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Inwood’s Mount Olympus: The Seaman Mansion in 1869

Old Seaman Mansion in Inwood New York City

A while back I wrote a history of the old Seaman mansion that once stood on the grounds currently occupied by Park Terrace Gardens. Today the only trace of the Seaman estate is the crumbling marble arch located down the hill on Broadway.
The following description from 1869 finds the home occupied by its original [...]

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The Dyckman Oval

Dyckman Oval, Inwood, New York City

The year was 1935. Babe Ruth, the Bambino, was reveling in the twilight of his fame. The Sultan of Swat, the King of Swing, the Colossus Of Crash had seen better days. Years of hard living and several automobile accidents had taken their toll, but the Babe could still draw a crowd—and the [...]

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Fort George Amusement Park

Fort George Amusement Park in turn of the century Inwood, New York City

In 1895, on the same spot where George Washington and his band of Revolutionaries defended a British assault after the Battle of Brooklyn, a glorious and magnificent amusement park rivaling Coney Island opened near the northeastern end of Manhattan. The Fort George Amusement park was located in what is now Highbridge Park between 190th [...]

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Happy Holidays Inwood

Prohibition cartoon

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 [...]

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The Cotton King of Inwood Hill

Cotton plant for Inwood history article

When one thinks of Inwood, the word “cotton” does not likely spring to mind. Of course folks rarely speak anymore of Frederick “The Cotton King” Talcott, who, in the mid-1800’s, made Inwood Hill his home.
Frederick Talcott was born into a founding New England family that traced its aristocratic roots in Warwickshire, England to 1558.
His [...]

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Civil War Era Inwood: The Brooks Brothers Connection

Brooks Brothers

In the years following the Civil War the Bloomingdale Road, now called Broadway, was an impoverished and often treacherous stretch of dirt and mud where many inhabitants just barely scraped by.
In glaring contrast, just to the west, atop Inwood Hill, the rich and famous built magnificent country homes steps from the squalor of the [...]

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Where Cobwebs Thrive on Manhattan Isle

Libby Castle

When New York Tribune reporter Eleanor Booth Simmons explored the hills of Inwood and Washington Heights in 1921 she discovered a quaint country community rapidly being swallowed by the big city. In this article she gives us a guided tour of the still standing homes of once rich and powerful families [...]

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Old Post Road

Mile Marker on Old Post Road in Inwood, New York

Tucked away in a section of the stone wall near the 212th Street and Broadway entrance to Isham Park is an often overlooked survivor of Inwood’s past. The old Albany Post Road mile marker blends into its surroundings, but is hard to miss when you know what to look for.
Curved at the top, this rectangular [...]

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