25 Comments
May 17Liked by Rob Stephenson

The snowball etching!

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May 22Liked by Rob Stephenson

The snowball etching is insane!

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May 22Liked by Rob Stephenson

INSANE

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May 17Liked by Rob Stephenson

And delightful photos and audio this issue. That traffic cone looks so proud of its little sprig adornment!

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author

Thanks Anne! That is a happy little cone now that you mention it.

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He was writing stuff that nobody else in his lifetime would even dare! That was what made him unique.

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May 16Liked by Rob Stephenson

Spuytin Duyvil really is one of the coolest neighborhood names in NYC. Loved the photo of the redbud trees - they're so unique and I love spotting them in the wild!

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author

Those redbud flowers that seem to just sprout from the bark always blow my mind!

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May 17Liked by Rob Stephenson

Redbud trees freak me out!

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The more of your articles I read, the more I enjoy how different each of the neighborhoods are.

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author

Glad you’re still reading! Thanks Will!

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May 17Liked by Rob Stephenson

Great addition the Henry Hudson bridge part especially interesting you include that because that is your LEAST favorite child’s name but I forgive you.

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I have to wonder if the Chicago Express-Tarrytown Special crash might have served as the inspiration for Mark Twain's short story "Cannibalism In The Cars", which involves politicians stranded in a idle train who go through parliamentary procedure to determine which of them will be eaten so that the others might live...

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author

I had to look that up and it looks like it predates the crash by about 15 years, but wow, what a story! "And then the next morning we had Morgan of Alabama for breakfast. He was one of the finest men I ever sat down to—handsome, educated, refined, spoke several languages fluently—a perfect gentleman—he was a perfect gentleman, and singularly juicy" Twain was a mad man!

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May 22Liked by Rob Stephenson

Villa Bronte is magnificent!

Thank you for leading this historical and visual visit to Spuyten Duyvil.

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author

Wish I had an apartment there!

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founding
May 20Liked by Rob Stephenson

So much interesting history here plus the always wonderful pictures and the bit about Bronte's journal.

I've seen a lot of redbud trees but never one that had flowers on the trunk.

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author

Thanks Kate! I just looked it up and it is called cauliflory: plants which flower and fruit from their main, woody stems and trunk.

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founding
May 21Liked by Rob Stephenson

That's interesting. It looks like cauliflory and cauliflower are related which make sense to me.

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May 20Liked by Rob Stephenson

What’s the brutalist building in some of your photos? It seems totally out of scale for the neighborhood.

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author

There are actually several large apartment building/coop complexes in the neighborhood. The Winston Churchill and the Blue building, both built in the 60s, are in a few of these pictures

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May 21Liked by Rob Stephenson

Yeah, just looked it up. The Churchill. Looks like a nice coop!

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May 17Liked by Rob Stephenson

Another fascinating place with a fascinating history. Such a fun read. So many aspects worthy of follow-up by travelers or armchair readers willing to step outside of Manhattan.

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Such amazing photos of modern NYC! Always love these posts.

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author

Thanks Seth!

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