MetaFilter posts tagged with newyorkcity and history

Driving fast and jazzing it up in the 1920s.

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 25 May 2008 18:53:55 -0800

The opening shots of 1920s New York City are wonderful, then you get a zany high-speed Harold Lloyd blazing down the avenues, and that's fun to watch, but the real killer is the horse-drawn trolley absolutely tearing-ass through lower Manhattan, full gallop. Ends badly. Then it's over to San Francisco for one last bit of homicidal vehicular activity with a bus. Well, they sure don't drive like they used to! In case that crazy 20s spirit grabbed you, you might want to spend a little time with the archetypical "jazz age" sounds of Jan Garber and his Orchestra, full of pep, silly humor and choked cymbals: There Ain't No Maybe In My Baby's Eyes Don't Bring Lulu! Since My Best Gal Turned Me Down Baby Face Positively-Absolutely "is she nifty? ABSOLUTELY! under fifty? POSITIVELY!" Louisiana Way Down Yonder In New Orleans Of course, Garber's music was lively, entertaining and well played, but, unsurprisingly, the music of the same era and style as played by black folk had that extra swing, that rollicking but relaxed easy groove that was just a wee bit lacking from bands like Garber's. These musicians deserve FPPs of their own, but for the time being, let's drop by and listen to the music of a couple of early pioneers, Freddie Keppard and Joe "King" Oliver. Freddie Keppard Jazz Treasury (two 1920s gems on this clip) King Oliver's Too Bad and Riverside Blues.

Hell's Gate and Beyond

Miko — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 10:00:40 -0800

Maritime New York

This Is Not An REM Song

scrump — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 15:07:45 -0800

The Automat was a remarkable, culturally ubiquitous part of the history of both Philadelphia and New York City. The basic concept wasn't unusual, but the Art Deco style was unique. Now, BAMN! Food has revived the concept and the name.

Batman was here.

riffola — Sat, 26 Jun 2004 17:54:32 -0800

Undercity reveals Gotham's secrets as uncovered by a guerrilla historian. [via Anil Dash]

Terrible affair that General Slocum explosion...

Vidiot — Tue, 15 Jun 2004 18:09:07 -0800

One hundred years ago today, 1,358 members of the Kleindeutschland, the German neighborhood on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, boarded a chartered ferry named the General Slocum for a picnic excursion to Long Island. A fire broke out in the ship's hold while it cruised up the East River, the captain ran the vessel aground on the rocky shores of North Brother Island amid the swift currents of Hell Gate, and when it was all over 1,021 people (mainly women and children) had perished by drowning or from the fire, and it remained the worst single-day New York City disaster until 9/11.

Menu History

languagehat — Wed, 20 Nov 2002 18:02:14 -0800

In the long stretch of culinary history, the creation of the menu was a notable development. In the U.S., New York is the restaurant capital, and the New York Public Library has an enormous collection of menus, many of which they are currently displaying in a third-floor gallery. If you're in NYC (or will be visiting this winter) and are interested in such things, don't miss it; it's showing until March 1.

evanizer — Fri, 22 Mar 2002 05:19:58 -0800

The New York City I first saw in 1985 has partially disappeared, and vanishes more everyday. The New York of 50 years ago, the veneer of daily life in the city, is but a memory. The city of 100 years ago is a shadow, remembered by no one. But the past remains, if not in direct human memory, in "lampposts, advertisements, bridges, buildings, signs, and things you pass every day in the street that bear silent witness to the NYC that once was." What lies forgotten below the streets? The decaying splendor of an bygone age, as well as the deep roots that have sprouted and nourished the present, living city...

rushmc — Sat, 15 Sep 2001 14:11:22 -0800

A thoughtful and fascinating analysis of the historical backdrop to the current situation. Why did this happen, what circumstances got us into a de facto state of undeclared war with the Islamic world, and what can we realistically do to prevent those circumstances from ever recurring? --Charlie Stross