He’s a slight soldier, with the strap of his rifle slung over his shoulder and a contemplative expression meant to engage us. And unlike most statues depicting military men, he’s offering flowers. In this case, he’s holding poppies—a flower that signifies loss and remembrance.
The doughboy of De Witt Clinton Park has stood inside the Eleventh Avenue and 52nd Street entrance to this Hell’s Kitchen green space since 1930. Officially the monument is known as “Clinton War Memorial,” per NYC Parks.
It’s one of nine doughboy statue erected in city parks after World War I, when neighborhoods across New York sought to honor local residents who lost their lives on the battlefields of Europe. I’ve seen the doughboy statues in Chelsea, the West Village, Red Hook, and Washington Heights.
But what distinguishes this doughboy is that he’s standing on a granite pedestal inscribed with verse from “In Flanders Field”—the poem written by Canadian physician and lieutenant colonel John McCrae, who penned it after a fellow soldier perished during battle in 1915 in Belgium.
On the other side of the pedestal is an inscription from “comrades and friends” explaining that the monument is a memorial “to the young folk of the neighborhood/who gave their all in the World War.”
Though I couldn’t find an account of it, this statue was likely dedicated in a ceremony attended by thousands. “The doughboys were erected when parks and monuments were more important in the life of a neighborhood,” stated Jonathan Kuhn, curator of monuments for the Parks Department, in a New York Daily News article on the doughboys from 1993. “Also, there was a feeling that this was the last war, and Americans wanted to honor the ordinary heroes who fought the war that would end all wars.”
I can’t help but wonder if the De Witt Clinton Park doughboy was modeled on an actual local kid who went to war and never came back. If so, his identity is likely lost to the ages—and he speaks to us only through bronze and granite.
GUY LUDWIG, JAMES MORSE GOT IT RIGHT FROM JAY JACOBSON
Is this Monday photo a picture of the upscale restaurant that was part of the TWA building at Idlewild Airport? I have no recollection of ever being in that restaurant, but my guess is based on the shape of the room as shown in the Shorpy shot! Glad we got back to NYC in time to vote early!
DUE TO REDISTRICTING OUR ELECTION DISTRICTS HAVE CHANGED FOR THE ELECTION ON TUESDAY.
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504, 510, 516, 531, 536, 540, 546 MAIN STREET
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900 MAIN ST. 888 MAIN ST. 2,4 10, 20, 30, 40 RIVER ROAD
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February 1943. “NewYork. Camel cigarette advertisement at Times Square.” Photograph by John Vachon … years. I remember them so well, along with Toffenetti’s Restaurant, any Longchamps or Childs NY outlet, the Woodstock Hotel and, when …
New York circa 1910. “Incline from subway to suburban concourse, Grand Central Terminal.” 8×10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing
Coney Island, NewYork, circa 1905. “Dreamland Ballroom.” The home of light music. 8×10 inch dry … ballroom ever made, 20,000 square feet; beneath is the restaurant and a promenade, and beneath all the cool rush of the surf. The …
Downtown Brooklyn, near the Borough Hall, with the BMT Fulton Street Elevated at the right. It opened in 1888 and was closed and removed in 1940.Andy Sparberg
EARLY VOTING IS TAKING PLACE IN THE RIVAA GALLERY, 527 MAIN STREET ON THESE DATES:
Friday, November 3
8am-4pm
Saturday, November 4
9am-5pm
Sunday, November 5
9am-5pm
ELECTION DAY-TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 AT PS 217
FROM THE ARCHIVES
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023
MUST-SEE ART
INSTALLATIONS IN NYC,
NOVEMBER 2023
PART 2
ISSUE #1117
UNTAPPED NEW YORK
The New York Botanical Garden is bringing back its Holiday Train Show this year with the promise to be bigger and better than ever. Watch trains zip by hundreds of scale models of iconic New York buildings, like Yankee Stadium or the Empire State Building. Be sure to look above you to catch 1800s steam engines and street cars traveling over New York City bridges and through tunnels in a brand-new aerial display overhead. The team behind the show, Applied Imagination, takes an environmentally friendly route with their projects, for example using screw-bean mesquite pods to represent the hair on the Statue of Liberty model or Eucalyptus seed pods to build Saks Fifth Avenue.
