broadway

215th Street Stairs

215th Street stairs in Inwood, New York City

Generations of Inwood residents have trudged up and down the familiar stairs which connect Broadway with Park Terrace East. The steps themselves have stood frozen in time as the surrounding neighborhood reached maturity. The stairs are a familiar sight to anyone who has ever passed through Inwood. The ancient passageway was built in an era [...]

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The Undiscovered Country: Northern Manhattan in 1904

Seaman Drake Arch in 1904

In 1904 Inwood’s first modern apartment building appeared on the corner of Dyckman and Broadway (then still referred to by many as the Kingsbridge road). The erection of the Solano and Monida Apartments should have have served as warning that the agrarian lifestyle residents had known for so many generations was  nearing an end.  So [...]

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1943 “Inwood Chatter” Advertisements: Now and Then

Inwood Chatter, 1943.

Not long ago I posted the contents of a June, 1943 issue of the “Inwood Chatter,” essentially a scrapbook put together by local schoolchildren and sponsored by local businesses. While the topic of children living under the cloud of war is a fascinating topic, my attention eventually turned to the advertisement section at the back [...]

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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 Inwood Arch and Mansion: Circa 1896

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On the west side of Broadway, formerly known as the Kingsbridge Road, at 216th Street, stands a neglected and nearly forgotten monument to Inwood’s past.  The great marble arch, constructed in the 1850’s, once led visitors to the glorious Seaman mansion, which, until the 1930’s, stood on the current site of Park Terrace Gardens on [...]

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Fire guts building on 207th and Broadway

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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.  

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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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Inwood Chatter, June, 1943

PS 52 Inwood Chatter from June, 1943

My grandmother used to have a saying: “Use it up.  Wear it out.  Make it do, or do without.” She had learned the expression during World War II and it stuck with her for the rest of her life. In June of 1943, the students of P.S. 52 in Inwood were learning similar expressions, or, [...]

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