The Bowery Boys: New York City History

By Tom Meyers, Greg Young

Society & Culture History Places & Travel

What's The Bowery Boys: New York City History about?

The tides of American history lead through the streets of New York City — from the huddled masses on Ellis Island to the sleazy theaters of 1970s Times Square. The elevated railroad to the Underground Railroad. Hamilton to Hammerstein! Greg and Tom explore more than 400 years of action-packed stories, featuring both classic and forgotten figures who have shaped the world.

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#410 The Roeblings: The Fam...

05.24.2023

The Brooklyn Bridge is not only a symbol of the American Gilded Age, it’s also a family tree of sorts. This episode is arranged as a series of mini biographies of the three family members who gave us the bridge ...

The Bowery Boys: New York City History episodes:

05.24.2023 #410 The Roeblings: The Family Who Built The Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is not only a symbol of the American Gilded Age, it’s also a family tree of sorts. This episode is arranged as a series of mini biographies of the three family members who gave us the bridge ...
05.12.2023 Rewind: The Birth of the Broadway Musical The Broadway Musical is one of New York City's greatest inventions, over 160 years in the making! But why Broadway, exactly? And how did our fair city go from simple vaudeville and minstrel shows to Shuffle Along, Irene and Show ...
04.28.2023 #409 The Great New York City Pizza Tour Pizza lovers of all kinds will find much to enjoy in this show, tracing the early origins of American pizza and specifically how New York City-style pizza was born. (What even is New York style pizza? Even that answer is ...
04.14.2023 #408 The Titanic and the Fate of Pier 54 On the rainy evening of April 18, 1912, survivors from the Titanic disaster were brought to the berth of the Cunard liner Carpathia at Pier 54 at the Chelsea Piers in Manhattan. On that very spot today, a fanciful waterfront ...
03.31.2023 #407 New York by Gaslight: Illuminating the 19th Century Enter the magical world of New York by gaslight, the city illuminated by the soft, revolutionary glow of lamps powered by gas, an innovative utility which transformed urban life in the 19th century.
03.17.2023 Rewind: When The Irish Came To New York One of the great narratives of American history — immigration — through the experiences of the Irish.
03.03.2023 #406 How Wall Street Got Its Name The story of how Wall Street, that short little street in Lower Manhattan, became synonymous with the American financial system and how it got that most interesting name.
02.17.2023 #405 Mona Lisa at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci's stoic portrait and one of the most valuable paintings on earth, came to America during the winter of 1963 and was received as though she were a rock star. At the Met, thousands lined up ...
02.10.2023 The First Woman Ever Photographed Dorothy Catherine Draper was the first woman to ever sit for a photograph — a daguerrotype, in the year 1840, upon the rooftop of the school which would become New York University. What was her story?
02.03.2023 #404 Nighthawks and Automats: Edward Hopper's New York In this art-filled episode of the Bowery Boys, Tom and Greg look at Edward Hopper's life, influence and specific fascination with painting New York City (albeit in his own unusual way).
01.20.2023 #403 The Fulton Fish Market: History at the Seaport The Fulton Fish Market in downtown Manhattan was once to seafood what the Chicago stock yards were to the meat industry, the primary place where Americans got fish for their dinner tables. Today its former home is known by more ...
01.13.2023 Rewind: A Bar Named Julius', New York's Newest Landmark New York City has a new landmark, a little bar in the West Village named Julius', where one moment of protest (the Sip-In of 1966) set the stage for a political revolution, “a signature event in the battle for LGBTQ+ ...
01.06.2023 #402 Treasures from the World's Fair There is much nostalgia today for the 1939-1940 World's Fair and its stranger, more visually chaotic 1964-65 World's Fair. And that nostalgia has fueled a thriving market for collectables from these fairs -- the souvenirs and other common household items ...
12.30.2022 Side Streets: Good Diners, Great Pizza and Mars 2112 Reflecting upon New York City restaurants from the 1990s (Mars 2112, anyone?), praising the strange wonders of Chez Josephine and Congee Village and revealing some great places for pizza in New York City.
12.21.2022 #401 The World Before Wordle: Talking Puzzles With AJ Jacobs A.J. Jacobs, author of "The Puzzler: One Man’s Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life," leads Greg and Tom down a maze of fascinating origins for the world's most popular ...
