Today, around 2:15,  I stepped out  into the fine spring air for a quick stroll. Noticing smoke rising from Cooper Street, I dashed back to the New Heights Realty office and borrowed Rob Kleinbardt’s camera.

Firemen were already on the scene as I approached–smashing windows, dousing flames and helping residents escape the smoke billowing from their apartment building.

According the Manhattan Times, the source of the fire was a dropped candle.

Thank you Ladder 36.  Seeing you in action was nothing short of amazing.

In 1895, on the same spot where George Washington and his band of Revolutionaries defended a British assault after the Battle of Brooklyn, a glorious and magnificent amusement park rivaling Coney Island opened near the northeastern end of Manhattan. The Fort George Amusement park was located in what is now Highbridge Park between 190th and 192nd Streets and Amsterdam Avenue.

Fort George Amusement Park in 1909

During its heyday this Gotham wonderland would boast two Ferris wheels, three roller coasters, nine saloons, a pony track, several hotels, a casino, five shooting galleries, a tunnel boat ride, two music halls called the Star and the Trocadero, fortune tellers and more frankfurters, peanuts and pretzels than you can imagine. Located at the end of the Third Avenue Trolley line, the park was a natural and popular destination for locals and residents throughout the city. While the children rode the massive Ferris wheel or took to the Toboggan slide adults could gamble the night away before renting a room in the Fort George Hotel and Casino to celebrate their winnings, or more likely, mourn their losses. There were even areas in the park where, for a fee, Mom and Dad could drop the kids off in a supervised playground setting, while they went off to enjoy “The Human Ostrich” or “The Cave of Winds.” Initially a loose and disorganized strip of sideshows the park became something truly spectacular under the leadership of Joseph Schenck (left) and his brother Nicholas. The brothers, Russian Jews who immigrated to New York from the ancient Slavic settlement of Rybinsk in 1893, first came to the park as curious visitors. Realizing the fortunes to be made they quickly invested in a beer hall called The Old Barrel. It was in the Old Barrel that the Schnecks likely met another entrepreneur named Marcus Loew (right) , a park regular who had already amassed a small fortune with a string of theaters and penny arcades. (Loew would later become a Hollywood power-broker heading a theater chain that still bears his name.) Borrowing money from Loew, the brothers Schneck were soon able to open several thrill rides in an area of the park known as Paradise Park.

Fort George Amusement Park in 1911 postcard

Some New Yorkers had such fond feelings for the park that it became a popular spot for wedding proposals. In fact, in June of 1907 nineteen-year-old Susan Pierce and Raymond Barrett went so far as to tie the knot on the skating rink where they met. The bride, bridegroom and minister all donned roller skates for the nuptials.

It was a first for the park and likely a first for New York. After exchanging vows some 500 couples joined Susan and Raymond on the rink to skate to the popular “Love Me and the World is Mine,” before the happy couple skated off to Atlantic City for their honeymoon.

But as the years passed, neighborhood sentiment towards the park soured.

Initially a boon for the local economy, local residents and real estate developers grew tired of the noise, the drunken crowds and the crime that came to be associated with the park.

Then, on December 10th, 1911, an arsonist took public sentiment into his own hands and attempted to burn the park to the ground. According to news accounts high winds fanned the firebug’s torch destroying the Star Music Hall, the old Fort George Hotel, the dance hall of Paradise Park, a popular tavern and several smaller buildings. The damage, estimated at $25,000, could have been much worse if not for the daughter of truck farmer Nicholas Ceramer whose cries of “Papa, look at the fire,” allowed her father to sound the alarm. Ceramer emerged from his cottage across from the park just in time to “see a Man about 5 feet 9 inches tall, of stocky build, wearing a black hat and overcoat, run out of the lower floor of the music hall to the south. He gave chase, but failed to overtake the man.” Two years later, still healing from the scars of the arson attack the park suffered a fatal blow at the hands of another suspicious fire. On June 9th, 1913, a fire described as “the most spectacular ever seen,” engulfed the Fort George Amusement Park. At around two in the morning, Dominick Barnot, the night watchmen for Paradise Park saw that the dance hall was on fire. Barnot ran for help, but within ten minutes the fire, fueled by a strong westerly wind, had become an inferno. One-hundred foot flames seen as far south as 42nd Street were reported that night. Firemen and concerned volunteers descended on Fort George, but “the firemen quickly saw that it was their duty to save the property near by and let the park burn…One by one the play places were consumed. The roller coaster was quick to go, and then the Ferris wheel. And after the wheel the merry-go-rounds, the roller skating rink, and all the other things the Schneck Brothers had installed for the entertainment of the public.”

