The Bowery Boys: New York City History  By  cover art

The Bowery Boys: New York City History

By: Tom Meyers Greg Young
  • Summary

  • The tides of American history lead through the streets of New York City — from the huddled masses on Ellis Island to the sleazy theaters of 1970s Times Square. The elevated railroad to the Underground Railroad. Hamilton to Hammerstein! Greg and Tom explore more than 400 years of action-packed stories, featuring both classic and forgotten figures who have shaped the world.
    Bowery Boys Media
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Episodes
  • The Hidden World of Gramercy Park
    Jul 19 2024

    Carl Raymond of The Gilded Gentleman podcast and his guest Keith Taillon invite you into one of the most historically exclusive spaces in New York City -- the romantic and peaceful escape known as Gramercy Park.

    This small two-acre square, constructed in the 1830s, has been called “America’s Bloomsbury”. Taking the reference from London’s famous neighborhood once home to many great writers and artists, New York’s Gramercy Park has similarly included noted cultural icons as architect Stanford White, actor Edwin Booth and the great politician Samuel Tilden.

    Wandering along the park today it’s easy to gain a view back into the past — many of the original Greek Revival brick townhouses and brownstone mansions remain, some still in private hands. The park in the center is one of the most unique places in America — it is a private park, not a city property and its upkeep has been managed since its inception in the early 19th century by the property owners around the park itself.

    Writer and historian Keith Taillon joins Carl for this episode to look back into this hidden pocket of New York City’s past and unlock its history.

    Visit the website for images and other information about Gramercy Park

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    59 mins
  • #437 Haarlem, Breukelen, Utrecht: Exploring New York's Dutch Roots
    Jul 5 2024

    Follow along with Greg and Tom in this stand-alone travelogue episode as they 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.

    But of course, their mission remains the same as the past three episodes. For there are traces of Dutch culture and history all over New York City -- through the names of boroughs, neighborhoods, streets and parks.

    From Spuyten Duyvil Creek flowing into the Harlem River along the Bronx shoreline to New Utrecht, Gravesend and Cortelyou Road in Brooklyn. All of those place names can be traced to the Dutch presence of New Amsterdam and New Netherland.

    In the final Bowery Boys episode recorded in the Netherlands, Tom and Greg head to several places that have unique links to the New York City area, mostly through Dutch colonial connections made in the 17th century.

    Utrecht -- The medieval city with its unique canal wharves and monastery courtyards that may be the bicycle capital of the world. What are its connections to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn?

    Breukelen -- How did this charming, quiet old town on the Vecht River become the namesake of the borough of Brooklyn? Both places have "Brooklyn Bridges." But there are a couple of other surprising parallels.

    De Bilt -- The ancestral home of the Vanderbilt family, can Tom find one of their 17th-century ancestors among the stones of an old cemetery?

    Haarlem -- Manhattan's Harlem remains one of America's cultural centers, and the rustic Dutch city that inspired its name also has cultural riches aplenty -- from its museums to its historic windmill Molen de Adriaan.

    WITH -- Mysterious pharmaceuticals, pedal boat misadventures, ghostly apparitions and Aperol Spritzes!

    PLUS: The s pecial link between Amsterdam's Jewish Quarter and New York City's Lower East Side -- through pickles

    Visit the website for images of their journey

    Follow Instagram to see reels from their trip

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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • #436 Amsterdam/New Amsterdam: Finding Peter Stuyvesant
    Jun 28 2024

    The name Stuyvesant can be found everywhere in New York City -- in the names of neighborhoods, apartments, parks and high schools. Peter Stuyvesant, the last director-general of New Amsterdam, is a hero to some, a villain to others -- and probably a caricature to all.

    What do we really know about Peter Stuyvesant?

    In their last days in Amsterdam (before heading to other parts of the Netherlands), Tom and Greg spend their time getting to know Stuyvesant, thanks to their special guest Jaap Jacobs, the author of a forthcoming biography on the elusive and controversial figure.

    And outside the mayor's residence in Amsterdam's exclusive Gouden Bocht (Golden Bend), they meet up with Jennifer Tosch of Black Heritage Tours (with tours in New York and Amsterdam) to investigate the story of New Amsterdam and the Dutch slave trade.

    PLUS They stroll around New Amsterdam on a dark, stormy evening. No really! Well, it's the village of Marken where one can find the closest approximation of what New Amsterdam looked like.

    AND A few more myths are dispelled. What actual date should New York City mark as its anniversary -- 1624, 1625, or 1626? Did a letter describing the so-called 'purchase of Manhattan' from the Lenape actually come from New Amsterdam? And was New Amsterdam, in fact, even its real name?

    Visit the website for images and other information pertaining to this show

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    1 hr and 21 mins

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Excellent podcast!

As you listen to them and their corny puns, you'll barely believe those two clowns could put together a decent podcast, but they've done it! Sure, it helps that their canvas is New York City history - reducing the chances that even THEY could screw it up ; but they do an excellent - and even original and unconventional - job at it....somehow. Even when podcasting through cold viruses, they manage to stay convivial and original. Well worth a listen.

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