Join us for Inwood History Night at the Indian Road Cafe.

Sid will regale us with the fascinating history of the HARLEM RIVER and how this waterway has left its indelible mark on Northern Manhattan. Along the way we’ll view some wonderful, rare images (rare even to Cole and Don). Stop by and learn about how this “river” continues to influence our urban landscape.

Don’t miss it.

Details: 7:30 pm Tuesday Feb. 7, 2012
Place: The Indian Road Cafe

Aftermath of Fire on 207th and Broadway (photo taken: January 4, 2012)

A massive fire ripped through a building on 207th and Broadway last night.  Above are before and after photos of the devastation.

For news and additional photos click on this news link from DNAInfo.com.

As summer winds down, I thought it might be fun to share a photo of an old swimming hole that used to be a source of great fun and entertainment near the turn of the last century.  The area, on the bank of the Hudson River at  Dyckman Street was called the “Inwood Bathing Beach.”   This not so little oasis in those days before air conditions was one of several installations to dot the local waterways during the summer months.

Inwood Bathing Beach, NY Tribune, July 15, 1906

According to the 1906 account from the New York Herald, “A novel resort far uptown on Manhattan Island is the Inwood Bathing Beach, at Dyckman (206th) street and the Hudson River. The clean sandy beach, the fine stretch of water and the bathing houses have combined to make this especially popular. It is only three minutes walk from the Broadway cars and there are accommodations for 1,500 persons at a time. A lifesaving crew is at hand for the protection of bathers, and swimming masters afford instruction to those who are not competent swimmers. Boats may be secured for rowing, and refreshments are served in the pavilion.”

For the curious: The building in the upper right of the photo is the original Jewish Memorial Hospital.

Tubby Hook today

"Portrait of a Monster," by Inwood resident Cole Thompson and co-author Lisa Pulitzer.

For much of the past year while writing histories of Northern Manhattan, and co-hosting History night at the Indian Road Cafe, I’ve also been working on a true crime book based on the case of Joran van der Sloot. Van der Sloot, you might remember, remains a suspect in the May 30, 2005 disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway as well as May 30, 2010 murder of Stephany Flores in Lima, Peru.

For this project I spent part of last summer in Lima, spending time with Peruvian police and getting to know the most recent victim’s family. The research paid off. Peruvian investigators took a shine to myself and co-author Lisa Pulitzer and gave us full access to the investigation. (That’s right, she’s a real Pulitzer)

On July 5th, our book, titled Portrait of a Monster will finally be released.

So far, the book is getting wonderful reviews; Publisher’s Weekly calls it “…well-detailed…disturbing and haunting…” The New York Post also gave the book extensive coverage over the weekend.

My newest creation, I also co-authored a New York Times #1 bestseller on the Scott and Laci Peterson case with former Court TV host Catherine Crier, is available for purchase on Amazon. It contains exclusive details which may surprise even those who have carefully followed the case.

I hope you’ll pick up a copy through Amazon or your favorite bookstore. I would also be honored to sign copies for anyone who’s interested. Most of my devoted readers know where to find me, but you can always send me a message through the website.

Thank you for your continued support.  -Cole

In 1928, Inwood, as we know it, was coming into its own. With two subway trains having now reached the neighborhood, families with children flocked to the area. At the time the entire region was a blur of activity. New apartment buildings were rising almost daily both east and west of Broadway. With low rents and plenty of parkland, Inwood was an ideal choice for many middle income families. In this below article from a 1928 edition of the New York Sun we watch as the students of P.S. 52 learn about ecology.

PS 52 kids from Jan 17, 1928 New York Sun Article

The text of the article reads:

“P.S. 52, Manhattan, recently displayed a collection of nature study material representing the projects of about sixty classes and 2,500 pupils.  Emphasis was given to the plant and animal life of Inwood and to the rock formation that pupils see.

Special exhibits were a clay model of Isham Park by class 5A5; an irrigation system by class 6B5; a seashore scene by class 2A1, and Japanese gardens by class 2A4.

The four walls of the gymnasium were covered with charts on which were mounted specimens collected by the pupils. Many showed the stages of development of raw material into products of daily use.  The work has brought to light the exceptional ability of some children in art.”

207 Dyckman Street

On Dyckman Street, just east of Broadway, sit twin buildings dating back to the turn of the century.  They represent the very beginning of the housing boom in Inwood.  With colorful maroon and beige columns marking their entryways, the buildings are difficult to miss.  It is hard to imagine the buildings set amid a quiet country backdrop, but that’s just what early residents came home to every evening.

