Tag Archives: New York City

New York City Sites, New York City Tours

The Statue of Balto

There are more than fifty statues in Central Park, but perhaps the most popular among young and old, is the statue of Balto, a Siberian marmaluke created by the renowned sculptor, Frederick G.R. Roth.

In the winter of 1925, there was a diphtheria outbreak in Nome, Alaska, and the nearest supply of serum was 674 miles away. Because of temperatures well below zero and blizzard conditions, delivery of the medicine by air was not possible. Instead, teams of dog sleds were assembled (twenty in all) to deliver the medicine.  This was an around the clock mission, as the life-saving serum was passed from one team to the next along the route, their progress followed by newspapers around the country..  

Balto was not supposed to be on the final leg of the journey, but his musher missed the roadhouse because of the whiteout conditions and he and his team ccontinued making him the lead dog on the team which delivered the serum to Nome.   (Photo, NYPL Digital Collection).

After this heroic deed, the New York Times advocated that a statue be built in Balto’s honor and a group of dog lovers heard the story and raised the money for a statue.   On December 16, 1925 the statue was unveiled and Balto attended the event, one of the few to ever attend a statue unveiling in his own honor., certainly in Central Park. (Photos above and below, NYPL Digital Collection.)

   

Balto died in 1933 and his body has been preserved and now resides in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

To learn more about Balto and other Central Park treasures, send an email to brendan@nyctoursthenandnow.us or message us here.

New York City Tours

The Windows at Bloomingdale’s

Macy’s is not the only New York City department store to go all out on their holiday windows.

Bloomingdale’s is also a yearly must-see. 

This year’s windows were made in collaboration with the new Warner Brothers “Wonka” movie, with sculptures of Willy Wonka, giant candies and chocolates and much more.   

A major highlight is the collection of candies and lollipops made of handblown glass and covered with Swarovski crystals by renowned artist Abby Modell.   

Book a holiday tour and see New York’s department store windows and everything else that makes New York such a magical place during the holiday season.   Email brendan@nyctoursthenandnow.us or message us here for more information 

New York City Tours, Uncategorized

Department Store Windows

New York City department store windows are always a must-see for visitors and locals. 

The first department store to decorate their windows for the holidays was Macy’s. They have  been decorating their windows since 1874!  

This year’s windows have a wonderful interactive element to them as well.  You can sing Christmas carols, take pictures and lots more.   They feature Tiptoe the Reindeer, ( a Macy’s character) .

And her friends Polar Bear and Penguin.

Book a holiday tour and see all of the best holiday displays.   Private tours are available 7 days a week.  

Email brendan@nyctoursthenandnow.us or message us here for more information. 

New York City Sites, New York City Tours

Chanukah!

This year, the Jewish Festival of lights began at sundown on December 8th. Chanukah decorations are everywhere. 

Giant dreidels on the sidewalks…

Menorahs of all sizes…

Even the Empire State building is lit up in blue. 

Book a holiday lights tour, and we will make sure you see a wide selection of the seasonal decorations that New York City has to offer.  Email brendan@nyctoursthenandnow.is or message us here for more information 

New York City Tours, Uncategorized

Christmas Tree Bragging Rights 2023

Everyone has heard of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.

(For the record, this year’s tree is an 80-foot-tall Norway Spruce from Vestal, NY.)

While it may be the most famous Christmas tree in New York City or anywhere else, the Rockefeller Center tree does not hold the distinction of being the tallest — at least this year. 

That honor goes to the tree in front of the New York Stock Exchange, which is an 81 foot tall Norway spruce from Poughkeepsie, NY.

Book a holiday lights tour and you can see both of these trees along with many other spectacular holiday decorations. Private tours can be booked 7 days a week. Email brendan@nyctoursthenandnow.us or message us here tor more information.

Uncategorized

Brooklyn Bridge Tragedy–May 18, 1883

From the NYPL Digital Collection.

When the Brooklyn Bridge opened to the public on May 24, 1883, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world and already being referred to as one of the seven architectural wonders of the world. Nonetheless, despite being built of 80 percent stone and 20 percent steel, and based on sound engineering principals, some people were still skeptical that the design would hold up. 

