NYC History


George Washington, Washington Square Arch, Washington Square Park.
February 21, 2011.
The arch served to commemorate the Centennial of Washington's Inauguration, an event that took place downtown. The pier statues were added later -"Washington at War" on the left of the arch by Herman MacNeil in 1916 and "Washington at Peace" on the right by Alexander Stirling Calder in 1918. Yes, Calder was the father of the famous mobile artist, Alexander Calder.
The Presidency

Jul 29, 2010
I've become so familiar with President Barack Obama's frequent trips to my neighborhood, such as his appearance last night at a fundraiser at Vogue Editor Anna Wintour's townhouse on Sullivan Street, that I know the routine by heart. ...

Aug 15, 2010
On December 7, 1988, President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George HW Bush met with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Governors Island, then the headquarters for the Coast Guard. Documentation of the events that day remained secret ...

Jan 14, 2009
President Hayes asked him to leave his post. Later, as President, he ran a clean administration, signing the Civil Service Reform Act of 1883, and he vetoed a bill that would have limited the immigration of Chinese laborers. ...

Jan 05, 2009
Grant Memorial
When was the last time you visited the final resting place for Civil War General and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and his lovely wife, Julia Dent Grant? For me, I had a hard time remembering, and still won't say, the year I last ...

Jan 13, 2009
The President's future wife, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, was born in East Hampton, Long Island, but the Bouvier family kept an apartment at 765 Park Avenue near 72d Street. After JFK's death she moved to 1040 Fifth Avenue, close to her ...

Jan 09, 2009
This walk is the third in a series of Presidential-themed walks exploring the role of U. S. Presidents in New York City and in celebration of the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. ...

Jun 10, 2008
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace
For at least 35 years, an effort has been underway to construct architect Louis Kahn's planned memorial toPresident Franklin Delano Roosevelt in this very place. For the island that was renamed in anticipation of the project, ...

Mar 02, 2008
Not all Texans are like the former governor of Texas who currently serves as President of the United States (324 days left, and counting). I have to explain this difference when I meet some New Yorkers and they find out where I'm from. ...

Jun 01, 2009
After hearing a little earlier the helicopters fly over and then the sound of police sirens, I had a hunch thatPresident Obama and the First Lady were somewhere in the neighborhood. I walked over to the park, and sure enough, ...

Feb 18, 2008
Officially, it's still called Washington's Birthday, though President's Day has become the accepted name, mostly as a way to include President Lincoln. The day's meaning usually signifies a break from work or school or the arrival of a ...

Jan 07, 2009
Seems like our senator (we functionally have only one right now) wants more attention to be paid to the only US President to be born in New York, and in this spirit he appeared in downtown Brooklyn last week to announce that a new ...

19th Century Customs



Images by Walking Off the Big Apple.
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