This is our "potpourri" episode with a little bit of everything in it. We open up some of our favorite readers mail, we take you behind the scenes of how we put together an episode, and we describe three of our very favorite history-related websites that you should check out. But it wouldn't be a podcast without some history, right? So we take a brief stroll down the Bowery, with over 200 years of history of this famous street. But has anything really changed? www.boweryboyspodcast.com...
Nov 21, 2008•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Bowery Boys explore the story and the family behind the Brooklyn Bridge, one of New York's most treasured landmarks -- caissons, anchorages and all. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Nov 18, 2008•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Times Square's New Years Eve celebration would not be the same without One Times Square and its annual ball drop. But the quirky history of this sometimes abused building reaches all the way back to the naming of Times Square and its original tenent -- the New York Times. www.boweryboyspodcast.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Nov 15, 2008•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast It got off to a rocky start, but the Plaza Hotel has become one of the most recognizable landmarks in New York City. We take a look at its kooky history, from its days as an upper class 'transient hotel' to a party place for celebrities. Starring: Henry Hardenberg, Eloise, Truman Capote and of course the unsinkable Mrs. Patrick Campbell. www.boweryboyspodcast.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Nov 14, 2008•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Behind the glamour of New York's greatest stage, Radio City Music Hall is a story involving a toothpaste tube designer, an allergy to Brazil nuts, a hydraulic lift protected from the Nazis, and a grandstanding but forgotten man by the name of Roxy. PLUS: The Bowery Boys go backstage (figuratively) with the Rockettes. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Nov 02, 2008•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast What are the Bowery Boys doing in Chicago? Just a little detour in our search for the origins of the Flatiron Building, the wedge shaped, wind producing oddity -- built as an office space in a department store neighborhood which grew to become one of the most romantic, elegant buildings in New York City. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Nov 01, 2008•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast A true five-borough episode! The New York City Marathon hosts thousands of runners from all over the world, the dream project of the New York Road Runners and in particular one Fred Lebow, an employee of the Fashion District turned athletic icon. Find out how he launched a massive race in the midst of bankrupt New York. Also -- our guest host Tanya Bielski-Braham takes us on a speedy tour of the course, from the Verrazano-Narrow Bridge to Tavern on the Green. www.boweryboyspodcast.com Support th...
Oct 31, 2008•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast For our very special 25th episode, we give you all sorts of Bowery boys -- the cultural and fashion trends of the 1840s, the notorious enemy of the Five Points gangs, and that slapstick bunch of New York actors from the 1930s and 1940s. And of course, a little bit about us! NOTE: B'hoy and G'hal are really pronounced with more of an Irish brogue (think 'buoy' or 'gah-al'). But to emphasize these words (in comparison to boy and girl) we are pushing up the H sounds. Support the show: https://www.p...
Oct 26, 2008•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast During the 1940s and 1950s, any celebrity worth their weight in fame either frequented or performed at the Copacabana, a swanky nightclub known for its showgirls, its Chinese food and its mafia ties. On this mini-podcast, we take you on a night on the town with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, and a rowdy table of New York Yankees. www.boweryboyspodcast.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 26, 2008•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Did you know that the man whose name adorns one of the most successful department stores in the world was a sailor turned failed businessman? Or why Macy's Department Store ALMOST takes up an entire city block? Or how many clowns have been in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade? The Bowery Boys let you in on those answers and lots of other fun facts about one of New York City's premier retailers. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys...
Oct 25, 2008•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast The spiral-ramped wonder that is the Guggenheim Museum began as the dream of two colorful characters -- a severe German artist and her rich patron art-lover. So how did they convince the most famous architect in the world to sign on to their dream for a modern art "museum temple"? Come meander with us through the Guggenheim's quirky history. Co-starring Robert Moses! Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys...
