Cole Thompson

A Kangaroo on Dyckman Street

Kangaroo on Dyckman Street

In the Fall of 1909 the battleship Wisconsin sat anchored off of Tubby Hook on the Hudson River preparing for a tour at sea.  On-board was the ship’s mascot, a Kangaroo named Jim Jeffries. In a bizarre event, which certainly captured my imagination, several sailors, or “bluejackets,” took the kangaroo ashore only to have him [...]

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The Inwood Pottery Studio: An Oral History with Lorrie Goulet

Lorrie Goulet and the Inwood Pottey Studios

Since launching Myinwood.net I have posted quite a bit on the Inwood Pottery Studios; which once occupied Inwood Hill Park. The pottery, the houseboat community, the idyllic setting of a nearly forgotten era has always fascinated me. So, I was thrilled when I received an email from a former student of the Pottery named Lorrie [...]

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217th Street Fire Report on CBS

Fire on 217th Street in Inwood NYC

Myself and New Heights Realty colleague Steve Stampleman were interviewed by Lou Young of CBS News in the wake of the house fire on 217th Street. Take a look:

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Fire on 217th Street: March 23, 2012

Fire on 217th Street in Inwood NYC

I was awakened by screams in the middle of the night to discover one of the houses on 217th Street was on fire.  I shot this video of the blaze from my roof.  My prayers go out to those who have lost their home.  I am elated to learn that everyone made it out safely.

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Down and Out on a Dyckman Street Barge

Texas Guinan

“Today, Isobel and Margaret have only memories, but with ambition undimmed.  They exist in poverty on a discarded and rotting river barge.  It wouldn’t even float were it not jammed in the mud of stagnant Sherman Creek, near the Dyckman Street landing in New York.” (San Jose News, August 8, 1928)   As the summer [...]

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Isham Hill in 1913

Inwood, New York City in 1913

Since launching MyInwood.net I’ve read thousands of century-old news accounts regarding all things Inwood, but the following article, written in 1916, is one of my favorites. The account contains so many elements from my little corner of the neighborhood—The Seaman Estate, Isham Park, the still-standing Hurst house on Park Terrace East and 215th and the [...]

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Princess Naomi

Thumbnail image for Princess Naomi

Since moving to Inwood  I’d heard stories of an almost mythical figure known only as Princess Naomi, who, in the 1930’s, took up residence near the old tulip tree in Inwood Hill Park. The site of the tree, which was felled by a hurricane in 1938, is now marked by a boulder with a plaque [...]

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Inwood Stay at Home Vacation: Suggestions from 1912

Thumbnail image for Inwood Stay at Home Vacation: Suggestions from 1912

This holiday season, like many of my Inwood neighbors, I chose to remain home when I would really rather have been sunning myself on just about any faraway sandy beach.  So, instead of climbing the walls, I took several walks in a convenient oasis just several blocks away—Inwood Hill Park. The brisk hikes reminded me [...]

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