Thank you for taking me on such a wonderful tour through history with my morning coffee. As annoying as the pricey and sterile glass towers are, the old Bowery refuses to disappear entirely.
Beautiful. I will walk again this neighborhood and open this post again. So much to look into…. Whenever I am in NY I pass by 11 Bleeker St if the option comes up. June Leaf is still on the buzzer. They never sold the house before they died. You can still see some of her sculptures in the window of the studio.
This one caused me to go down so many more rabbit holes to look up more info! It’s inspired me to do more research into the origins of the circus because I feel like Barnum and Bailey keep popping up in NYC history.
The Jay Myself doc is so good and I will never not be sad that they turned that building into a goddam Supreme store 🥲
So many good stories from the Bowery! This Bailey was a distant relative of Barnum's future partner, but P.T. was inspired by seeing Old Bet and spent some time working as a ticket seller for Hachaliah.
"The Bowery/The Bowery/they do such things, and they say such things/on the Bowery/the Bowery/I'll never go there anymore..."
That little ditty from the old Broadway musical "A Trip To Chinatown" cemented in my mind the atmosphere of the neighborhood in its duplicitous prime. My reading of Stephen Crane's depiction of 19th century New York in works like "Maggie, A Girl Of The Streets" further brought the association to mind.
Just seeing the name of your article made me think of the song, because it's my main reference point for the neighborhood (even though it's about what it once was than what it is now).
So fun to explore my adjacent work neighborhood. And so much more to dig into, thanks for all the links. Question. Was Little Bet also working on a Sunday? I mean, geez.
Rob, I feel like coming down to the Bowery for a photo session myself! The Fuji replacement camera is working very nicely now. Thanks for asking. It was great to meet you in person this year, hope we can meet again soon. ❤️📸👋
When I think of the Bowery I’m reminded of Sting’s song, An Englishman in New York, which was inspired by the English writer, Quentin Crisp, who moved there in his old age. Thanks for another fascinating article and have a lovely break over the holidays.
You sent me down a Quentin Crisp rabbit hole, which culminated in a viewing of the David Fincher-directed Englishman in New York video. I learned a lot! Thanks Will, I hope you have a nice holiday, too!
Well, I'm not sure if your average butcher could afford this place, but Mooney was more of a meat wholesaler and also bred racehorses, so he was doing pretty well for himself. Also, the back half was an addition that went up after he died in 1800.
Rob I'm in awe of all the detail and research that goes into these and the schedule that you have for them! I'm currently writing and researching for one of my neighbourhoods and its hard to not to waste all my time going down rabbit holes of tedious historic facts and stories.
Perhaps its just me and not sure if it's doable for you but it would be cool to see the modern outline of the neighbourhood on historic maps. An easy way to show exactly where the neighbourhood use to be before and hows its changed perhaps? Anyways, just a thought but like I said that requires more photoshop work and it seems like you already have a lot of other work to do on these posts.
This one was actually a little off schedule which was weirdly stressful. believe me, I spend way too much time going down rabbit holes.
I like to do little photoshop animations or gifs. I was working on one this week that traced the path of the old Bowery on an 18th century map but then I saw how long this particular edition was running so I scrapped it. But you have motivated me to keep doing those, so thank you. And thanks for reading!
Thank you for taking me on such a wonderful tour through history with my morning coffee. As annoying as the pricey and sterile glass towers are, the old Bowery refuses to disappear entirely.
Thanks for inviting me to your coffee break!
Beautiful. I will walk again this neighborhood and open this post again. So much to look into…. Whenever I am in NY I pass by 11 Bleeker St if the option comes up. June Leaf is still on the buzzer. They never sold the house before they died. You can still see some of her sculptures in the window of the studio.
I will have to go revisit. That address deserves a plaque at the very least!
This one caused me to go down so many more rabbit holes to look up more info! It’s inspired me to do more research into the origins of the circus because I feel like Barnum and Bailey keep popping up in NYC history.