mage Courtesy of the New York Botanical Garden
On select nights this holiday season, guests can visit the NYBG Train Show as well as GLOW, an extravagant outdoor light experience. The many libraries and conservatories of the Garden will transform into canvases for this light show, decked out in thousands of lights with sounds dancing across the buildings. Similar to the Holiday Train Show, the designers of GLOW opted to use energy-efficient lights to create the same glittering display with less cost to our planet. Drinks and food can be purchased at the Garden’s outdoor bars or at the Bronx Night Market pop-up that will be included for the holiday season.
Artist Keri Sheehan joins forces with the Staten Island Railway to beautify the New Dorp station. Her piece, titled “Creeping on Where Time Has Been” uses laminated glass windows and metal railings to honor Staten Island’s architecture and nature. While waiting for your train, visitors can view the art and try to spot the iconic landmarks of the borough, like the Vanderbilt Mausoleum. The project’s title comes from a poem by Charles Dickens called “The Ivy Green”, alluding to the ivy that has always, and seemingly will always, be prevalent on Staten Island.
Courtesy of the Artist and Sapar Contemporary
NYC Art in the Parks Program continues with a new large-scale exhibition by Sui Park to be installed throughout Bella Abzug Park. Titled City Ecology, this collection of 32 sculptures is a physical embodiment of the residents within New York- colorful stories, vibrant lives, and dynamic patterns. Park created these figures out of cable ties, weaving them together to form shaped masses. They will be installed throughout the park, in some cases blending into the surroundings beautifully and in other cases bringing a gorgeous contrast. Park hopes that these sculptures will give passing visitors a moment to pause and be aware of the beauty around them.
Nancy Lawson (Credit: William Matthew Prior/American Folk Art Museum
Black representation during the late 1600s to the early 1800s is undoubtedly pushed to the background of our textbooks, even more so in New England’s history. This new exhibit will give visitors a rare look into African American presence and absence in the North through 125 beautiful works, including portraits, paintings, needlework, and photos. Narratives will be flipped entirely with a walk through this highly-anticipated exhibition. The exhibition will be on display at the American Folk Art Museum from November 15th through March 24th
New York circa 1911. “Inspection room, Ellis Island.” 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. (SHORPY) HARA REISER, ARON EISENPREISS AND JOYCE GOLD GOT IT RIGHT.
EARLY VOTING IS TAKING PLACE IN THE RIVAA GALLERY, 527 MAIN STREET ON THESE DATES:
Thursday, November 2
10am-8pm
Friday, November 3
8am-4pm
Saturday, November 4
9am-5pm
Sunday, November 5
9am-5pm
ELECTION DAY-TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 AT PS 217
FROM THE ARCHIVES
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2023
MUST-SEE ART INSTALLATIONS IN NYC, NOVEMBER 2023
PART 1
ISSUE #1116
UNTAPPED NEW YORK
Canstruction is a highly anticipated annual design competition, this year featuring 28 teams going head-to-head to create the best sculptures entirely out of unopened nonperishable cans of food. The teams consist of professionals in the industries of engineering and design. Once the exhibition is closed and a winner is selected, all the food used for the sculptures is donated to local food pantries. Canstruction sculptures will be on view at Brookfield Place from November 2nd to November 13th.
