History

If you’ve ever bemoaned the fact that you share a bathroom with several family members or housemates, you’re not alone. Most New Yorkers live in apartments and most units have just a single bathroom. A hundred and fifty years ago, however, the situation was much worse. At the time, New Yorkers had just a few choices when it came to taking care of their lavatory needs and by modern standards, none of the options were appealing—visit an outhouse or use a chamber pot. Nevertheless, indoor toilets proved slow to gain popularity when they were first introduced in the second half of the nineteenth century. Initially, many residents feared the newfangled invention would bring poisonous gases into their homes, leading to illness and even death.
learn more here

October 17, 2016

Oldest map of New York may become most expensive map ever sold at $10M

In 1531, Italian sailor and cartographer Vesconte Maggiolo created a "Portolan planisphere," a navigational chart of the known world, that included the first depiction of the eastern seaboard and therefore of New York harbor. Bloomberg tells us that the 6.7' x 3' map made of six goat skins is now in the possession of rare book and map dealer Daniel Crouch, who will put it up for sale for a whopping $10 million this Saturday at TEFAF art fair. If it fetches this price, it'll become the most expensive map ever publicly sold.
More on the map this way

October 17, 2016

Diego Rivera’s psychedelic Rockefeller Center mural was destroyed before it was finished, 1934

By Tracy A. Marciano

In 1932, Mexican artist Diego Rivera was commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller to add a mural to the soaring lobby of Rockefeller Center. Despite being known for his petulant temper and loyalty to Communism, Rivera was still one of the most highly sought after artists of his time, lauded for his creative genius and his detailed paintings. But politics, artistic vision, power and wealth collided in 1934 when a displeased Rockefeller had the very mural he commissioned from Rivera chiseled off the wall the night before it was to be completed.
read about the mysterious mural here

In 1892, NYC celebrated an entire Columbus Week

The New York Public Library. Columbus Day parade, Union Square Retrieved from NYPL Digital Collections

October 10, 2016

In 1892, NYC celebrated an entire Columbus Week

Annually, the Columbus Day parade draws nearly a million viewers to Fifth Avenue, but that's nothing compared to the festivities of 1892 when New Yorkers celebrated the 400th anniversary of the Italian explorer’s Caribbean landing for seven full days. Columbus Week was a completely decked out party with a Hudson River naval parade, Brooklyn Bridge fireworks, a music festival, and the first Columbus Day Parade, which consisted of 12,000 public school children, 5,500 Catholic school children, military drill squads, and 29 marching bands.
More history

October 5, 2016

Buried treasures from the city’s past will be on view at a new Manhattan research center

New York City has catalogued and created a digitized archive of the many buried artifacts from its past; Wednesday the Landmarks Preservation Commission is officially opening a repository of those countless artifacts. The New York Times reports that the Nan A. Rothschild Research Center–the first municipal archive devoted to a city’s archaeological collection, has found a home in Midtown Manhattan. More than a million artifacts will now be available for viewing by researchers and scholars by appointment; a digital archive is already available. The climate-controlled repository at 114 West 47th Street contains artifacts from 31 excavated sites from all five boroughs, including the city’s first major historical dig, the Stadt Huys (now 85 Broad Street in Lower Manhattan), which, when the artifacts were discovered in 1979, raised the idea that archaeological treasures were buried beneath old buildings.
Find out what you can dig up at the digital archive

October 4, 2016

NYC bike lanes date back to 1899, and trucks blocked them then too

Vehicles parked smack in the middle of bike lanes are among the biggest scourges faced by city cyclists. It’s illegal (yes, there’s a $115 fine) though the law is rarely enforced–but it’s not just a modern obstruction. As it turns out, the main reason early bike lanes were created in the 1890s was because of lobbying by cyclists in the hopes getting more open riding space. New York City began paving whole streets and laying down asphalt strips specifically for cyclists–and, ironically, carts, wagons and other vehicles immediately began blocking them.
Naming and shaming the scofflaws

