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HISTORY

A Band of Gypsies

Today northern Manhattan is home to thousands of gypsy cabs, but step back a century in time and you would find a sleepy little farming community inhabited by, among others, real life European gypsies.
As early as 1887, according to a New York Times article, Mr. J. Hood Wright allowed a full blown Romany encampment to [...]

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Inwood During the Great Depression

One of the most important if not enduring images of the Great Depression is Dorothea Lange’s haunting portrait of a migrant worker cradling her two young children. Her eyes tell a personal story of quiet desperation, while the photo itself serves as a tragic commentary on a country in the throes of economic [...]

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MyInwood Memories: Coal and Soap

Frequent MyInwood contributer Herb Maruska grew up in Inwood. His memories of post World War II Inwood are as detailed as they are fascinating.
This time around Herb takes us into the kitchens, basement and furnace of his childhood home located in 157-159 Vermilyea. He calls this piece “Coal and Soap.”
Thanks Herb for this peek into [...]

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Bickford’s: Inwood Memories Wanted

As many regular MyInwood readers know, I love collecting oral histories and old photos of the neighborhood. A while back I put out a call for for memories on the old Inwood Lanes and the response was overwhelming. Within days readers sent in photos of the pro-shop and so much more. [...]

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Paterno’s Castle

Detail from Paterno Castle. Once located in Washington Heights.

In the late 1800’s Northern Manhattan was still very much a wilderness of farmland dotted with occasional country inns and taverns, but that rural tranquility would end with the industrial age. The clean air and remoteness of the area soon attracted newly minted millionaires who created splendid monuments to their own wealth. [...]

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Inwood’s Mount Olympus: The Seaman Mansion in 1869

Old Seaman Mansion in Inwood New York City

A while back I wrote a history of the old Seaman mansion that once stood on the grounds currently occupied by Park Terrace Gardens. Today the only trace of the Seaman estate is the crumbling marble arch located down the hill on Broadway.
The following description from 1869 finds the home occupied by its original [...]

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The Dyckman Oval

The year was 1935. Babe Ruth, the Bambino, was reveling in the twilight of his fame. The Sultan of Swat, the King of Swing, the Colossus Of Crash had seen better days. Years of hard living and several automobile accidents had taken their toll, but the Babe could still draw a crowd—and the [...]

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The Cotton King of Inwood Hill

When one thinks of Inwood, the word “cotton” does not likely spring to mind. Of course folks rarely speak anymore of Frederick “The Cotton King” Talcott, who, in the mid-1800’s, made Inwood Hill his home.
Frederick Talcott was born into a founding New England family that traced its aristocratic roots in Warwickshire, England to 1558.
His [...]

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