Photo Credit: Kat Gollock
Ring in the holiday season early with Lightscape, a nighttime illuminated trail housed for its third year at the beautiful Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The trail will have new works of art and a magical experience like never before. Guests can look out for new installations like Sea of Light which will illuminate the garden’s 100,000 square foot Cherry Esplanade, and also listen to an updated playlist featuring hits by Taylor Swift, Elton John, and some Brooklyn classics to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Lightscape will be open from November 17th to January 1st at Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
Photo Credit: Nora Hogan
Richard Haas’ iconic 112 Prince St. mural is currently being repainted by muralist Robin Alcantara and his team. The original trompe l’oeil mural was created in 1974 to mirror the front-facing facade of the 19th-century building. Over the years, graffiti and weather have worn on Haas’ work, leaving only a shadow of what it once was remaining. Alcantara’s venture to completely repaint the mural was a long time coming, and Soho residents and tourists alike will be pleased to see the newly refreshed final product. The painting of the mural is expected to be completed on November 1st.
Courtesy of Green-Wood. Photo Credit: Cinthya Santos-Briones
Día de los Muertos is a day in which the spirits of the dead are welcomed back into our world for a short time. It is celebrated through music, art, dancing, ofrendas, and time spent with friends and family. Cinthya Santos-Briones has crafted a beautiful community altar for Green-Wood’s Chapel. Visitors can commemorate their loved ones by lighting candles or leaving meaningful personal offerings by the altar. Santos-Briones sourced the fabrics used for the centerpiece skulls from her hometown of Tulancingo, giving the whole altar a personal feel that will touch the hearts of many. Mictlán opened on October 14th and will run daily, 10am to 5pm, through November 19th
There are many myths and legends surrounding Grand Central Terminal. We have an entire list that we’ve debunked. One of those myths, which contains slivers of truth, involves a clandestine World War II operation led by German spies, also known as saboteurs. The story goes, that these spies were sent to the United States to disrupt train travel by throwing sand into the giant rotary converters below Grand Central in the secret M42 basement power station. The truth is a bit more complicated.
During World War II, there was a German plot to disrupt wartime operations in the United States. It was well documented and railroad infrastructure sites were targeted. The plan was called Operation Pastorius. Operation Pastorius involved eight saboteurs with a mission to “slow down production at certain factories concerned with the American war effort.” To do so, they were instructed to “interfere with transportation systems, including railways and canals,” according to a 1943 report. The main targets were aluminum factories and cryolite plants, materials vital for wartime necessities like artillery, ammunition, and aircraft construction.
Many railroad infrastructure sites were targets of this plot including Hell Gate Bridge and Newark Penn Station. Routes traveling through those two sites were vital links for the movement of military supplies and personnel, so taking out those hubs would have been a strategic move. However, in the many extensive reports about the operation that came out later, Grand Central Terminal was never mentioned as a target. In a list of targets published by the New York Timesin 1942, Grand Central is not listed.
The saboteurs had extensive training on the most effective ways to achieve their goals of sabotage. According to the 1943 report, they were advised to attack the most vulnerable parts of a train including the pressure pipes that control the brake system, signals and switches, and parts of tracks that curve or go over bridges and are therefore harder to repair. No mention of power plants.
The saboteurs had extensive training on the most effective ways to achieve their goals of sabotage. According to the 1943 report, they were advised to attack the most vulnerable parts of a train including the pressure pipes that control the brake system, signals and switches, and parts of tracks that curve or go over bridges and are therefore harder to repair. No mention of power plants.
The saboteurs of Operation Pastorius arrived in the U.S. via U-boats in the summer of 1942, landing in Florida and Long Island. From the shores of Amagansett, they traveled into New York City, taking the LIRR and arriving at Penn Station. Two saboteurs, Heinrich Heinck and Richard Quirin, stayed at the Martinique Hotel in Midtown, now Martinique New York on Broadway, Curio Collection by Hilton. Two other saboteurs on the New York team, including leader (and eventual whistleblower) George John Dasch, stayed at the Hotel Governor Clinton, now the Stewart Hotel. According to Martinique New York’s resident historian Tara Williams, Heinck and Quirin felt exposed in the public space, and found the room rates to be quite expensive!
