born Betsy Bowen, daughter of a woman jailed for running a disorderly house in Providence.By the time she died in 1865, she was Eliza Jumel -- Manhattan’s richest woman, mistress of a hilltop mansion in Washington Heights, the widow of a former vice president, and the subject of so many wild rumors that even her New York Timesobituary couldn’t keep the facts straight. Tom is joined by Catherine Hughes and Danielle Gaita of the

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00:48:47

The Real Historical Figures from Broadway's 'Ragtime'

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/05/15

The Lincoln Center revival of Ragtime — with music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and a book by Terrence McNally, adapted from the novel by E. L. Doctorow — has just garnered 11 Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, along with multiple acting nods for its acclaimed cast. This new production feels more timely and resonant than the one that first played on Broadway in 1998. In addition to the fictional Coalhouse Walker Jr. and the archetypal figures known simply as

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00:50:43

#485 The Painter Who Brought The World To New York

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/05/08

Perched over the Hudson River near the city of Hudson sits Olana State Historic Site, once the wondrous home of painter Frederic Church. This Gilded Age mansion is unlike any in the valley, mystical and imposing, evoking Persian and Moorish architectural styles and reflecting the art and ambitions of its former owner.Church was more than a Hudson River School painter; he was an adventurer and dreamer, bringing the vistas of the world to America within his massive landscape creations. In 1859, when

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00:51:40

The Garment District: Where New York Fashion Is Made...

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/05/01

The Garment District in Midtown Manhattan has been the center of American fashion for almost one hundred years. The lofts and office buildings here still buzz with the business of making clothing — from design to distribution.But the district has become endangered today as clothing manufacturers move out and the entire industry faces new challenges from online sales and overseas production. During the mid-19th century, garment production thrived in New York thanks to thousands of arriving

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00:54:39

#484 The Phrenology Craze

The Bowery Boys: New York City History ·

2026/04/24

In our modern world, people are turning to all sorts of unusual beliefs and fringe disciplines just outside the bounds of medical science and psychology, all in search of a better understanding of the human mind and the origins of personality.In the mid-19th century, New Yorkers with similar questions became obsessed with the unusual practice of phrenology, which promised to unlock the secrets of the brain through a careful examination and mapping of the human skull. By the 1840s, visitors to New

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