The Jay Myself doc is so good and I will never not be sad that they turned that building into a goddam Supreme store 🥲
So many good stories from the Bowery! This Bailey was a distant relative of Barnum's future partner, but P.T. was inspired by seeing Old Bet and spent some time working as a ticket seller for Hachaliah.
"The Bowery/The Bowery/they do such things, and they say such things/on the Bowery/the Bowery/I'll never go there anymore..."
That little ditty from the old Broadway musical "A Trip To Chinatown" cemented in my mind the atmosphere of the neighborhood in its duplicitous prime. My reading of Stephen Crane's depiction of 19th century New York in works like "Maggie, A Girl Of The Streets" further brought the association to mind.
Those lyrics kept popping up in my research and though I never heard the melody, it is still somehow stuck in my head.
Just seeing the name of your article made me think of the song, because it's my main reference point for the neighborhood (even though it's about what it once was than what it is now).
So fun to explore my adjacent work neighborhood. And so much more to dig into, thanks for all the links. Question. Was Little Bet also working on a Sunday? I mean, geez.
At least one source said that some local thugs had heard rumors the elephant was impervious to gunshot so they wanted to see if that was true.
A fantastic tour of such a great - and still so special - neighborhood in the city. Thanks for a great trip!
So much history in those buildings. Thanks Alon. Hope the new camera is working out.
Rob, I feel like coming down to the Bowery for a photo session myself! The Fuji replacement camera is working very nicely now. Thanks for asking. It was great to meet you in person this year, hope we can meet again soon. ❤️📸👋
This series is so impressive and informative. Great work!!
It has been really fun to work on. Thanks Alexandra!
Wonderful!
Thank you!
Thanks for giving these history lessons and street views. The photography is truly inspiring. Every post is such a joy to read and view.
Thanks Christoph - glad you are following along!
When I think of the Bowery I’m reminded of Sting’s song, An Englishman in New York, which was inspired by the English writer, Quentin Crisp, who moved there in his old age. Thanks for another fascinating article and have a lovely break over the holidays.
You sent me down a Quentin Crisp rabbit hole, which culminated in a viewing of the David Fincher-directed Englishman in New York video. I learned a lot! Thanks Will, I hope you have a nice holiday, too!
The house for Edward Mooney seems very big. Did butchers earn a lot of money back then, or was this house not considered that large for the period?
Well, I'm not sure if your average butcher could afford this place, but Mooney was more of a meat wholesaler and also bred racehorses, so he was doing pretty well for himself. Also, the back half was an addition that went up after he died in 1800.
I love that small mural wall outside the 2nd Ave stop. It changes often and I've known a few artists who have had their work featured on it.
Starting with Keith Haring!
Wow. So much history in such a small area. It felt like a real love letter to a sort of unlovable place.
Count me in as one of the people who listens to the sounds of every issue. It's one of my favorite parts.
I’m sorry about that! It’s bumming me out. Rest assured I will be adding the audio to any missing editions once I figure this whole mess out.
Rob I'm in awe of all the detail and research that goes into these and the schedule that you have for them! I'm currently writing and researching for one of my neighbourhoods and its hard to not to waste all my time going down rabbit holes of tedious historic facts and stories.
Perhaps its just me and not sure if it's doable for you but it would be cool to see the modern outline of the neighbourhood on historic maps. An easy way to show exactly where the neighbourhood use to be before and hows its changed perhaps? Anyways, just a thought but like I said that requires more photoshop work and it seems like you already have a lot of other work to do on these posts.
This one was actually a little off schedule which was weirdly stressful. believe me, I spend way too much time going down rabbit holes.
I like to do little photoshop animations or gifs. I was working on one this week that traced the path of the old Bowery on an 18th century map but then I saw how long this particular edition was running so I scrapped it. But you have motivated me to keep doing those, so thank you. And thanks for reading!
Swell pictures, as usual. Thanks!
Thanks Rowland!