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Inwood’s Long Forgotten Springs and Wells

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Today, when a New Yorker wants a glass of water, feels like a shower or needs to wash the dishes; the act is as easy as turning on a tap.  But, before the turn of the twentieth century such simple tasks took a bit more effort—especially in the then undeveloped land of northern Manhattan, where [...]

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The Arras Inn

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In 1928 pulp fiction author Vina Delmar burst onto the publishing scene with “Bad Girl,” a shocking and scandalous exploration of pre-marital sex and pregnancy. At the time of its publication “Bad Girl” was considered so racy it was banned in parts of the country. The petite 23-year-old with porcelain skin and lustrous black hair [...]

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The Hoboken Turtle Club

Hoboken Turtle Club

“Dum vivimus vivamus” -Motto of the Hoboken Turtle Club According to legend, as the history of most social clubs is so often based, the Hoboken Turtle Club was founded in 1796. It is reputed to have been the oldest social club in the United States. The club was the brainchild of John Stevens, a former [...]

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Inwood Bathing Beach: 1906

Inwood Bathing Beach 1906

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.”   [...]

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Inwood Hill Park Concession Stand: A Reader Contribution

Inwood concession stand 1977

Recently, MyInwood.net reader Frank Yannaco wrote in to tell me about the concession stand his family once owned and operated inside the Isham Street entrance to Inwood Hill Park. We soon began a dialogue that included a promise of photos and descriptions of his life in Inwood.  True to his word, Frank soon emailed me [...]

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Inwood’s First Public School

PS 52, Inwood New York City, 1905 postcard

In 1858, the year Inwood’s first school was constructed , the area wasn’t even yet known by its current name. Locals, of whom there were few, all referred to the region on Manhattan’s northernmost tip as “Tubby Hook.” Folks downtown hardly even considered the backwater region as being part of their city. So imagine the [...]

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Johnson Ironworks: Reader Challenge

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Not long ago I received an email from MyInwood.net reader Cherie Magee with an inquiry into the Johnson Ironworks, once located on Inwood’s Spuyten Duyvil. It seems Cherie had inherited some old family photographs along with a generations old story about an ancestor who may have worked at the ironworks. She wrote: “I was doing [...]

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Portrait of a Monster

Portrait of a Monster by Cole Thompson and 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 [...]

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