Spuyten Duyvil

“Recollections of Northern Manhattan” by William Calver

William Calver

Much of what we know today about the history and pre-history of Inwood and Washington Heights is due largely to the turn of the century work of amateur historians, self taught archaeologists and close friends William Calver and Reginald Bolton. Starting in the 1880′s Bolton and Calver began exploring northern Manhattan with picks and shovels, [...]

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Inwood’s Indian Life Reservation

Thumbnail image for Inwood’s Indian Life Reservation

In the winter of 1926 Inwood historian and local archeologist Reginald Pelham Bolton began work on a curious and eclectic exercise, the creation of an Indian reservation in Inwood Hill Park.   Bolton’s vision was not to be a true reservation, but rather a recreation of what a Native American encampment might have looked like. “The [...]

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Spuyten Duyvil Poem

Spuyten Duyvil Ernest Lawson Inwood New York

Fishing thorough old newspapers I recently came acrosss a beautiful poem published by the New York Sun in 1910. The work, titled “Spuyten Duyvil on the Crick,” was penned by Irish-American poet Eugene Geary. I’ve paired Geary’s poem with another 1910 work by impressionist painter Ernest Lawson, who, like so many other artists, found himself [...]

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Prehistoric Inwood: Mastodons in Our Midst

Inwood New York City Mastodon

With the arrival of spring, the Dyckman Strip blossoms with activity, music, the clink of cocktail glasses, laughter and animated conversation.  The scene is lively as the crowd migrates west to the marina on the banks of the river, marveling at the view—a nearly unblemished vista, which has changed little since Henry Hudson and his [...]

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Inwood Postcards

Inwood Postcards

New York City has always been a popular subject when it comes to the world of postcards. I like to call the collection that follows “Postcards from the Edge.” For the most part, I’ve tried to focus on Inwood proper, but other subjects, like the George Washington Bridge, Edgar Allan Poe’s cottage in the Bronx, [...]

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Inwood in 1903: The Subway Cometh

Thumbnail image for Inwood in 1903: The Subway Cometh

Inwood. 1903.  Farmers tend to flowing fields of wheat.  Children chase pigs down muddy ruts that appear as streets on maps many residents have likely never seen.  For more than a year now that strange elevated skeleton of steel and wood has crept ever northward like a serpent. Change is on its way. The arrival [...]

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Inwood Apartment Rentals in 1936

Isham Garden courtyard thumbnail

As many of you know, I both sell and rent apartments in the Inwood area.  So it was a true joy to come across the following article describing the Inwood rental scene of 1936. I am intimately familiar with many of the buildings described below.  Many are still rental properties.  Others have gone co-op through [...]

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Old Real Estate Ads from Inwood and Surrounding Area

Inwood real estate ads from ages past

Below are a collection of real estate advertisements from ages past.  As both a real estate agent and fan of Inwood history, I found the below images fascinating.  If you’ve lived in any of these building and have stories to share, please feel free to comment in the space below the image box.

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