12.16.2022 The Mysteries of Absinthe: Dancing With The Green Fairy Absinthe was one of the most popular and most mysterious drinks of the Belle Epoque and late Victorian and Edwardian worlds. Myths sprang up that the elixir created dramatic hallucinations and even provoked ghastly crimes.
12.09.2022 #400 Jacob Riis: 'The Other Half' of the Gilded Age In 1890 Jacob Riis turned his eye-opening reporting about New York's tenement districts into a ground-breaking book called How The Other Half Lives, a book which awoke Americans to the plight of the poor and laid the groundwork for the ...
11.24.2022 #399 The Changing Lower East Side: A View From Seward Park In this special episode, we look at the history of New York City as seen through one corner of the Lower East Side, best known for its landmark Seward Park. Created by the intersections of several streets, it's a place ...
11.11.2022 #398 Marilyn Monroe in New York In late December 1954 Marilyn Monroe came to New York City wearing a disguise. By then she was the biggest movie star in the world and she had come to the city to reinvent herself and her career. 1955 would ...
10.28.2022 Rewind: Birth of the Five Boroughs The story of how two very big cities (New York and Brooklyn) and a whole bunch of small towns and villages — completely different in nature, from farmland to skyscraper — became the second largest city in the world on ...
10.14.2022 #397 Ghost Stories of the Hudson River Tales of mystery and the supernatural have possessed the villages and towns of the Hudson River Valley since ancient times. In this episode, Greg and Tom explore several of the region's spookiest legends.
09.30.2022 Rewind: An Evening at Sardi's In honor of the exciting new theater season, we're revisiting our 2011 episode on the history of Sardi's restaurant, the Theater District institution, updated to cover the trials and triumphs of the past decade.
09.16.2022 #396 Samuel Tilden and the Presidential Election of 1876 You may have heard about the messy, chaotic and truly horrible presidential election of 1876 -- pitting Democrat Samuel Tilden and Republican Rutherford B Hayes -- but did you know that New York City plays a huge role in this ...
09.02.2022 #395 Jefferson Market and the Women's House of Detention In the heart of Greenwich Village sits the Jefferson Market Library, a branch of the New York Public Library, But historically this space is more notoriously known for America's first night court (at the Jefferson Market Courthouse) and the Women's ...
08.19.2022 #394 New York Calling: A History of the Telephone Ever since Alexander Graham Bell brought his first model telephone to Manhattan 145 years ago, the telephone has helped us make plans, share urgent news, and has even allowed people to move away from each other – but still feel ...
08.05.2022 #393 Ric Burns and James Sanders on "New York: A Documentary Film" In today's episode, Tom discusses the vast span of New York history with filmmakers and authors Ric Burns and James Sanders, creators of "New York: A Documentary Film".
07.29.2022 Rewind: The Story of the Yellow Taxi Cab The history of the New York City taxicab, from the handsome hansoms of old to the modern issues facing the modern taxi fleet today.
07.22.2022 Invisible Magicians: Domestic Servants in Gilded Age New York Domestic servants during the Gilded Age did more than simply maintain the mansions of the wealthy. New York City simply could not function with these 'invisible' armies of butlers, housekeepers, footmen, ladies maids, cooks, valets and others.
07.08.2022 #392 The Bowery Boys Podcast 15th Anniversary Special Greg and Tom celebrate the 15th anniversary of their very first episode of the podcast -- recorded on June 19, 2007 -- by looking back at the year 2007 and answering listener questions.
06.28.2022 #391 A Walk through Little Caribbean Part 2 in our Flatbush series: Tom and Greg discuss the history of Caribbean immigration to the United States with Dr. Tyesha Maddox of Fordham University, then head off on a walking and eating tour of Little Caribbean with Shelley ...
06.17.2022 #390 The Story of Flatbush: Brooklyn Old and New There have been many different Flatbushes -- rural, suburban and urban. In today's show we highlight several stories from these phases in this neighborhood's life.
06.10.2022 Now Playing: Cautionary Tales On this episode from our friends at "Cautionary Tales", award-winning choreographer Twyla Tharp and rock legend Billy Joel come close to opening the worst Broadway musical of all time.
06.03.2022 #389 The Ruins of Roosevelt Island The Renwick Ruin, resembling an ancient castle lost to time, appears along the East River as a crumbling, medieval-like apparition, something not quite believable. Sitting between two new additions on Roosevelt Island -- the campus of Cornell Tech and FDR ...
