Chronicles of Old New York
Exploring Manhattan's Landmark Neighborhoods
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
Did you know that Central Park was built on Seneca Village, a community of modest farms, also known as a safe haven for runaway slaves? Did you know Washington Square Park used to be a potter's field? Author James Roman, a native New Yorker, brings to this guide an intimate knowledge and love of New York's neighborhoods and the quirks of history that have helped shape the city. Discover 400 years of innovation through the true stories of the visionaries, risk-takers, dreamers, and schemers such as John Jacob Astor, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Stanford White, Gertrude Whitney and more with historical photographs and period maps. This second edition includes a new Broadway chapter and completely updated walking tours. A Must Read for anyone who loves New York City.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Can a 260-page book do justice to Harlem, Turtle Bay, SoHo, Greenwich Village, and other landmark Manhattan hoods, both extant and long-gone? No. And yes. Roman, a real-estate broker and third-generation New Yorker, covers ground familiar to most locals, and maybe others: SoHo has the most cast-iron buildings in the world; Chinatown was populated by men because women weren t allowed to emigrate; the Dakota was the city s first high-end apartment building. Fortunately, the author peppers his effort with less familiar factoids as well: NYU s first building was built by Sing Sing prisoners; Congress exempted John D. Rockefeller, Jr. from gift taxes to facilitate the donation of land that the UN was built on. Though accounts can be cursory (the Lower East Side gets four pages), and the author sometimes announces the obvious ( America was thrilled when World War II ended ), the book includes walking tours and a guide to townhouse architecture, and packs a good bit of history into one handy source. It s not for the specialist, but New Yorkers will learn a few new things, and history-minded tourists will find it a useful addition to their other guidebooks.