From the NYPL Digital Collection.

Skeptical or not, people were drawn to the span in droves for the experience of walking across. Whereas the promenade was made to hold 15,000 persons at a time, 20,000 people were strolling the bridge at numerous points during the first week. On the day after it opened, 140,398 people crossed the bridge. Two days later, on a Sunday, 163,584 made the trip. Then, less than a week after the bridge opened, on Decoration Day, May 30, 1883, tragedy struck. 

Headline from the N.Y. Times.

A woman nearing the New York terminus tripped and fell down a flight of stairs. A policeman went immediately to her aid and helped her out of the way, however, another woman inexplicably screamed. Panic seized the crowds of people and there was a rush for the exit stairs. One eye witness, Kate Ottinger, said that people cried out that the Bridge was sinking. Pickpockets, ready to take advantage of the crowd, may have fanned the flames by shouting similar false warnings. With people already nervous, a virtual stampede resulted in a crush on the stairs that killed twelve people and injured many more. 

A partial list of the victims, including a 13 year old boy, one of the last to be identified. N.Y. Times Archives.

Almost a year later on May 17, 1884, those who still questioned the safety of the bridge, were given further assurances. 

NYPL Digital Collection.

PT Barnum of the Barnum and Bailey Circus had 21 elephants, seven camels, and ten dromedaries march across the bridge. The famous white elephant, Jumbo, brought up the rear. No tolls were collected.

N.Y. Times Digital archives

Since elephants were thought to be able to detect structural problems, the safe and uneventful passage further calmed the populace.  Of course, this escapade also provided excellent publicity for PT Barnum’s circus, which opened a few days later.

NYPL Digital Archives.

If you would like to hear more stories of New York City, then and now, please book one of our tours.

New York City Sites, New York City Tours

The Vanderbilt Gates at the Conservatory Garden

One of the best places to visit in the north end of Central Park is the Conservatory Garden. Its flowers, trees and fountains are beautiful at any time of year.

But, as you enter from Fifth Avenue, don’t miss one of the truly unique features of the Conservatory Garden —the Vanderbilt Gates.

Forged in Paris, these gates are among  the few remnants of the mansion built  by Cornelius Vanderbilt–the fabulously wealthy New York City native who was worth  $100 million when he died (over 2 billion today).

The 58th Street side of the Vanderbilt mansion, showing the gates. (NYPL Digital Collection, Colorized by Kenneth Hicks.)

The mansion, thought by some to be the finest in New York City,  had four floors, 130 rooms, and took up an entire city block between 57th and 58th Streets, where Bergdorf Goodman stands today. In 1926, less than fifty years after it was built, Cornelius Vanderbilt’s wife, Alice Vanderbilt, sold the mansion for 7 million dollars and it was demolished within a week.

The gates were preserved and later donated to the city by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.   The Conservatory Garden opened in 1937 and the gates were installed two years later in 1939. 

Take a tour with us and learn more about the Conservatory Garden, the Vanderbilt Gates, and the north end of Central Park.

New York City Sites, New York City Tours, Uncategorized

Angel of the Waters, Bethesda Fountain

Bethesda Fountain is one of the most well-known and most-photographed locations in Central Park. 

Copyright Kenneth Hicks 2023.

The statue in the center of Bethesda Fountain is called Angel of the Waters, and was created by a female sculptor named Emma Stebbins in the late 1860s.  Ms. Stebbins was the first woman to be hired for a public art commission in the United States.   

Copyright Kenneth Hicks 2023.

It is also the only statue to be included in the original design plans for Central Park.    

Fanciful early portrayal of Bethesda Terrace and Fountain demonstrating central location. (Courtesy NYPL Digital Division).

Angel of the Waters celebrates the opening of the Croton Aqueduct in 1842, which brought a reliable source of clean drinking water to New York City for the first time. The name Bethesda refers to a pool of water in Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament. 

Coutesy NYPL Digital Division.