05.20.2022 #388 The Hudson River School: An American Art Revolution Greg and Tom head up to the historic towns of Catskill and Hudson to celebrate the Hudson River School, an assemblage of 19th century American painters captivated by natural beauty, led by a pioneering artist and his star pupil -- ...
05.06.2022 #387 Hyde Park: The Roosevelts on the Hudson Tom and Greg visit Hyde Park, New York, and Springwood, the estate of Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt. Learn about FDR's life in Hyde Park, tour his home, visit the couple's private cottages and go inside the FDR Presidential Library ...
04.22.2022 #386 On the Trail of the Old Croton Aqueduct What 19th century American engineering landmark invites you through nature, past historic sites and into people's backyards? Join us on this journey along the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, 26,5 miles of dusty pathway through some of the most interesting towns ...
04.15.2022 Now Playing: History Daily Podcast We wanted to present to you one of our favorite new podcasts of the year -- and one we think you'll love. It's called History Daily. And yes, it really is history, daily!
04.08.2022 #385 Frederick Law Olmsted and the Plan for Central Park Frederick Law Olmsted, America's preeminent landscape architect of the 19th century, designed dozens of parks, parkways and college campuses across the country. With Calvert Vaux, he created two of New York City's greatest parks -- Central Park and Prospect Park. ...
03.25.2022 #384 Nuyorican: The Great Puerto Rican Migration This episode focuses on the special relationship between New York City and Puerto Rico, via the tales of pioneros, the first migrants to make the city their home and the many hundreds of thousands who came to the city during ...
03.11.2022 #383 The Temple on Fifth Avenue Temple Emanu-El, home to New York's first Reform Jewish congregation and the largest synagogue in the city, sits on the spot of Mrs. Caroline Astor's former Gilded Age mansion. The synagogue shimmers with Jazz Age style from vibrant stained-glass windows ...
02.25.2022 #382 Architect of the Gilded Age Richard Morris Hunt was one of the most important architects in American history. His talent and vision brought respect to his profession in the mid-19th century and helped to craft the seductive style of the Gilded Age. So why are ...
02.21.2022 Introducing: Love Thy Neighbor We’re bringing you something special this week. The trailer for a new podcast produced by Pineapple Street Studios called Love Thy Neighbor. Hosted by journalist Collier Meyerson, this five-episode series is about two communities in the New York City neighborhood ...
02.11.2022 #381 The Wonderful Home of Louis Armstrong New York City has an impressive collection of historic homes, but none as unique and or as joyful as the Louis Armstrong House and Museum, located in Corona, Queens. What other historic home in the United States has a gift ...
01.28.2022 #380 Dorothy Parker's Last Party Dorothy Parker was not only the wittiest writer of the Jazz Age, she was also obsessively morbid. Her talents rose at a very receptive moment for such a sharp, dour outlook, after the first world war and right as the ...
01.14.2022 #379 How Chelsea Became a Neighborhood PODCAST What does the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea mean to you? Religion and architecture? Art galleries and gay bars? Shopping and brunch after a stroll on the High Line? Tens of thousands of people, of course, call it home. But ...
12.31.2021 #378 The Ansonia: Only Scandals In The Building The strange, scandalous and sex-filled story of the Ansonia, an Upper West Side architectural gem and a legendary musical landmark. In the television show Only Murders in the Building, Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez play podcasters attempting to ...
12.23.2021 The Real Mrs. Astor: Ruler or Rebel? Believe it or not, we've got one more brand new Bowery Boys: New York City History podcast for 2021. Look for it on January 31. But for today we wanted to give you another sampling of our new spin-off podcast ...
12.17.2021 Rewind: West Side Story and the Making of Lincoln Center Steven Spielberg's new version of West Side Story is here -- and it's fantastic -- so we're re-visiting our 2016 show on the story of Lincoln Center, with a new podcast introduction discussing the film and the passing of musical ...
12.10.2021 Gilded Age or Gilded Cage? (With The Bowery Boys) The following is a special presentation — the first episode of brand spin-off podcast called The Gilded Gentleman, hosted by social and culinary historian Carl Raymond. In this debut episode, recorded at Greenwich Village's Salmagundi Club, Tom and Greg sit ...
12.01.2021 #377 The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree 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 ...

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