The following description comes from an advertisement in the May 24, 1907 edition of the New York Sun:

“Country Quiet and Pure Air in the City!

A TENANT WRITES: “Driven from the city by noise and dirt, I sought relief in the country–along the Hudson and Sound, and in New Jersey–but nothing desirable could be found that did not cost more (everything considered) than on the upper west side.  Then I tried Washington Heights, where among scores of new apartments none was found without some drawback–chiefly inconvenient arrangement of rooms and absence of quiet.  Finally, I reached Dyckman Street station on subway.  Two blocks west I found two apartment houses built on lines of common-sense and refinement. Dyckman Street runs into the Speedway on the east and connects with the beautiful Lafayette Boulevard on the west, where it connects with old Broadway, two minutes from the Hudson.

209 and 207 Dyckman Street today.

The buildings standing alone in the distance on Dyckman Street in 1904, Source: Museum of the City of New York

The apartments face south on the finest piece of greenery in Manhattan–primeval rocks and trees forming Mount Washington.  To the west they adjoin Inwood (a thickly wooded hill interspersed with handsome country residences) and the Hudson and western Palisades.  All this is only 25 minutes to City Hall, but QUIET COUNTRY REIGNS, one gets a seat every time and there is no change of cars or ferries and no long walk or double fares.  All subway trains are express.  The Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway (Kingsbridge) cars pass within half a block.  School house one block away.  Van Cortlandt Park is reached in ten minutes–golf, skating and all seasonable sports.  The apartments are perfectly arranged, good sized rooms; extra large kitchens and bath rooms; no dark corners; abundant closet room; halls, stairways, rooms all decorated with a degree of good taste and refinement rarely found among builders.  I prefer the apartment I selected to one I occupied for several years on Central Park West in the nineties, and yet it costs me one third less.”

209 Dyckman Street today

The apartments are especially suited for professional people, and will prove a boon to those who appreciate quietness and cleanness, combined with accessibility to the city and its conveniences and pleasures.

The Solono and Monida Apartments 207 and 209 Dyckman Street, corner of Broadway: six and seven room suites: moderate rents.  Take subway to Dyckman Street station and walk west two blocks; or Amsterdam Avenue cars, transferring to Broadway and Kingsbridge Road line.

M. McCORMACK CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, OWNER ON PREMISES.

NY Sun, May 24, 1907

Solano and Monida Apartment Ad, New York NY Sun, Nov. 4, 1904

If you have lived in these buildings and have any stories to share, I encourage you to write in below:

Arthur Guiterman

Our suburbs are under the plow,
Our scaffolds are raw in the sun;
We’re drunk and disorderly now,
BUT—
‘Twill be a great place when it’s done

-Arthur Guiterman, “New York,” “Ballads of Old New York”, 1920

To say that Arthur Guiterman was one of the most prolific and talented poets of his generation would be somewhat of an exaggeration. In truth, the previous sentence is a complete misrepresentation of fact.

But what God given writing talent Guiterman lacked, he made up for in sheer volume.  From the turn of the century until his death in 1943 Guiterman churned out more than a dozen volumes of popular verse geared towards the undiscriminating masses.

For example: In a poem about dinosaurs, published in a 1918 collection called The Mirthful Lyre, Guiterman wrote,

The Great Tyrannosaurus
Lived centuries ago;
Through marshes wet and porous
He rambled to and fro.

A true working writer, Guiterman never sought, nor deserved, critical acclaim.  For Guiterman, it was all about the paycheck.  In a surprisingly candid 1915 New York Times interview he said, “The poet must be influenced by the demand.  There is inspiration in the demand.  Besides the material reward, the poet who is influenced by the demand has the encouraging, inspiring knowledge that he is writing something that people want to read.”

Guiterman encouraged the struggling writer to abandon all lofty literary notions and focus on humorous verse. Then, according to Guiterman, “He should look up publishers of holiday cards, and submit to them, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter verses, for which he would receive about five dollars apiece.”

Guiterman’s main advice to the starving artist was tried and true—write for others, but also choose personally inspiring subject matter.   For Guiterman, time after time, Inwood would provide that inspiration.

In Guiterman’s 1920 collection, Ballads of Old New York, he included verse on the naming of Tubby Hook, the mysteries of the Spuyten Duyvil and, in poem after poem, rhyming histories of Inwood’s founding family—The Dyckmans.