The fountain has also been on screen on numerous occasions, including  Enchanted, Home Alone 2; Lost In New York, and the wedding scene in Gossip Girl. In the climactic scene Elf, Santa’s Sleigh actually bangs into Angel of the Waters.   

Schoolgirls visit Bethesda Terrace and the Fountain. (Courtesy, NYPL Digital Division).

Come book a Central Park tour with us and see it for yourself.  There is not end of the list of things to see and do.

New York City Sites, New York City Tours

Cleopatra’s Needle

Having been built almost 3,500 years ago, the obelisk called Cleopatra’s Needle is certainly the oldest monument in Central Park,.

It is also the most spectacular and a favorite subject for camera buffs throughout the year.

Originally, it was one of two obelisks that were carved from pink granite in Aswan, Egypt, and erected for Pharaoh Thutmose III outside the Temple of the Sun in Heliopolis, near Cairo today.  During the reign of Augustus Caesar, the Romans discovered the pair toppled and partly buried in sand, and moved them to Alexandria where they were erected in front of a temple dedicated to Julius Caesar. Since the temple was originally built by Cleopatra, many think that this is the reason the obelisk is now called Cleopatra’s Needle. 

Cleopatra’s Needle being moved from its site in Alexandria for its trip to New York City.

Shortly after the building of the Suez Canal, Cleopatra’s Needle was given to the United States. (Its twin was given to Great Britain and is in London today.) The effort to move Cleopatra’s Needle from Alexandria to New York City included special construction on the boat just to load the 220-ton Obelisk and a one-month journey at sea. 

It took another five months to move the Obelisk from its arrival dock on the Hudson River across town to its present location in Central Park in 1881. 

Beginning the long trip across town.

It was an immediate favorite attraction in Central Park, outside the Metropolitan Museum.

Sign up for our Central Park tour and learn more about the Obelisk and the rest of Central Park.

  

New York City Sites, Uncategorized

Bowling Green

Bowling Green Parks was created in 1733, while New York was still a colony, and is the oldest park in New York City. Since New York was first founded, however, this plot of land has been the focus of its citizens and has been used for markets, as a parade ground, and for Mayday celebrations. In 1765, it was the center of protests against the Stamp Act. An effigy of Lieutenant-Governor Golden was burned on this spot, along with his carriage. When the Act was repealed a year later, the grateful citizens asked that a state of King George III be erected here, and a gilded lead statue soon occupied a placer of honor.

 However, deteriorating relations with England caused the statue and the park to again become the site for regular protests.   On July 9, 1776, George Washington read the Declaration of Independence aloud to his troops in what is now City Hall Park, and an angry mob of patriots proceeded down to Bowling Green Park and began to riot.  The statue of king George was soon toppled, and the mob chopped off his hard and marched triumphantly through the streets

German version of the destruction of the statue of King George III dated circa 1776. Apparently, the artist had never visited New York City. Note the German and French captions. The action of the American mob was of interest around the world.

Parts of the statue were melted down and used as bullets by George Washington’s army during the Revolutionary War.  There are still several pieces which remain and are on display at the New York Historical Society. In addition, each of the spikes on the fence at one time was adorned with a miniature crown, representing the King of England.   

Bowling Green around 1839. Note the series of mansions that line Broadway..

When the mob converged on the park on July 9, 1776, those crowns were sawed off.   If you are ever in lower Manhattan and visit Bowling Green Park, you will see that the spikes on the fence are of varying heights. This is because you are looking at the original fence, first erected in 1771, both a witness and a monument to revolutionary fervor.

Bowling Green in 1861. Note the carriages lined up on the south side.
Bowling Green around 1910. Trinity Church in the distance up Broadway.
Bowling Green today. Copyright Brendan Rothman-Hicks 2023)

Take a tour with NYC Tours Then and Now and we will show you all of the best places to visit in New York City, including Bowling Green, and teach you a bit of history at the same time.

(All photos, except as marked, are courtesy of the NYPL Digital Collection. Some have been reformatted and colorized by the authors.)