You can learn more about the spies’ hotel stay, and how they were eventually caught, at our upcoming after-dark tour of Martinique New York! At this Halloween week experience, you’ll hear tales of the many spirits alleged to linger at the 125-year-old landmark, from the daring but doomed acrobat who met his demise while promoting a 1923 silent film, to the mischievous guest, Sara, whose spectral pranks have been caught on film.
WATCH OUR I AM PRESERVATION ON INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEn5zPodM1/?hl=enWEDNESDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY SEND YOUR SUBMISSION TO: ROOSEVELTISLANDHISTORY@GMAIL.COMTUESDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY Circa 1904. “Seeing New York.” Electric omnibuses at the Flatiron Building. 8×10 inch dry plate glass … made by the Vehicle Equipment Company of Long Island City, New York.
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UNTAPPED NEW YORK
JUDITH BERDY MAYA LEVANON-PHOTOS TIK TOK & INSTAGRAM
Circa 1904. “Seeing New York.” Electric omnibuses at the Flatiron Building. 8×10 inch dry plate glass … made by the Vehicle Equipment Company of Long Island City, New York.
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UNTAPPED NEW YORK
JUDITH BERDY
Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
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In the 21st Century, it’s difficult to picture Morningside Heights without the prestigious Columbia University campus. But what most people may not remember is that before the university, 116th and Broadway was home to the Bloomingdale Asylum for mentally ill patients. What had started out as a modern approach to treating these patients ended in controversy. This isn’t a ghost story but a real account based on reports of the asylum’s eerie tenure on the Upper West Side.
In 1776, The New York Hospital (now known as New York-Presbyterian Hospital) opened its doors to take care of 3,000 soldiers fighting in the Revolutionary War. Among the wounded were also mentally ill patients. Throughout the years, the hospital saw a steady rise in these patients.
In 1802, a committee considered adding a separate wing specifically for the mentally ill. However, in a more radical move, it was decided that there should be a separate and new building to accommodate them. The committee wanted the new asylum to be formed with a more moral approach to treating patients instead of a medical one, which involved visitation and physical activities.
A new committee composed of Thomas Eddy, John R. Murray, John Aspinwall, Thomas Buckley, Cadwallader Colden, and Peter A. Jay looked around the city of New York to find a suitable home for their new project. They decided to purchase a tranquil site on 116th and Bloomingdale Road, now known as Broadway, overlooking the Hudson River. Of course this site is now home to Columbia University.
The Bloomingdale Insane Asylum officially opened on June 1, 1821.
Drawn by Archibald L. Dick. Engraved by H. Fossette., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
According to reports, it was a beautiful building made of limestone and had 120 patients. Several years later, in 1829, a new, three-story brick building with iron-barred windows was made to accommodate noisier and more violent male patients. A separate wing was also built for violent female patients in 1937.
c/o NYPL Digital Collections
During its first few decades, the asylum basked in the glow as a pioneer for asylums. But by the 1850s, the glow began to fade.
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According to Columbia University Libraries, a patient could be admitted to the asylum against his or her will in the 1850s. Some true stories include Caroline Underhill, who was “forcibly incarcerated” at Bloomingdale by her sister and nephew. Underhill’s relatives had conspired to evict her from her home, which her father left for her. Commodore Richard W. Meade, the brother of Gettysburg hero General George Meade, was also wrongly institutionalized because he didn’t consent to his daughter’s suitor’s proposal.
“Wealthy people would send their family there because it had such a good reputation,” Mackin said. “It was not uncommon, if a wealthy husband wanted to get rid of his wife, he paid a lot of money to get a doctor to sign and put her away for ‘mental health reasons’.”– Jim Mackin, local historian with the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group and author of the upcoming release, Notable New Yorkers of Manhattan’s Upper West Side: Bloomingdale-Morningside Heights
Habeas corpus lawyer John Townsend went to the local paper, The New York Tribune, to shine a light on the Bloomingdale Asylum issues. He spoke against the cruel treatment and brutality the patients experienced, which caused some of them to die from the abuse. When one of the head doctors remarked that critics should stop by the asylum to witness the conditions themselves, the Tribune took him up on his offer.