And, while the Park was never rebuilt, a generation would remember the glory days and smile knowing they had witnessed a now forgotten piece of New York history. Click here to read more Inwood history.

On 225th Street near the Harlem River, roughly where the Target department store sits today, once stood one of the great Gotham sporting venues of the 1920′s, the New York Velodrome.

The date, May 30th, 1922, opening night at the quarter-million-dollar bike track built to hold 16,000 fans. Tonight the crowd has likely exceeded capacity.

The rabid fans are out in force to witness a no holes barred cycling competition featuring true international stars and tonight they won’t be disappointed.

Competitive cycling first gained popularity in the 1880′s and 90′s and by the 1920′s the Velodrome was the hottest ticket in town.

Essentially a huge wooden saucer, the Velodrome had steep banks designed to send racers flying past one another in a dizzy blur of spokes, sweat and pain. Gaining speed, riders would clash in violent collisions often slicking the track with their own blood.

Notorious six-day races, free for all amateur events, sprints and motor-paced racing were the rage at similar arenas around the globe, but tonight, opening night, the Velodrome had a special surprise for everyone.

After several races, including a devastating upset for veteran favorite Percy Lawrence at the hands of Italian rider Georges Columbatto, the Bambino took to the track.

Starter pistol in hand, crowd going wild, Babe Ruth himself fired the shot that sent legs pumping in the sprint race featuring rivals Ray Eaton, Alf  Goullet and Orlando Piani.
While a jazz band played in the background, Eaton, of East Orange, New Jersey captured best time in two out of three heats.

Designed primarily for cycling, the Velodrome was a true multi-purpose facility.   Used for a variety of sporting events,  the Velodrome was also host to  a World Welterweight title bout shrouded in controversy.

On June 26, 1922, for twelve fast and furious rounds, Jack Britton, aka “The Boxing Marvel,” (below right)  out boxed, crowded and even bloodied opponent Benny Leonard (below left).

Then in round thirteen, Leonard, a Jewish boxer dubbed “The Ghetto Wizard” for his Lower East Side neighborhood,  threw a blow to Britton’s midsection. Britton doubled over and fell to his knees.
While rising to one knee, Leonard swooped in and  stuck Britton with a light blow to the face. As famed sports writer Daymon Runyon looked on in disbelief, referee Pat Haley disqualified comeback kid Benny Leonard. For years it was rumored Leonard had bet heavily against himself and intentionally fouled his opponent in a last ditch effort to throw the fight.

For eight glorious years the Velodrome was the scene of awe and excitement, before a suspicious fire burned the fabled venue to the ground.

In the early morning hours of August 4th, 1930 garage workers reported seeing smoke rising from the wooden structure. By the time fire units were dispatched, the smoldering fire had become a three-alarm inferno. Firemen helplessly pulled back and focused their attention on keeping the fire from spreading to the surrounding neighborhood.
By 4:00 am, flames could be seen as far away as Washington Heights. By dawn, the Velodrome was a smoldering ash heap, never to be rebuilt.

Despite the late hour, police would later learn that Velodrome supervisor Jack Neville and two other employees were in the facility when the fire broke out.
While an arson investigation never materialized, those close to the case couldn’t help but note the fire occurred just weeks after a competing Velodrome opened on nearby Coney Island.

Click here for more neighborhood history.