Oct 24, 2008•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Bowery Boys take on the history of New York City's most 'forgotten' borough, from its beginnings as a British outpost during the Revolutionary War to the controversy over that big stinky landfill. And we do it all in exactly the time it takes for the Staten Island ferry to take you across the New York harbor! (No really, try it.) Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 21, 2008•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast We're going to the 'original' Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in this podcast to hang with the filthy rich. Our guides are the styling and eccentric Astor family, the centerpiece of 19th Century New York wealth and society. Come along as we weave through a family tree of Williams and John Jacobs, not to mention THE Mrs. Astor, the one and only (even if there were really two). Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 20, 2008•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's the only area of Manhattan that actually belongs to the entire world (literally). Come along with the Bowery Boys as we cut the security line to uncover the true story about the unusual headquarters of the United Nations, and why they ended up in New York City in the first place. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 19, 2008•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this mini-podcast, we bring you New York City's first internationally famous writer Washington Irving and his creepy tale of the Headless Horseman. We'll tell you where you can go to celebrate his life and work, and what famous Irving landmark has nothing really to do with him. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 18, 2008•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast The most desirable woman in downtown Manhattan -- the 'beautiful cigar girl' Mary Rogers -- is found horribly murdered along the Hoboken shore. Hear some of the stories of the murder's prime suspects and marvel at the excessive attentions of the penny press. Also: the deductive Edgar Allen Poe writes one of the first detective stories, and the notorious Madame Restell, who has a surprising connection to the murder. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys...
Oct 17, 2008•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast A city this size certainly has its share of ghosts, and the Bowery Boys spend the spooky season with some of the most famous -- a suicide showgirl, a grumpy landowner, a womanizer theater owner and a rich spinster. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 16, 2008•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast The New York Public Library may be one of the most revered libraries in America, but it took a far flung combination of bookworms, millionaires and do-gooders to make it into the institution it is today. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 13, 2008•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lady Liberty -- her torch may shine bright, but what story is she hiding under that copper-toned skin? The Bowery Boys bring you the story of the French dinner party that created an American icon. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 13, 2008•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Harlem's jewel, the Apollo Theater, has more than lived up to its promise as a place "where stars are born and legends are made." It's been the cultural centerpiece of New York for more than seven decades, not bad for a former burlesque theater. And find out which icon made his name -- and held his funeral -- on the same stage. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 12, 2008•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Back when New York was New Amsterdam, it was the domain of the bullheaded, pear-growing, peglegged Peter Stuyvesant, who cleaned up the city and gave us our most important street. Find out why he still matters and why he's the king of the East Village. We've recorded a more comprehensive podcast on Peter Stuyvesant in 2018. You can listen to it here. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys...
Oct 12, 2008•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast By popular demand, we return to the creepier tales of New York City history, ghost tales and stories of murder and mayhem, all of them at some point involving great American icons -- Alexander Hamilton, P.T. Barnum, Dorothy Parker and Mark Twain. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 10, 2008•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Come see the Wonder Wheel, the king of hot dogs, the "Freaks" in the Dreamland Sideshow, a beached whale and Donald Trump's dad -- all in one place! It's Coney Island in the 20th Century. But will it be around much longer in the 21st? Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 09, 2008•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast A world of amusement starts here in New York -- Coney Island, the world's oldest and strangest collection of amusement parks, a mishmash of sideshows, concession stands, gambling halls, new-fangled rides and luxury hotels. Take a daytrip with us back to the early days of Coney Island. Hold on to your hat! Part one of a two part mega-episode. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 07, 2008•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ah, the classic Chrysler Building! She's got style, glamour and all that jazz. But what magical surprise did she spring on New York in October of 1929? Join us as we tell the story of New York's most beautiful art deco treasure. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 06, 2008•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast From an odd assortment of abandoned creatures, to one of the most notorious zoos in the world, take a tour with us through Central Park's storybook zoo. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 05, 2008•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The fashionable district of NoLIta happens to be home to a few ghosts as well, tucked behind the walls of St Patrick's Old Cathedral. Come with us as we unearth some info about a mysterious New York fraternal order, the occupants of a few cemetery crypts, and the origins of a legendary film director. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 05, 2008•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Learn about New York's most famous luxury apartment building and the classic horror film set here. Plus: Lauren Bacall, Connie Chung and some dumb waiters! Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 05, 2008•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Something's afoot in Washington Square Park. Join the Bowery Boys this week on an expedition through one of New York's quirkiest -- and most beloved -- parks, from Hangman's Elm to Bob Dylan. And you say there's WHAT buried in the ground underneath the park? Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 04, 2008•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast New York's most under-appreciated treasure gets the Bowery Boys treatment. It's Governors Island: a fort, a small town, a prison and a Burger King ... all bought for one dollar. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys
Oct 04, 2008•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