My personal favorite is his tribute to the still standing Dutch Colonial-style Dyckman Farmhouse which today is preserved in the form of a museum on 204^th Street and Broadway.

THE DYCKMAN HOUSE

Plain as the brass of an old sword-hilt
Is the tale of the house that the Dyckmans built

In Charles the Second’s jovial reign,
Jan, the first of the Dyckman strain,
Fair-haired, ruddy, strong, and shrewd’
Cleared the soil, and his hearty brood
Killed the wolves in their rocky lairs,
Turned the loam with iron shares.

Full a hundred years had fled;
Well the Dyckman race had sped;
Sweet their orchards, broad their farms
When Freedom called true men to arms.
They nursed no doubts of the need of force;
They did their part as a thing of course.
Forth they sallied, boy and man.
William, head of the Dyckman clan,
Took the field, and his three good sons
Marched along with their flintlock guns—
Abraham bold and Michael keen
And Blithe young William, aged thirteen.

Through the war and its changing tides
The Dyckmans fought in the gallant Guides.
Their chronicles may still be found
In the blood-stained roll of the Neutral Ground,
And yellowed, time-worn records tell
How sturdy Abraham Dyckman fell,
Raiding the camp of De Lancey’s corps,
And how young William paid that score.

Peace at last!—In full retreat
Sounded the tramp of alien feet
Quitting the isle we love;–and then
The Dyckmans came to their own again.
But the camping foe had left their land
Bare as the back of a baby’s hand.
Waste was the fields and the orchards, too;
Burned was the home in which they grew.

The Dyckman breed were men of force;
They took their task as a thing of course.
Again they plowed their wasted leas,
Again they set their orchard trees;
With toughened timbers, marked by fire,
From tumbled barn and ruined byre,
They raised the framework, strongly planned,
Of this old house. Long may it stand
A monument for coming years
Of the last of the flower of pioneers.

For in this brave old house survives
The lesson blazed by its builder’s lives:

“Be true; and keep, whate’er befall,
The faith that each man owes to all.
Be strong; for strength shall purge you clear
Of all mean hatreds born of Fear.
Then, should the years that hither press
Bring other days of storm and stress,
A race of clean-limbed, clear-eyed men
Shall look the world in the face again.”

The Dyckman House

Today, around 2:15,  I stepped out  into the fine spring air for a quick stroll. Noticing smoke rising from Cooper Street, I dashed back to the New Heights Realty office and borrowed Rob Kleinbardt’s camera.

Firemen were already on the scene as I approached–smashing windows, dousing flames and helping residents escape the smoke billowing from their apartment building.

According the Manhattan Times, the source of the fire was a dropped candle.

Thank you Ladder 36.  Seeing you in action was nothing short of amazing.

If you haven’t been outside, or are in some far away land such as Argentina, I thought you might like to see some of the splendor of Spring 2010…Inwood style.  Hope you enjoy the slideshow.

While last week’s blizzard missed upper Manhattan, today’s snowstorm really clobbered us.  Some reports even say we’re in the middle of another blizzard.  It certainly feels like it.

A special thanks to Jimmy, a Park Terrace Gardens porter, for cutting it up in what is becoming a MyInwood tradition.

See last year’s “Inwood Snow Day” here.

Happy Holidays Inwood.  It is chilly outside, so bundle up as you make your way to your various festivities.

And what would the season be without a few memories of yesteryear?

The following photos were taken on Broadway near Academy Street in December of 1925. The city was entering its fifth year of Prohibition and the Great Depression was just around the corner.

Sure the times were a bit different, but the tradition of a Christmas tree stand on Broadway has changed very little since these photos were taken some eighty-five years ago.

Christmas tree stand on Broadway near Academy in 1925

Of course I imagine the prices have gone up just a wee bit since 1925.

Broadway south of 207th Street this holiday season.

Still worried about Prohibition?   No P.J.’s Wine and Liquors you say?

In September of 1922 Federal prohibition agents raided the Arras Inn on 4928 Broadway where they found 120 bottles of beer. Summonses were issued for owner Paul Boehn and waiter John Cronan.

1920′s Christmas tree shoppers and sellers alike could drop into the Arras Inn on 207th and Broadway, or any number of speakeasy clubs in the neighborhood, to share a discreet pint of holiday cheer.

