CKG Billings

Where the Wild Dogs Roamed

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Modern day Inwood is likely the most dog friendly neighborhood in all of Manhattan.  But, there was a time when man’s best friend instilled terror in the hearts of the few residents of northern Manhattan.   Below is a 1919 account of the hunt for a pack of wild dogs and a young boy who [...]

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CKG Billings Estate

Billings Mansion, Inwood, New York, 1910

We’ve seen photos documenting the splendor of old Northern Manhattan. Breath-taking mansions of a grander time, now gone except for a forgotten arch or lost driveway meandering around a city park. That these architectural wonders were photographed at all is remarkable. But to step inside one of these homes, to see the art, the table [...]

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Suburban Riding and Driving Club

Seaman Arch, Inwood, New York City

In the 1890’s the Harlem River Speedway, currently the Harlem River Drive, became the private playground of New York’s elite. On this taxpayer funded stretch of road, the fabulously wealthy of a bygone era raced horses away from the “riff-raff” of the newly bustling metropolis. One turn of the century playboy, C.K.G. Billings, even designed [...]

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