The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Some spooky tales from New York City past, live on stage at the world famous Joe's Pub.

Ghosts on the train -- and in the classroom. A horrifying discovery in the basement. Street gangs vs. spirit beauties. And a tribute to Harry Houdini on the 100th anniversary of his death.

Where can you find the most famous ghosts in New York City? You've come to the right podcast.

The origins of the séance and the world of 19th-century spiritualism, as invented by three young women from New York. But was it all a hoax?

Who was the woman with the unusual name Mamie Fish? And how did she sweep New York Gilded Age society off its feet?

The World Trade Center opened its distinctive towers during one of New York City’s most difficult decades, a beacon of modernity in a city beleaguered by debt and urban decay. Welcome to the 1970s.

How much of the old Italian Quarter is left within Manhattan's Little Italy today?

What's up with Downtown Brooklyn? Many things apparently, including most of the borough's tallest buildings.

The history of New York City's SoHo neighborhood and the story behind its distinctive architectural style.

All the dirt that's (un)fit to print -- the tale of the Gilded Age scandal sheet Town Topics and its duplicitous publisher

Three extraordinary stories from the glory days of New York City -- the first luxury hotel (Astor House), the Gilded Age's most scandalous dance hall, and the place where Oreos were invented.

The life and misdeeds of William Poole, aka Bill the Butcher, who slashed and punched his way through mid-19th century New York.

A few of the most memorable frenemies and catfights from American history -- including the story of New York City's longest lasting rivalry.

George Washington reads the freshly inked Declaration of Independence, inspiring New Yorkers to tear down their least favorite monument.

Some of the ways New York City celebrated the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976 will return for the massive party for America 250.

How the Knicks got their name -- from little marbles to basketballs.

The world's biggest movie star -- on the streets of New York City (and over the subway grates) in the mid 1950s.

Eliza Jumel was one of the richest women in New York City in the early 19th century. And after she passed, the subject of vicious rumors.

The actors who play Harry Houdini and Evelyn Nesbit in the new Broadway revival "Ragtime" find the real-life inspirations behind their roles.

The world according to Frederic Church, the master artist whose work was like the cinema of the mid-19th century

A history of the Garment District, one of New York City's great centers of manufacturing and the birthplace of many 20th-century fashion trends.

During the mid 19th century, New Yorkers flocked to a very curious tourist attraction near City Hall -- a "house of skulls," the phrenological cabinet of the Fowler family.

The greatest nights in American music history took place at Carnegie Hall -- but that's just the start of the story.

Before there were food trucks and hot dog carts, there were pushcarts, mostly concentrated on the Lower East Side in the late 19th century.

The great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton meets a beautiful woman with a dubious past in this thrilling true-crime Gilded Age caper.

The West Village is born -- thanks to Jane Jacobs and a group of local activists. And the Stonewall Uprising ignites a new movement, leading to the neighborhood's first national monument. What would Carrie Bradshaw think?

Speakeasies, subways and smoky jazz clubs come to the early 20th century West Village.

Our epic history of the West Village begins here -- tracing the winding streets back to the earliest days of country estates, creeks and burial grounds.

Remembering one of the worst weather incidents in American history -- the Great Blizzard of 1888.

Looking back at the violent 'Subway Vigilante' incident and the subsequent trial which dominated headlines in mid-1980s New York City

The notorious disappearance of a famously corrupt judge unearths a deep well of misdeeds in 1930s New York City.

The epic tale of Brooklyn Heights and its Promenade -- which might help explain current events upon the New York City transportation landscape today.

The fascinating tale of 'accidental' president and New York poltiical boss Chester A. Arthur who travelled a very unconventional path to the White House -- via Lexington Avenue in Manhattan.

Live from City Winery -- it's Greg Young! An an irreverent look at the holidays through a Victorian lens.

The surprisingly interesting story of paying for the subway, the streetcar and the bus -- on the occasion of the MetroCard retirement.

On a cold winter's evening in 1835, a terrible fire tore through lower Manhattan, destroying hundreds of buildings. But this fire also changed the course of New York City history.

The history of the Statue of Liberty -- from the other side of the Atlantic. Tom heads to Colmar, France and the museum devoted to sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi.

Historian Steven Ujifusa discusses the unique circumstances surrounding the arrival of Russian Jewish immigrants to the United States -- and draws on his own personal story.

For over fifty years, most European immigrants arriving into the United States came through Ellis Island in New York Harbor. But for an unfortunate few, their new lives could not begin until they spent some time on "the other side" of the island -- the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital.

The history of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and its annual lighting tradition -- through good times and bad.

The secret world of Amelia Earhart -- from New York City to the skies -- as told by her biographer Laurie Gwen Shapiro,

How Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II became two of the most important artists in Broadway history? The story of their incomparable legacy.

The haunted mansions, the ancient folktales, the spirited theaters, and the Revolutionary War ghosts of Long Island.

Celebrating the construction of the Erie Canal, which opened 200 years ago this year.

The story of Dominican immigration into New York City -- from the very first immigrant (ever!) to the massive wave of new arrivals in theh 1960s.

The name 'NoHo' might be relatively new, but the history of those blocks north of Houston Street in Manhattan dates back to the beginnngs of New York City.

In 1913, a young reform candidate named John Purroy Mitchel navigated a very strange electorial year to become the city's new (and second youngest) mayor.

The debut of George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue', one of the 20th century's most important pieces of music.

The swashbuckling tale of Captain William Kidd and the notorious pirates Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and John Rackham

The strange, sad tale of the Brooklyn Theatre Fire, the Gilded Age disaster that has been nearly forgotten today.

The history of New York City's oldest surviving bars continues, recorded within two of the city's most treasured 19th century drinking establishments.

The history of New York City — as told through the stories of its oldest taverns and ale houses.

