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Dyckman

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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Inwood Stay at Home Vacation: Suggestions from 1912

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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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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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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’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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The Building of Modern Inwood

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During the mid to late 1800′s, Inwood was a quiet, pastoral environ with cows crossing dirt roads–in fact there were very few roads to speak of.  Perhaps the old neighborhood might be best summed up in the words of Robert Perkins, who, during the retirement ceremony for the Reverend George Shipman Payson, pastor of the [...]

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209 & 207 Dyckman Street

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On Dyckman Street, just east of Broadway, sit twin buildings dating back to the turn of the century.  They represent the very beginning of the housing boom in Inwood.  With colorful maroon and beige columns marking their entryways, the buildings are difficult to miss.  It is hard to imagine the buildings set amid a quiet [...]

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A Potter’s Lament

Inwood Pottery

“There were other trees, many decrepit. In the middle was a kiln where an Indian princess taught ceramics under dubious auspices. She had a son who didn’t work. Both were on relief, and the relief checks were delivered to the princess at a mailbox fastened to a tree. The hullabaloo about disturbing the princess, the [...]

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