Reporter Julius Chambers went undercover as a patient on August 12, 1872, to write about the environment. After he was released in the same month, he published a series of damaging articles discussing his experience. In one of his articles called “Among the Maniacs,” Chambers described his stay in great detail:
“A night of horror among raving patients—sleep disturbed by agonized cries of the dangerous idiots—close cells, uncomfortable beds and chairs, scanty and foul food, filthy baths, and rude and vulgar attendants—no amusements, games, or reading matter—imbecile boys exposed naked to the sun, and venerable blind men beaten by enraged keepers.”
Chambers also noted that once he moved to the asylum’s main building, his living conditions and the quality of the attendants improved. Following the public outcry and government investigation, the head doctor at Bloomingdale retired in 1877.
By the 1880s, the Bloomingdale Asylum was reported to be left in a “vulnerable position.” However, during the late 1860s, the institutions’ trustees purchased around 300 acres of land in White Plains to move the asylum there. In 1889, the asylum began selling off property to pay for their big move.
That same year, the New York Times announced that Columbia College students would have a new home in Morningside Heights when college authorities finally took possession of the property. It was reported that the Teachers College took one of the asylum buildings as a dorm. Since then, Columbia University has made the property on Bloomingdale its home in the neighborhood.
However, Buell Hall is the one remaining building on Columbia’s campus which dates back to the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum; it was originally reserved for wealthy male patients.
Photo shows intersection of Atlantic, Fourth, and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn. Building at left is still there and was then a subway station entrance; today it’s a skylight for the station. Across the street is the Long Island RR terminal, still there underground but a new building on street level. The old BMT 5th Ave. elevated line runs atop Flatbush Avenue; it was closed and removed in 1940.
Today’s Barclay Center would be across the street and to the right.
Andy Sparberg
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SHORPY THE HISTORIC AMERICAN PHOTO ARCHIVEUPPER WS UPPER WESTSIDE.COM
JUDITH BERDY
MAYA LEVANON-PHOTOS TIK TOK & INSTAGRAM
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
OUR HEARTS GO OUR TO OUR FRIENDS, FAMILIES AND NEIGHBORS IN ISRAEL
EARLY VOTING IS TAKING PLACE IN THE RIVAA GALLERY, 527 MAIN STREET ON THESE DATES:
Monday, October 30
9am-5pm
Tuesday, October 31
8am-4pm
Wednesday, November 1
10am-8pm
Thursday, November 2
10am-8pm
Friday, November 3
8am-4pm
Saturday, November 4
9am-5pm
Sunday, November 5
9am-5pm
ELECTION DAY-TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 AT PS 217
FROM THE ARCHIVES
MONDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2023
LET’S TAKE A
SPIN IN OUR NEW CAR
SHORPY AMERICAN HISTORIC PHOTO ARCHIVE
Washington, D.C., circa 1921. “Geo. C. Rice Auto Co., front.” These deals won’t last long, folks.
New York, 1951. “Hoffman Motors, Park Avenue. Driver standing next to Jaguar Mark VII saloon
Washington, D.C., circa 1911. “Hudson cars, H.B. Leary agency, 1317½ 14th Street N.W.”
June 1942. “Florence, Alabama, Saturday afternoon.” Medium format acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Office of War Information
April 12, 1936. Newsboys in Jackson, Ohio
An after photo of Lockheed during WWII (unbelievable 1940s pictures). This is pretty neat special effects during the 1940’s. I have never seen these pictures or knew that we had gone this far to protect ourselves. During World War II the Army Corps of Engineers needed to hide the Lockheed Burbank Aircraft Plant to protect it from Japanese air attack. They covered it with camouflage netting to make it look like a rural subdivision from the air.