October 4, 2016

How Otis’ elevator made modern skyscrapers possible

By Diane Pham

Advances in engineering continue to push modern skyscrapers to dizzying new heights, but at the core of these structures, quite literally, is an often overlooked technology that’s been key to their proliferation: the elevator. The earliest known reference to the elevator was by Roman architect Vitruvius, who reported that Archimedes built his first elevator around 236 B.C. The design was fairly rudimentary, a platform using pulleys and hoisted by hand or by animal. While elevators found their way into countless buildings and homes in the centuries that followed, including that of Louis XV who used a private lift to connect his Versailles apartment to that of his mistress, it wasn’t until the late 19th century that their true potential was unlocked.
read more about the elevator here

September 28, 2016

New York’s 1940s ‘victory gardens’ yielded a whopping 200 million pounds of produce

By Rebecca Paul

During the Second World War the United States (and other European nations) experienced significant food shortages, as the majority of the country's food supply was being sent overseas to aid in the war effort. In response, government organizations encouraged citizens to plant "victory gardens" to help ease the burden. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson said "Food will win the war," and launched through the Bureau of Education a United States Garden Army. The program, funded by the War Department, began in 1943 and urbanites living in New York City collectively grabbed their shovels to adorn the bare concrete streets with a far more plentiful kind of landscaping.
learn more here

History

September 27, 2016

Inside the mind of Ernest Burden, one of New York’s preeminent architectural renderers

By Diane Pham & Ondel Hylton

The art of architectural illustration paints a window into the future and intends to portray a designer's vision or work in its purest, most ideal light. As the art form has progressed from hand mediums to digital, Ernest Burden III and his studio Acme Digital have straddled the industry's dramatic transformation using both computer and manual approaches to inform and improve what they produce. As a renderer with more than 30 years in the industry, Ernest's roster of clients include some of the country's biggest real estate heavyweights, such as the Trump Organization, Related Companies and Tishman-Speyer Properties; and renowned architectural clients like I.M. Pei, Robert A.M. Stern and Kohn Pedersen Fox. Recently, Ernest completed a collection of renderings and detailed vignettes for Toll Brothers' and Barry Rice Architects' 100 Barrow Street. In the series, he effortlessly juxtaposes the timeless intent of the new structure with the energy of the surrounding West Villlage. In fact, Ernest's renderings played a considerable role in the Landmarks Preservation Commission's vote to approve the project in 2014. To learn more about Ernest's unique style and his thoughts on the evolving business and craft of architectural rendering, 6sqft sat down with him for a chat.
read our interview with ernest here

The ‘empty mansions’ of Huguette Clark: Luxury and mystery of an era past

Reclusive copper heiress Huguette M. Clark died in 2011 at the age of 104; in the years preceding and after her demise, obsessive followers of her story puzzled over her decision to remain in a small hospital room for the last 20 years of her life after having rarely left her apartment in the decades before. In this day of heiresses who run fashion companies and give house tours, Huguette Clark’s wealth and her retreat from the public eye—despite being by all accounts entirely lucid—have made her the target of endless fascination. But almost as fascinating are the storybook-grand properties that still stand as remnants of a gilded age long past and what remains of one of its biggest fortunes, barely touched and preserved as if in aspic until their recent acquisition by a new generation of magnates and heirs.
See more of Huguette Clark's abandoned Gilded Age opulence

Fallout Shelters: Why some New Yorkers never planned to evacuate after a nuclear disaster

Images: A model fallout shelter, 1955. Image Wiki Commons

September 15, 2016

Fallout Shelters: Why some New Yorkers never planned to evacuate after a nuclear disaster

Decades after the end of the Cold War, ominous black-and-yellow fallout shelter signs still mark buildings across New York City’s five boroughs. The actual number of designated fallout shelters in the city is difficult to discern. What is known is that by 1963, an estimated 18,000 shelters had been designated, and the Department of Defense had plans to add another 34,000 shelters citywide. While the presence of a fallout shelter in one’s building may have given some residents peace of mind in an era when nuclear destruction seemed imminent, in reality, most of New York’s fallout shelters were little more than basements marked by an official government sign.
more on the history of new york's fallout shelters