An infamous speakeasy: The Arras Inn on 207th and Broadway

So hoist a glass of whatever suits you.  Here’s  wishing you and  yours a happy holiday.

Every Halloween ghosts and goblins haunt the streets, parks and apartment buildings of Inwood–just as they have for hundreds of years.

It is a spooky place where the spirit of a long dead magician might bump into the specter of a headless Hessian, where a Dutch trumpeter fights with the devil himself and cries from disturbed graves are heard by the living.

This October, the most frightening month of the year, MyInwood presents several scary tales from the past.

Cemeteries of Yesteryear It’s hard to imagine an Inwood with mansions on the hill, a dirt road below, and just east of that cemeteries….yep….Cemeteries.
Hundreds of years of even sparse population generated numerous graves. In some lay the long forgotten members of once famous families. In other plots,the fallen dead of the Revolutionary War; even Indians.

Houdini’s Ghost Every Halloween, the anniversary of Harry Houdini’s death, his widow Bess held a seance.
This Halloween, listen to a recording of the final 1936 seance and discover The Houdini Inwood Connection.  Would you believe Bess Houdini lived right here on Payson Avenue?

A Turn of the Century School for the Occult Occultism was all the rage near the turn of the century. Join us as we explore the fascinating and macabre world of Ernest Loomis and his Inwood School of Philosophy. It is a bone chilling ride into another dimension.   His book, “Practical Occultism,” was published here in Inwood near the turn of the century.

The Inwood House of Mercy Finally, choose a cell in Inwood’s haunted old House of Mercy. The institution had a past so dark and scary that the ghosts of its former residents haunt Inwood Hill Park to this very day.

The next time you pass through Isham Park you’ll likely notice a stump where a massive Norway Maple used to stand.

Sadly, the towering giant was diseased and needed to come down. In true Inwood fashion, the tree felling quickly became a neighborhood event. As sawdust flew from up high, city workers and curious neighbors were given an impromptu lesson in tree surgery.

World champion tree climber Mark Chisholm gave a running commentary from a wireless microphone from his tree-top perch.   Swinging from a rope, chainsaw in hand, Chisholm explained the obvious and not so obvious risks of his often hazardous trade.

Take a look.

Artists, working in a variety of mediums, have long been attracted to Inwood.  From impressionist Ernest Lawson painting his ever changing views of the Spuyten Duyvil to sculptor George Grey Barnard who found quiet inspiration in his Fort Tryon studio, the area was and still is teeming with creative minds.

For the last seven years the Uptown Arts Stroll, now in full swing, has provided a public platform for these talented souls.

Among the many artists who participated in this years Uptown Arts Stroll is Canadian born Inwoodite Sky Pape.

Sky’s work is in the collection of the Guggenheim and other prestigious museum and private collections.

The textures, unique papers and inks make Sky’s works wonders to behold up close and in person.

MyInwood caught up with Sky recently in her Payson Avenue studio before she opened up her work space to to the public.  Sky Pape was one of many uptown artists who hosted “open studios” for the Arts Stroll.

Take a look:

After months of nervous anticipation, Inwood’s newest grocery store opened this morning on 216th and Broadway.

The signs outside the new Antillana Food Plaza promise fresh meat, fish and produce and judging from the smiling faces wandering the aisles, this new kid on the block doesn’t seem to disappoint.

A tour of the new grocery on the day of their grand opening uncovered an astounding variety of fresh food that seems to service all members of our eclectic community. The prices also seemed quite reasonable.

But don’t take my word for it…. take a look at the slide show then get over to Broadway and do some shopping.

And to the new owners, congratulations, keep up the good work and if you’ll humor me…a little more cheese please.

[[Show as slideshow]] Four hundred years ago  Henry Hudson and his crew of the Half Moon first encountered the Lenape Indians living and thriving near the mouth of the Spuyten Duyvil.

Flash forward to the eighth annual Drums Along the Hudson: A Native American Festival enjoyed by young, old, Native American and Native New Yorker alike.

Despite overcast skies, vendors sold out of food as a culturally diverse crowd enjoyed pow wows, corn husk doll making, story telling and indigenous dancers from such far flung places as Peru, Korea and New Zealand.

And while I’m not sure what a frappucino mixed by a blender powered by a stationary bicycle had to do with Native American culture, it sure was tasty.

On 225th Street near the Harlem River, roughly where the Target department store sits today, once stood one of the great Gotham sporting venues of the 1920′s, the New York Velodrome.

