The Bowery Boys: New York City History

By Tom Meyers, Greg Young

The tides of American history flow through the streets of New York City — from the huddled masses on Ellis Island to the sleazy theaters of 1970s Times Square. Greg and Tom explore more than 400 years... more

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The podcast currently has 571 episodes available.

Best of The Bowery Boys: New York City History

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Number 1: Little Italy: From Immigrant Enclave To Italian Theme Park (Rewind)
How do vibrant New York City neighborhoods react to major changes to city life while retaining their historic character? For the next three weeks, we will present three neighborhood-history shows from the Bowery Boys podcast in a new light, exploring how these historic areas survive sudden changes in economic growth, housing needs and tourism. And listen to our prior shows on SoHo and Downtown Brooklyn. Little Italy is the pocket-neighborhood reminder of the great wave of Italian immigration that came through New York City starting in the late 1870s. It was once a densely packed, vibrant district of pushcarts, cheese shops, barbershops, and organ griders, the home to thousands of new immigrants living in aging tenements. The area still contains some of New York’s oldest continuously operating shops, from Ferrara Bakery to Di Palo’s. But the neighborhood also has a darker history, marked by Black Hand extortion plots and the enduring presence of organized crime. Today’s Little Italy remains charming, though it continues to shrink, existing more as a tourist destination than a true Italian enclave. What does the future hold for this important landmark in American immigration history? A version of this show was released in 2015—this newly re-edited and remastered version by Kieran Gannon. Watch an video version of this show, with a stroll through the neighborhood, on YouTube. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
September 04, 202655min
Number 2: The World Trade Center in the 1970s (Rewind)
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the attacks on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. Today there’s an entire generation that only knows the World Trade Center as an emblem of tragedy. But people sometimes forget that the World Trade Center, designed by Japanese-American architect Minoru Yamasaki, was a very complicated addition to the New York skyline when it officially opened in 1973. While it might be fun to think of New York City in the 1970s through the lens of places like Studio 54 or CBGB, the Twin Towers were what really redefined New York. The journey to build the world’s tallest building and its expansive complex of office towers and underground shops began in an effort by David Rockefeller to stimulate development in Manhattan’s fading Financial District. By the time Port Authority got on board to fund the project, the Twin Towers were bonded together with another vital project — a commuter train from New Jersey. The World Trade Center inspired strong opinions from critics and the public alike, but eventually many grew to admire the strange towers which marked the skyline. And for some, the Twin Towers became objects of obsession. FEATURING: The insane, completely outlandish and ultimately successful feat of acrobatics by a very bold French tightrope walker. PLUS: An interview with Kate Monaghan Connolly of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum about how that institution memorializes those lost in the tragedy while still celebrating the technological marvels that once stood there. And visit our website for more historical images of the Twin Towers. This show was recorded in 2021 for the 20th anniversary, reedited and remastered by Kieran Gannon. We have a batch of brand new episodes of the Bowery Boys starting next week. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
September 11, 20261h 5min
Number 3: What's Up With Downtown Brooklyn? (Rewind)
Downtown Brooklyn has a history that is often overlooked by New Yorkers. You’d be forgiven if you thought Brooklyn’s civic center — with a bustling shopping district and even an industrial tech campus — seemed to lack significant remnants of Brooklyn’s past; many areas have been radically altered and hundreds of old structures have been cleared over the decades. But, in fact, Downtown Brooklyn is one of the few areas to still hold evidence of the borough’s glorious past — its days as an independent city and one of the largest urban centers in 19th century America. Around Brooklyn City Hall (now Borough Hall) swirled all aspects of Brooklyn’s Gilded Age society. With the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge and a network of elevated railroad lines, Downtown Brooklyn became a major destination with premier department stores on Fulton Street, entertainment venues like the Brooklyn Academy of Music and exclusive restaurants like Gage & Tollners. The 20th century brought a new designation for Brooklyn — a borough of Greater New York — and a series of major developments that attempted to modernize the district — from the creation of Cadman Plaza to New York’s very own ‘tech hub’. In 2004 a major zoning change brought a new addition to the multi-purpose neighborhood — high-end residential towers. Today these streets are darkened with the shadows of the borough's tallest buildings -- including the very tallest Brooklyn Tower. What will the future hold for the original heart of the City of Brooklyn? How do vibrant New York City neighborhoods react to major changes to city life while retaining their historic character? For the next three weeks, we will present three neighborhood-history shows from the Bowery Boys podcast in a new light, exploring how these historic areas survive sudden changes in economic growth, housing needs and tourism. See last week's show on SoHo for the first part in this series. This episode was remastered by Kieran Gannon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
August 28, 20261h
Number 4: The Story of SoHo: A Lofty History (Rewind)
How do vibrant New York City neighborhoods react to major changes to city life while retaining their historic character? For the next three weeks, we will present three neighborhood-history shows from the Bowery Boys podcast in a new light, exploring how these historic areas survive sudden changes in economic growth, housing needs and tourism. Picture the neighborhood of SoHo (that’s right, South of Houston) in your head today, and you might get a headache. Crowded sidewalks on the weekend, filled with tourists, shoppers and vendors, could almost distract you from SoHo's unique appeal as a place of extraordinary architecture and history. In the mid 19th century this area, centered along Broadway, became the heart of retail and entertainment, department stores and hotels setting up shop in grand palaces. (It also became New York’s most notorious brothel district). The streets between Houston and Canal became known as the Cast Iron District, thanks to an exciting construction innovation that transformed the Gilded Age. Today SoHo contains the world’s greatest surviving collection of cast-iron architecture. But these gorgeous iron tributes to New York industry were nearly destroyed — first by rampant fires, then by Robert Moses. This show was remastered and reedted by Kieran Gannon. It origiinally ran in July 2017. Visit the website for images and more information. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
August 21, 202656min
Number 5: #490 The Murder of Bill the Butcher
It’s a scene more commonly imagined today in a Wild West saloon -- a shootout at Stanwyx Hall, across from the most elegant hotel in New York. The year was 1855, and the combatants were bitter rivals who had fought many times, including once in the notorious neighborhood of Five Points. By the end, one man lie bleeding on the floor -- William Poole, a member of the Bowery Boys street gang, better known as Bill the Butcher. The Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York, loosely based upon the Herbert Asbury book, features a version of this character (named Wiiliam Cutting) played by Daniel Day-Lewis. But the story of the real William Poole is far more fascinating, stretching from the west side's Washington Market to the streets of today's SoHo neighborhood. In this episode, Greg takes you into the world of Bill Poole and the domain of the mid-19th century street gang, mostly seen as scourges of the public good -- that is, until ruthless politicians began to see them as useful. What was the Bowery like in the 1840s? And just who were the Bowery Boys? This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon. Visit our website for more episodes related to this one and some additional images. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
July 17, 202650min