The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree has brought joy and sparkle to Midtown Manhattan since the early 1930s. The annual festivities may seem steady and timeless but this holiday icon actually has a surprisingly dramatic history.

Millions tune in each year to watch the tree lighting in a music-filled ceremony on NBC, and tens of thousands more will crowd around the tree’s massive branches during the holiday season, adjusting their phones for that perfect holiday selfie.

But the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is more than just decor. The tree has reflected the mood of the United States itself — through good times and bad.

The first tree at this site in 1931 became a symbol of hope during the Great Depression. With the dedication of the first official Christmas tree two years later, the lighting ceremony was considered a stroke of marketing genius for the grand new “city within a city” funded by JD Rockefeller Jr.

The tree has also been an enduring television star — from the early years in the 1950s with Howdy Doody to its upgrade to prime time in the 1990s.

Join Greg for this festive holiday history featuring kaleidoscopic lighting displays, painted branches, whirling snowflakes, reindeer and a very tiny owl.

Please enjoy this newly edited and remastered version of our 2021 show on New York City's most famous Christmas tree and the surprisingly fascinating story of how its annual lighting became a national event.

And check out this list of New York City holiday activities, provided by Founded by NYC

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The aviation hero Amelia Earhart, who became one of the world's most famous women during the Great Depression, is one of those historic figures that people think they know quite well.

But during her lifetime, much of her public image was the product of a New York book publisher. And even today, Earhart's legacy is reduced down to seemingly strange disappearance over the Pacific Ocean in 1937.

Laurie Gwen Shapiro, author of The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage that Made an American Icon, joins Greg on this week's show to untangle her surprising and even provocative true story -- as a young midwestern woman who embodied the possibilties of flight through the persona of 'Lady Lindy' even though the lofty ambitions of her publisher (and lover) George Putnam often placed her in dangerous situations.

And New York City figures into both her story -- and that of early American flight. From the airfields of Governors Island to the Greenwich Village settlement house which became her home.

ALSO: What really did happen to Amelia Earhart? Her biographer has the answer.

This episode was edited by Kieran Gannon

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Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II are two of the greatest entertainers in New York City history. They have delighted millions of people with their unique and influential take on the Broadway musical — serious, sincere, graceful and poignant. In the process they have helped in elevating New York’s Theater District into a critical destination for American culture.

In this episode, we tell the story of this remarkable duo — from their early years with other creators (Hammerstein with Jerome Kern, Rodgers with Lorenz Hart) to a run-down of all their shows. And almost all of it — from the plains of Oklahoma to the exotic climates of South Pacific — takes place on just two city blocks in Midtown Manhattan!

PLUS: What classic music venue still bears the name of Oscar Hammerstein’s grandfather?

How did the ritzy Plaza Hotel celebrate the fifth anniversary of Oklahoma’s debut?

How is Richard Rodgers associated with Hamilton the Musical?

And what was the final song written by Rodgers and Hammerstein?

In honor of the new Richard Linklater film Blue Moon about Richard Rodgers' first songwriting partner Lorenz Hart AND in honor of a new set of Broadway musicals opening in November, we're reissuing this 2017 show in a newly re-edited, remastered edition.

Visit the website for more images of the shows discussed on this show

All music by Rodgers and Hammerstein can be found on releases from Sony Masterworks

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For this year's annual Bowery Boys Ghost Stories podcast, Greg and Tom take a road trip to Long Island to explore the region's most famous haunted tales from legend and folklore, 'real' reported stories of otherworldly encounters that have shaped this historic area of New York state.

When you think of Long Island and scary stories, your mind might immediately go to the Amityville Horror houseor perhaps even the Montauk Monster. But let us introduce you to a series of far older stories which incorporate Long Island's extraordinary history:

-- The Sag Harbor Goblin: A restless soldier from the Revolutionary War period harasses the residents of this charming Hamptons retreat.

-- The Wraiths of Raynham Hall: In Oyster Bay, a beloved landmark is sometimes called 'the Grand Central Station for ghosts' thanks to its population of historic spirits -- including that of a famed Revolutionary War traitor!

-- The Bolt From Beyond: Winfield Hall is better known as the Woolworths Estate, best known for its eccentric owner Frank Winfield Woolworth. But the house is also known for a series of unfortunate events -- and the secrets which its marble hallways may still hold.

-- Dancing In The Ghost Light: The Gateway Playhouse in Bellport celebrates 75 years of regional theater this year -- and a few ghosts have returned to join the party.

-- The Hermitage of the Red Owl: A spooky tale of folklore in Brentwood, featuring a utopian community, a talking bird and the ancient, unburied bones of a warrior.

This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon

Get tickets to our LIVE Halloween show at Joe's Pub here (Oct 29-31, 2025)

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On October 26, 1825, the fate of New York City – and the entire United States – changed with the opening of the Erie Canal, a manmade waterway that connected the Hudson River to Lake Erie.

It was the most significant engineering project of its time, linking the ocean to the nation’s interior -- a 363-mile route from Albany to Lake Erie. Without even knowing where the Erie Canal is on a map of New York state, you could probably guess its course because of a row of cities which developed and prospered, almost in a westward line – including Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo.

In some cases, these were modest-sized places like Schenectady or Rome that benefited financially from canal construction; in others, such as Syracuse (which was founded in the year 1820), the canal was chiefly responsible for its existence.