The date, May 30th, 1922, opening night at the quarter-million-dollar bike track built to hold 16,000 fans. Tonight the crowd has likely exceeded capacity.

The rabid fans are out in force to witness a no holes barred cycling competition featuring true international stars and tonight they won’t be disappointed.

Competitive cycling first gained popularity in the 1880′s and 90′s and by the 1920′s the Velodrome was the hottest ticket in town.

Essentially a huge wooden saucer, the Velodrome had steep banks designed to send racers flying past one another in a dizzy blur of spokes, sweat and pain. Gaining speed, riders would clash in violent collisions often slicking the track with their own blood.

Velodrome New York Evening Post, Jue 10, 1922

Notorious six-day races, free for all amateur events, sprints and motor-paced racing were the rage at similar arenas around the globe, but tonight, opening night, the Velodrome had a special surprise for everyone.

After several races, including a devastating upset for veteran favorite Percy Lawrence at the hands of Italian rider Georges Columbatto, the Bambino took to the track.

Starter pistol in hand, crowd going wild, Babe Ruth himself fired the shot that sent legs pumping in the sprint race featuring rivals Ray Eaton, Alf  Goullet and Orlando Piani.
While a jazz band played in the background, Eaton, of East Orange, New Jersey captured best time in two out of three heats.

Designed primarily for cycling, the Velodrome was a true multi-purpose facility.   Used for a variety of sporting events,  the Velodrome was also host to  a World Welterweight title bout shrouded in controversy.

On June 26, 1922, for twelve fast and furious rounds, Jack Britton, aka “The Boxing Marvel,” (below right)  out boxed, crowded and even bloodied opponent Benny Leonard (below left).

Then in round thirteen, Leonard, a Jewish boxer dubbed “The Ghetto Wizard” for his Lower East Side neighborhood,  threw a blow to Britton’s midsection. Britton doubled over and fell to his knees.
While rising to one knee, Leonard swooped in and  stuck Britton with a light blow to the face. As famed sports writer Daymon Runyon looked on in disbelief, referee Pat Haley disqualified comeback kid Benny Leonard. For years it was rumored Leonard had bet heavily against himself and intentionally fouled his opponent in a last ditch effort to throw the fight.

For eight glorious years the Velodrome was the scene of awe and excitement, before a suspicious fire burned the fabled venue to the ground.

In the early morning hours of August 4th, 1930 garage workers reported seeing smoke rising from the wooden structure. By the time fire units were dispatched, the smoldering fire had become a three-alarm inferno. Firemen helplessly pulled back and focused their attention on keeping the fire from spreading to the surrounding neighborhood.
By 4:00 am, flames could be seen as far away as Washington Heights. By dawn, the Velodrome was a smoldering ash heap, never to be rebuilt.

Despite the late hour, police would later learn that Velodrome supervisor Jack Neville and two other employees were in the facility when the fire broke out.
While an arson investigation never materialized, those close to the case couldn’t help but note the fire occurred just weeks after a competing Velodrome opened on nearby Coney Island.

Click here for more neighborhood history.

It snowed tonight in Inwood
These pictures I just took
Like snowflakes, no two are the same
I hope you’ll take a look

Located in the heart of Palermo Hollywood, this Buenos Aires gem will leave you wondering why you ever considered staying in a hotel.

Dozens of fashionable restaurants, cafes and bars located within a five minute walk make this spacious penthouse apartment a key travel destination.

The apartment itself is a 65 square meter duplex in a brand new elevator equipped building.

Step into the apartment and you will find everything you need to make your stay in Buenos Aires comfortable.

First floor:

-Sprawling master bath complete with a bidet.
-Comfortable living room with tv and futon that sleeps two
-Huge mirrored closet
-Fully equipped kitchen (pots, pans, cutlery, microwave, American Style coffee pot, etc…)
-Dining table with service for six
-Ceiling fan, air conditioning, blackout shades.
-Radio with CD player and usb ports
-Balcony (one of two)
-Washing machine

Second floor

-A spiral staircase winds past a small storage room as you approach the upstairs bedroom
-Luxurious queen size bed
-Full bath with jacuzzi and bidet
-Ceiling fan and air conditioning
-Blackout curtains
-Huge mirrored closet
-Second balcony

Maid service is available upon request. Internet connection available. Ten minute walk to major subway lines.

MAP