History

September 9, 2016

Back to school with C.B.J. Snyder: A look at the architect’s educational design

Now that school is back in session, 6sqft decided to take a look at the public school buildings of C.B.J. Snyder. An architect and mechanical engineer, he served as Superintendent of School Buildings for the New York City Board of Education between 1891 and 1923. It was this work that Snyder is known for, having transformed the construction process, design, and quality of the city's school buildings. He oversaw the creation of more than 140 elementary schools, ten junior high schools, and 20 high schools, incorporating his innovative H-shaped layout, three-tiered windows, and mid-block locations. Working mainly in the styles of Renaissance Revival and Beaux-Arts, Snyder created structures that not only revolutionized the way school design was approached, but that were beautiful works of design.
Take a look at some of our favorite C.B.J. Snyder schools and see how they're being used today

September 7, 2016

C-Squat: The history of one of NYC’s longest standing squat houses

In the 1980s, the idea that Avenue C would eventually be home to condo developments with names like Boutique 67 would have sent most local residents into a fit of laughter and possibly a fit of rage. At the time, heroin was so widely available in Alphabet City that junkies would simply line up outside local tenements […]

History

Miss Manhattan: The famous artist’s model who sits in iron and marble throughout the city

The Isidor and Ida Straus Memorial at Straus Park, modeled after Audrey Munson. Via Wiki Commons.

September 6, 2016

Miss Manhattan: The famous artist’s model who sits in iron and marble throughout the city

Audrey Marie Munson. The name may not ring a bell, but you've undoubtedly seen her likeness around town. From the New York Public Library to the Brooklyn Bridge, this woman in various states of undress was once the most famous artist's model in the country. The story of Munson began in 1906, when she was 15 years old and was spotted window shopping on Fifth Avenue by photographer Felix Benedict Herzog. After he took a series of portraits of her, she was introduced to well-known sculptor Isadore Konti, who began her career as "Miss Manhattan," immortalizing her in iron and stone. But a short-lived hiatus as a film actress, followed by a murder scandal, changed things for the model.
The full history this way

This never-built Washington monument would have been the city’s tallest structure

View of the proposed monument from the New York Herald in 1847 (L); Cornerstone ceremony procession by James S. Baillie, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

August 31, 2016

This never-built Washington monument would have been the city’s tallest structure

When most people think of George Washington and New York City they envision the Washington Square Arch, not only one of the city's most notable landmarks, but one that clearly pays homage to our nation's first president. Real history buffs may also recall the Equestrian Statue of Washington in Union Square. But before both of these sites were erected (in 1895 and 1865, respectively), there was a plan in 1847 to honor him on the Upper East Side by building a 425-foot monument that would've dwarfed Trinity Church, the tallest building in the city at the time.
So what happened?

History

August 30, 2016

Vintage 1901 film captures the infamous 23 Skidoo of the Flatiron

By Diane Pham

The Flatiron building is best known for its angular form and its striking architectural details. But back in the early 1900s it gained notoriety for something far less virtuous: the 23 skidoo. Because the Flatiron building sits at the intersection of 5th Avenue and Broadway, which together form a sharp angle, winds will often collect to create currents strong enough to lift a woman's skirt. While by today’s standards bare legs and ankles aren't worth taking note of, back then this sight was a real treat for the fellas. As such, hordes of men would flock to 23rd Street in hopes catching one of the many old-timey wardrobe malfunctions that occurred throughout the day. In fact, according to Andrew S. Dolkart, professor of Historic Preservation at the Columbia's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, the number of men who gathered would sometimes become so disruptive that police would have to shoo them away!
watch the full 23 skidoo here

History

August 29, 2016

Like father like son: The Trump legacy of housing discrimination

Black potential tenants who just wanted a decent place to live were routinely turned away at the Trump family’s Queens housing complexes and others. Housing activists and equal housing organizations took note, and in 1973 Trump Management was sued by the Justice Department for discrimination. Some of those tenants who stood firm remember the indignities all too well. The New York Times took a look at the early days of the Trump empire, when Donald's father, Fred C. Trump, built and managed middle-income residential complexes like the Wilshire Apartments in Jamaica Estates, Queens. A former employee of the elder Trump tells the Times that when receiving applications from potential tenants who happened to be black he was told, "Take the application and put it in a drawer and leave it there."
Get a closer look at the Trump legacy