New York City used to be closely associated with the oyster but pollution and overfarming erased them from the harbor. Could they be making a return?

A celebration of the Gilded Age's most interesting women and the world they created in New York society. Recorded live at City Winery.

What was in the water when sharks began killing people in New Jersey in 1916?

The saga of Fifth Avenue's Gilded Age mansions, those that once stood in Midtown Manhattan and those survivors which still decorate the Upper East Side today.

Inwood and Marble Hill -- aka "upstate Manhattan" -- are far from the center of New York's midtown urban activity but that distance provides both neighborhoods with fascinating and even unusual origin stories.

The children of the Gilded Age were seen but not heard. Until now!

The Brooklyn Museum, known for its wildly popular cutting-edge exhibitions, can actually trace its origins back to a more rustic era -- and to the birth of the city of Brooklyn itself.

It's super developer Robert Moses vs. civic activist Albert S. Bard in a battle for the New York harbor and the historic landmarks of lower Manhattan.

It's William Cosby vs. John Peter Zenger in a trial which gave birth to the freedom of the press and other foundational aspects of American democracy.

When Prospect Park first opened to the public in the late 1860s, its superstar landscape designers — Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux -- were preparing a couple other special touches -- the creation of the first two parkways in the United States.

The story behind a legendary New York Daily News headline. While President Ford never literally told New York to "drop dead", his words did signal the severity of New York's problem -- the city was on the brink of bankruptcy.

Keith Taillon, the historian behind the popular Instagram account @keithyorkcity, discusses his journey documenting New York's history and his new book "Walking New York: Manhattan History on Foot."

The Frick Collection, one of New York's most fascinating institutions, and the controversial life of the man who founded it -- Henry Clay Frick.

The history of the United States Postal Service as it plays out in the streets of New York City -- from the first post road to the first postage stamps.

Patrick Bringley discusses his book about being a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and his new off-Broadway show based on his best seller.

In the year 1664, New Amsterdam was taken over by the English, and the New York officially got its name.

The New Yorker was first published one hundred years ago. And even though the present-day magazine is often quite contemporary in content, the New Yorker's tone and style still recall its glamorous Jazz Age origins.

In honor of the Academy Awards, the Bowery Boys hosts pay homage to the great Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert while looking at five award-worthy films with strong New York City connections.

We’re looking at the glamour and mystery of Harlem during the 1920s, a decade when the predominantly black neighborhood, in the words of Langston Hughes, “was in vogue.”

One of America's first great Italian neighborhoods was once in East Harlem, an enclave almost entirely gone today except for a couple restaurants, a church and a long-standing religious festival.

The Waldorf Astoria is reopening this year, so we thought we'd again raise a toast to one of the world's most famous hotels.

Two podcast dinosaurs talk about history, memory and elephants -- Greg Young interviews Nate DiMeo from the Memory Palace

The extraordinary story of Louis Comfort Tiffany and the world of Gilded Age glass design he and his artisans helped inspire.

The story of Greenwich Village, one of America's great music capitals, and one of its greatest stars -- Bob Dylan.

The former library of J.P. Morgan -- one of the most powerful Americans to ever live -- is open to the public as the Morgan Library and Museum, continuing to highlight the world's greatest examples of the printed word

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!

The history of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade -- from wild balloon chases in the sky to kitschy celebrity appearances

What is New York without its diners, its small book shops, its curious antique stores and its historic delis? New York Nico shares his favorite local businesses.

The mysterious disappearance of a young woman becomes one of the most talked-about events in New York City history.

Ghost stories from New York City's five boroughs -- from Staten Island's tombstone-toting ghost to the Hessian ghouls in a Flushing house of worship.

Are there alligators in the sewers? Tom and Greg go deep into their favorite New York urban legends. breaking down their origins and revealing the hidden truths that live beneath the legends.

This is the story of Ida Wood, a Gilded Age belle turned recluse, who chose to withdraw from society while still living in the heart of Old New York.

New York City is filled with stories of people who just want to be left alone – recluses, hermits, cloistering themselves from the public eye, closing themselves off from scrutiny. None attempted to seal themselves off so completely in the way that Homer and Langley Collyer attempted in the 1930s and 1940s.

What was Times Square before the electric billboards and the Broadway theaters? What was Times Square before it was Times Square?

In this episode we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Ramones' first performances in downtown Manhattan. But this also a tribute to New York rock music of the 1970s and to the most famous rock-music club in America.

Come explore one of the most historically exclusive spaces in New York City -- the romantic and peaceful escape known as Gramercy Park.

Follow along as Greg and Tom visit several historic cities and towns in the Netherlands -- Utrecht, De Bilt, Breukelen and Haarlem -- wandering through cafe-filled streets and old cobblestone alleyways, the air ringing with church bells and street music.

The name Peter Stuyvesant can be found everywhere in New York City -- in the names of neighborhoods, apartments, parks and high schools. But what do we really know about legendary figure?

All roads lead to Leiden where our adventure continues with a quest to find the Walloons, the French-speaking religious refugees who became the first settlers of New Netherland in 1624.

The Bowery Boys Podcast heads to old Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, to find traces of New Amsterdam, the Dutch settlement which became New York.

The Bowery Boys Podcast is going to Amsterdam and other parts of the Netherlands for a very special mini-series. But before they go, they're kicking things off with the man who inspired the journey.

Announcing an epic new Bowery Boys mini series -- The Bowery Boys Adventures in the Netherlands. Exploring the connections between New York City and that fascinating European country.

The Lenape were among the first in northeast North America to be displaced by white colonists. But the Lenape did not disappear. Through generations of great hardship, they have persevered.

The New York City subway system turns 120 years old later this year so we thought we'd honor the world's longest subway system with a supersized overview history.