Prohibition

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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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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Happy Holidays Inwood

Prohibition cartoon

Happy Holidays Inwood.  It is chilly outside, so bundle up as you make your way to your various festivities. And what would the season be without a few memories of yesteryear? The following photos were taken on Broadway near Academy Street in December of 1925. The city was entering its fifth year of Prohibition and [...]

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