History

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

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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

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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

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'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!
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

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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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Waldorf Astoria launches 90th anniversary oral history project

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

September 28, 2021

Waldorf Astoria launches 90th anniversary oral history project

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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

New Amsterdam in 1671, via Wiki Commons

September 16, 2021

Latin in Manhattan: A look at early Hispanic New York

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

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

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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

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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

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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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The world’s first air conditioner was invented in Brooklyn in 1902
August 19, 2021

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

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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
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

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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

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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
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

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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

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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 meaning behind every New York City borough flag

The New York City flag, photo via Wikimedia Commons

June 14, 2021

The meaning behind every New York City borough flag

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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
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

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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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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

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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
20 underground and secret NYC attractions you need to check out
April 13, 2021

20 underground and secret NYC attractions you need to check out

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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.
More this way
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

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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 become an important part of the city's identity.
The whole history here
It was illegal to play baseball in NYC on Sunday until 1919

1912 World Series at the Polo Grounds. Image via Wikimedia Commons

April 1, 2021

It was illegal to play baseball in NYC on Sunday until 1919

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Baseball may be a long-standing tradition in New York City, but not so very long ago that seemingly innocent pastime was illegal on Sundays. As one of the infamous "blue laws" on the state books–that other beloved NYC pastime, shopping, was illegal as well–the ban was part of a sweeping statute from colonial times called the Statute for Suppressing Immorality. Enacted in 1778, it was the first state "Sabbath law." Section 2145 of the revised New York State Penal code of 1787 outlawed all public sports on Sunday–so as not to "interrupt the repose of the Sabbath"–and wasn't repealed until 1919.
No movies, either
Remembering the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the women who fought for labor reform

“Mourners from the Ladies Waist and Dressmakers Union Local 25 and the United Hebrew Trades of New York march in the streets after the Triangle fire” 1911. Reproduction. The National Archives, via Wikimedia Commons

March 25, 2021

Remembering the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the women who fought for labor reform

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Around 4:30 p.m. on March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the eighth floor of the Asch Building at Washington Place and Greene Streets, just as the young employees of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, who occupied the building’s top three floors, were preparing to leave for the day. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire killed 146 people, nearly all of them Jewish and Italian immigrant women and girls who toiled in the city’s garment industry. Triangle stood out as the deadliest workplace tragedy in New York City before 9/11. It served as a bellwether in the American labor movement, galvanizing Americans in all walks of life to join the fight for industrial reform. It also highlighted the extraordinary grit and bravery of the women workers and reformers – members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, and the Women’s Trade Union League – who fought and died for fairer and safer working conditions in New York and around the country.
Find out the whole history
NYC reburies remains of early New Yorkers in Washington Square Park

All photos: NYC Parks / Daniel Avila

March 3, 2021

NYC reburies remains of early New Yorkers in Washington Square Park

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The New York City Parks Department on Tuesday reinterred the human remains of early New Yorkers found during construction in and around Washington Square Park. The skeletal remains were placed in a wooden box and buried five feet below grade within a planting bed, with an engraved paver marking the site at the southern entrance of the park near Sullivan Street. The remains were uncovered between 2008 and 2017, including the unearthing of two 19th-century burial vaults in 2015 that held the remains of at least a dozen people.
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Campaign to save Union Square South sites connected to women’s history continues

Screenshot of Women’s History Tour map; Courtesy of Village Preservation

March 1, 2021

Campaign to save Union Square South sites connected to women’s history continues

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On the first day of Women's History Month, a preservation group is renewing calls to landmark nearly two dozen sites related to women's history in New York City. Village Preservation on Monday kicked off a campaign effort urging the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate several buildings located south of Union Square that have a connection to trailblazing women, organizations, or historic events. It's part of the group's broader effort to protect nearly 200 buildings in the area which is slated for new development.
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Jersey City announces $72M restoration of historic Loew’s Theatre

All renderings courtesy of OTJ Architects

February 23, 2021

Jersey City announces $72M restoration of historic Loew’s Theatre

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Jersey City has reached a $72 million deal with the operator of the Prudential Center to transform the historic Loew's Wonder Theatre into a modern 3,300-seat venue. Mayor Steven Fulop on Monday announced a partnership with Devils Arena Entertainment to renovate the nearly 100-year-old theater that once operated as an opulent entertainment destination when it opened in 1929 and was nearly demolished in the 1980s, but was saved by a grassroots preservation effort. The city sees the restoration of Loew's as part of a broader revitalization of the transit-friendly Journal Square neighborhood, where multiple mixed-use towers are in the works.
More here
The wild and dark history of the Empire State Building
February 18, 2021

The wild and dark history of the Empire State Building

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Known for its record-breaking height and sophisticated Art Deco style, the Empire State Building is one of New York City’s, if not the world's, most recognized landmarks. While the building is often used in popular culture as light-natured fodder—such as the opening backdrop to your favorite cookie-cutter rom-com or the romantic meeting spot for star-crossed lovers—the building's past is far more ominous than many of us realize. From failed suicide attempts to accidental plane crashes, its history casts a vibrant lineup of plot-lines and characters spanning the past 90 years.
Read about the dark side of the empire state building
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