Old New York

New York City as it was 1853-1901, through 196 wonderful photographs: great blizzard, Lincoln's funeral procession, great buildings, much more.

As Manhattan succumbs to the big chain stores and tourist traps that come with the modern age, it struggles to maintain its storied identity. Fortunately for locals and visitors alike, a number of classic restaurants, shops and other establishments still thrive today that evoke the unique charm of the city. From The Four Seasons to Serendipity 3, from Katz's Deli to Café Carlyle, from the Oyster Bar to The Donut Pub, all the landmarks are here in the first and only book to collect all the best of Manhattan's timeless spots. Discovering Vintage New York is your guide to 50 profiled restaurants, shops, delis, nightspots, bars, and cafés that have lasted half a century or more. But they’re not merely old. Or historical. Or old and historical. These spots evoke a bygone metropolis. They are lost in time, yet compellingly timely. Whether they span decades or centuries, they are vibrant, quirky, and just plain fun to explore. Discovering Vintage New York takes you to a city of egg creams and knishes, of record stores and hat shops, of bohemian basements and candlelit clubs. Start reading, and start your discovering now!

Uncover fascinating, little-known histories of the five boroughs in The Bowery Boys’ official companion to their popular, award-winning podcast. It was 2007. Sitting at a kitchen table and speaking into an old karaoke microphone, Greg Young and Tom Meyers recorded their first podcast. They weren’t history professors or voice actors. They were just two guys living in the Bowery and possessing an unquenchable thirst for the fascinating stories from New York City’s past. Nearly 200 episodes later, The Bowery Boys podcast is a phenomenon, thrilling audiences each month with one amazing story after the next. Now, in their first-ever book, the duo gives you an exclusive personal tour through New York’s old cobblestone streets and gas-lit back alleyways. In their uniquely approachable style, the authors bring to life everything from makeshift forts of the early Dutch years to the opulent mansions of The Gilded Age. They weave tales that will reshape your view of famous sites like Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, and the High Line. Then they go even further to reveal notorious dens of vice, scandalous Jazz Age crime scenes, and park statues with strange pasts. Praise for The Bowery Boys “Among the best city-centric series.” —New York Times “Meyers and Young have become unofficial ambassadors of New York history.” —NPR “Breezy and informative, crowded with the finest grifters, knickerbockers, spiritualists, and city builders to stalk these streets since back when New Amsterdam was just some farms.” —Village Voice “Young and Meyers have an all-consuming curiosity to work out what happened in their city in years past, including the Newsboys Strike of 1899, the history of the Staten Island Ferry, and the real-life sites on which Martin Scorsese’s Vinyl is based.” —The Guardian

Nooks and Corners of Old New York celebrates the people, places, and events that shaped New York City's history. The author—a newspaper reporter and novelist who wrote extensively on New York's early history—paints a vivid picture of several centuries of stories, scandals, and celebrations. While the history may be old, its appeal is not dated; any fan of contemporary city lore will be fascinated by the many echoes that can be discovered by learning more about the city's colorful past. Whether an armchair traveler or someone retracing the author's steps, the reader will enjoy imagining a city that still featured sheep meadows, fresh streams, and verdant hills. And, surprisingly, many of the landmarks highlighted in this text remain on their original sites, testimony to the fact that the ever-changing city still has a history to be appreciated. Read selectively as you roam the streets or from first to last page in the comfort of your favorite chair, Nooks and Corners of Old New York will entertain and inform you about New York's rich story.

Discover venerable dining rooms, gas-lit taverns, and old-world apothecaries and tobacconists from the New York of George Washington, Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, Boss Tweed, Harry Houdini, and P.T. Barnum. This old-world guide covers restaurants, gourmet shops, cafes, saloons and bars, hardware stores, and home furnishings stores. Illustrations.

What did New York look like four centuries ago? An extraordinary reconstruction of a wild island from the forests of Times Square to the wetlands downtown. Named a Best Book of the Year by Library Journal, New York Magazine, and San Francisco Chronicle On September 12, 1609, Henry Hudson first set foot on the land that would become Manhattan. Today, it’s difficult to imagine what he saw, but for more than a decade, landscape ecologist Eric Sanderson has been working to do just that. Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City is the astounding result of those efforts, reconstructing in words and images the wild island that millions now call home. By geographically matching an eighteenth-century map with one of the modern city, examining volumes of historic documents, and collecting and analyzing scientific data, Sanderson re-creates topography, flora, and fauna from a time when actual wolves prowled far beyond Wall Street and the degree of biological diversity rivaled that of our most famous national parks. His lively text guides you through this abundant landscape—while breathtaking illustrations transport you back in time. Mannahatta is a groundbreaking work that provides not only a window into the past, but also inspiration for the future. “[A] wise and beautiful book, sure to enthrall anyone interested in NYC history.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A cartographical detective tale . . . The fact-intense charts, maps and tables offered in abundance here are fascinating.” —The New York Times “[An] exuberantly written and beautifully illustrated exploration of pre-European Gotham.” —San Francisco Chronicle “You don’t have to be a New Yorker to be enthralled.” —Library Journal

A biography of the Dutchman who arrived to be governor of New Amsterdam in 1647.