“Scene at one of the docks of the East River, New York, where those for whom the journey to the beaches is too long or too expensive forget the sweltering heat of August in the cool waters.”
OUR HEARTS GO OUR TO OUR FRIENDS, FAMILIES AND NEIGHBORS IN ISRAEL
FROM THE ARCHIVES
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2023
Rockefeller Center
Will Transform Into A Beautiful
‘Día De Muertos’
Celebration Tomorrow
ISSUE# 1111
TISHMAN SPEYER
Love the annual Dia de Muertos celebration at Rockefeller Center! (Tishman Speyer)
From Friday, October 27 through Thursday, November 2, the iconic Plaza is hosting their third annual “Mexico Week” alongside Tequila Casa Dragones, which will include everything from musical performances to colorful art installations and cultural activities.
It’s all to celebrate the “Day of the Dead” in NYC, a tradition in Mexico that allows people to mourn and then celebrate loved ones who have passed on by creating ofrendas (offerings) to them, sharing memories and spending time in their spiritual presence.
“Mexico Week” is also in partnership with the Consulate General of Mexico in New York and the Mexican Cultural Institute, honoring 200+ years of Mexico’s independence.
Thiis year’s celebration will specifically highlight Mexican artist Daniel Valero of Mestiz design studio based in San Miguel de Allende. He will be responsible for the 2023 ofrenda, “Los Dos Soles.” Valero will showcase a similar ofrenda at a Casa Dragones at the same time. An ofrenda is a display altar dedicated to those who have passed away.
Los Dos Soles will be a “symbolic portal to San Miguel de Allende.” New Yorkers will be able to honor their loved ones by pinning letters or photos to the back of the ofrenda in remembrance.
“Los Dos Soles asks guests to embrace the duality of life and death, acknowledging them as integral facets of our collective human journey.” adds Daniel Valero, Mexican architect and designer of Mestiz. “This year’s ofrenda transcends the boundaries of space and time, allowing guests to take in the shared elements and colors that unite altars located in two distant locations, fostering a rich and cross-cultural perspective.”
According to the press release, the 2023 event programming is as follows:
Friday, October 27: Ofrenda open to the public (all day)
11am: Ofrenda unveiling ceremony & opening remarks @ Center Plaza at 30 Rock
11am-1pm: Traditional Day of the Dead Catrina face painting
12pm-1pm: Performances by TONO and Mariachi bands
12pm-5pm: Timed altar participation, including photo-taking opportunities and tributes.
12pm-5pm: Casa Dragones samplings with special offers for purchase at Morrells’s Wine & Spirits
Saturday, October 28: Ofrenda open to the public (all day)
12pm – 3pm: Traditional Day of the Dead Catrina face painting
12pm – 5pm: Timed altar participation, including photo-taking opportunities and tributes.
1pm: 15-30 min Mariachi performance
1:30pm: TONO performance by Mexican dancer and choreographer Diego Vega Solorza
12pm-5pm: Casa Dragones samplings with special offers for purchase at Morrells’s Wine & Spirits
Sunday, October 29: Ofrenda open to the public (all day)
12pm – 3pm: Traditional Day of the Dead Catrina face painting
12pm – 5pm: Timed altar participation, including photo-taking opportunities and tributes.
1pm: 15-30 min Mariachi performance
1:30pm: TONO performance by Mexican dancer and choreographer Diego Vega Solorza
Monday, October 30 – Thursday, November 2nd: Ofrenda open to the public (all day)
12pm-2pm: Casa Dragones samplings with special offers for purchase at Morrells’s Wine & Spirits
12pm-3pm: Timed altar participation, including photo-taking opportunities and tributes.
Check it out at Rockefeller Center between 49th and 50th Streets and Fifth and Sixth Aves! Stay up to date on the latest happenings at Rockefeller Center here.
TUESDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