However, it was also one of the most critical events in New York City's history, even though the entrance to the canal is approximately 150 miles north of New York Harbor. It essentially became the canal’s gateway for freight traveling to any place inside the country or out to the world. As a result, New Yorkers quickly took advantage of the opportunities the canal offered.

Today, we're celebrating the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Erie Canal by going straight to the source – in a conversation with Derrick Pratt, the Director of Education and Public Programs at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, New York.

Visit our website for more images and other tales from New York City history. 

This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon.

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Dominicans comprise the largest immigration group in modern New York City, and Dominican culture has become embedded in the city's rich fabric of immigrant history. And in one place in particular -- Washington Heights.

This historic neighborhood of Upper Manhattan is named for George Washington, who led the Continental Army in an early, pivotal battle here during the Revolutionary War. Today, it's also known to some as Little Dominican Republic, home to the largest Dominican neighborhood in the United States (although more Dominicans live in the Bronx overall).

Starting in the 1960s, thousands of Dominicans immigrated to the United States -- and most to New York City. Special guest Dr. Ramona Hernandez, the director of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, joins the Bowery Boys to discuss the extraordinary circumstances that led to this population influx and details the many reasons why Dominican culture still thrives in the Big Apple.

The Bowery Boys Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Founded By NYC, celebrating New York City’s 400th anniversary in 2025 and the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026.

Discover the exciting events and world-class institutions that commemorate the five boroughs' legacy of groundbreaking achievements, and find ways to celebrate the city that’s always making history at Founded by NYC.

This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon

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Today's New York neighborhood called NoHo, wedged between Greenwich Village and the East Village, holds the stories of many people and places that then went on to become deeply associated with the great Gilded Age.

The Astor family began their dynasty here in both investment and real estate as did the well-known Dutch-American merchant family the Schermerhorns.

Caroline Schermerhorn, who became the famed Mrs. Astor, grew up right here on Bond Street along with many members of her family. 

NoHo today still contains many remnants of its early 19th-century glamorous past and sites where the tensions between the wealthy residents of the Lafayette Place neighborhood clashed with the growing immigrant population just one street away on the Bowery. 

Bowery Boys Walks tour guide Aaron Schielke joins Carl Raymond of the Gilded Gentleman podcast for a look at this fascinating neighborhood, which includes stories of the rich and famous, as well as the macabre details of a grisly 19th-century murder that took place on Bond Street that remains unsolved to this day. 

Take a Bowery Boys Walks tour with Aaron! Find dates to his NoHo tours here and other walking tours here.

This episode was originally released in the Gilded Gentleman feed in March 2025. The show was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

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As New York City enters the final stages of a rather strange mayoral election in 2025, let’s look back on a decidedly more unusual contest over 110 years ago, pitting Tammany Hall and their estranged ally (Mayor William Jay Gaynor) up against a baby-faced newcomer, the (second) youngest man ever to become the mayor of New York City.

John Purroy Mitchel, the Bronx-born grandson of an Irish revolutionary, was a rising star in New York City, aggressively sweeping away incompetence and snipping away at government excess.  

Under his watch, two of New York’s borough presidents were fired, just for being ineffectual!  Mitchel made an ideal candidate for mayor in an era where Tammany Hall cronyism still dominated the nature of New York City.

Nobody could predict the strange events that befell the city during the election of 1913, unfortunate and even bizarre incidents that catapulted this young man to City Hall and gave him the nickname "The Boy Mayor of New York."

But things did not turn out as planned. He won his election with the greatest victory margin in New York City history. He left office four years later with an equally large margin of defeat.  

Tune in to our tale of this oft-ignored figure in New York City history, an example of good intentions gone wrong and — due to his tragic end — the only mayor honored with a memorial in Central Park.

Visit the website for images from this podcast. 

Get your tickets to the Bowery Boys Ghost Stories of New York City live show at Joe's Pub here.

This show is a reissue of a show that originally ran in September 2012; however, we think you’ll find more than a few similarities in this tale to the current 2025 mayoral election landscape. This show was refreshed and remastered by Kieran Gannon.

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On January 3, 1924, 25-year-old George Gershwin was shooting pool in a Manhattan billiard hall when his brother Ira Gershwin read aloud a shocking newspaper article: "George Gershwin is at work on a jazz concerto." There was just one problem—George had never agreed to write any such piece.

What happened next would change American music forever. In just five weeks, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants raced to compose what would become "Rhapsody in Blue," breaking down the barriers between popular music and the concert hall. 

From that snowy February night at Aeolian Hall to today's reinterpretations by contemporary artists, this is the story of how a newspaper lie became a masterpiece—and how one young composer captured the sound of Jazz Age New York in music.

Featuring original audio clips of George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, and orchestrator Ferde Grofé, plus the historic 1924 recording of the premiere performance.

The Bowery Boys podcast is supported by Founded by NYC, celebrating New York City's 400th anniversary in 2025.

This show was edited by Kieran Gannon

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We love the podcast History Daily, a co-production from award winning podcasters Airship and Noiser, so we're presenting two episodes with a very similar theme -- pirates!

-- July 6, 1699. The arrest of Captain William Kidd ends the reign of plunder of one of history's most infamous pirates and sparks rumors of buried treasure

-- November 16th, 1720.  The trials of notorious pirates Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and John Rackham began in Spanish Town, Jamaica.

Subscirbe to History Daily wherever you get your podcasts including Apple and Spotify

Get your tickets to the Bowery Boys Ghost Stories of New York City show, live at Joe's Pub 

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