August 24, 2016

This 1927 city subway map shows early transit plans

If you're navigating the NYC subway and wishing you could start from scratch, these map outlines from 1927 might prove interesting. Found by hyperreal cartography, the maps, from the state's Transit Commission Office of Chief Engineer, outline the "plan of existing and proposed rapid transit lines" for New York City. What's shown on the map appears to be the Independent Subway System; the ISS or IND, as it was known, was first constructed in 1932 as the Eight Avenue Line. As one of the three networks that was integrated into the modern New York City subway, the IND was meant to be fully owned and operated by the city government, as opposed to the privately-funded Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) companies. The three lines merged in 1940.
Investigate the possibilities

August 24, 2016

163 years ago, an upstate chef accidentally invented potato chips

It was July, 1853, and George Crum was working as a chef at Cary Moon's Lakehouse, an upscale restaurant in Saratoga Springs that catered to wealthy Manhattan families building summer escapes upstate. One of his customers sent back his French fries because they were thick and soggy (h/t NYT). After the man (who is rumored to have been Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, though this can't be confirmed) sent back a second batch of the fried potatoes, Crum decided to get even, a decision that would land him a place in culinary history.
Find out how the potato chip was invented

History

New York before the invention of air conditioning

Above: Children turn a Lower East Side excavation site into a pool using water from a fire hydrant. 1936. Image via Bowery Boys

August 24, 2016

New York before the invention of air conditioning

Last week, temperatures in New York City peaked in the mid 90s but with the humidity index, afternoon to early evening temperatures felt more like 105 to 113 degrees. The combined temperature and humidity index prompted an “excessive heat warning” for the city and sent most residents indoors to take refuge in air conditioned homes and workplaces. For those less fortunate, the city opened designated cooling centers. Under such dire conditions, it’s natural to wonder, what was summer like before the invention of air conditioning?
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August 22, 2016

For $7M, spend the afterlife in a crypt at Nolita’s Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral

When 6sqft learned of Manhattan's last two burial plots for sale at the New York Marble Cemetery for $350,000, we thought that was some steep real estate. But it looks like the Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in Nolita has them beat, as the Post reports that the historic Mulberry Street location is opening "its 200-year-old crypt to the public for the first time — selling a six-person family vault in the catacombs for $7 million."
More on where you can spend the afterlife

History

August 19, 2016

Video: Take a gritty summertime subway ride to Coney Island–in 1987

From the archives of '80s NYC nightlife videographer Nelson Sullivan comes this summertime classic video. Young Village Voice writer Michael Musto, artist Albert Crudo, and photographer Liz Lizard with her two kids in tow join Sullivan on the trip to Coney Island from Manhattan on a very different subway than we're used to today (h/t acapuck via Reddit). Their destination, too, won't look the least bit familiar to anyone who's visited the aforementioned beach destination in recent years, though there are many among us who fondly remember the beautiful decay of the boardwalk environs and the thrill of its garish attractions in the pre-MCU, pre Keyspan days. We never tire of checking out the graffiti-covered cars and fellow riders who probably only look more menacing. And at some moments if you don't look too hard, everything appears pretty much the same: The noise, the heat, the underground grit–and the fact that when it comes to fashion, everything a few decades old looks cool and new again.
Take a day trip to the '80s

History

August 15, 2016

The Evolution of Greenpoint: From Oil and Sewage to Gentrification

Since Greenpoint started to attract displaced Manhattanites in the early 1990s, the cost of renting in the neighborhood and nearby Williamsburg has shot up a staggering 78.7 percent. According to a 2015 study published by NYU’s Furman Center, Greenpoint/Williamsburg is the most rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in New York City. What many newcomers don’t realize is that […]

History

August 8, 2016

27,000 Tons of Floating Concrete and Fabulous Feats of Engineering Make Pier 57 Peerless