Inwood may be at the top of Manhattan island, but it's rarely top of mind when people think of Manhattan neighborhoods. So why are we talking about Inwood on the blog today? Well, to be honest, it is partly because sometimes I want to be a little self-indulgent. I've lived in the neighborhood for over…
Continue reading ➞ How to Explore Inwood in a Day: An Inwood Neighborhood Guide
Are you curious about New York's early days? These four books, fiction and non-fiction, will show you what life was like in colonial NYC. The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America by Russell Shorto New York City's colonial history didn't start…
Continue reading ➞ These Books Will Show You What Life Was Like in Colonial NYC
Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Although the holiday originated in Galveston, Texas, it's important to remember that slavery wasn't only a Southern sin. The history of Northern states has also been tainted by slavery, especially New York State, which had the largest slaveholding population of all the Northern states and was among…
It's hard to think of NYC as a particularly religious city, let alone a Catholic one. But contrary to popular belief, plenty of New Yorkers worship the almighty God along with the almighty dollar, with Catholics making up the largest sect of the city's religious folk. According to data from the Pew Research Center, 33…
Usually when we think of Martin Luther King, Jr., we picture him in the South in places like Birmingham and Montgomery, speaking out against the segregationist laws there. We don't normally picture him up north, although segregation and discrimination were also a fact of life for people of color in the northern states. Partly because…
Continue reading ➞ Five Surprising Connections Between MLK and NYC
NYC has been led by 110 mayors over its nearly 400-year history, but most of the men who have had the honor of being "hizzoner" have long-faded into obscurity. Only a select few mayors have been memorialized, mostly with places named after them in NYC. So in honor of the city's latest mayoral inauguration, let's…
Continue reading ➞ Should These NYC Mayors Have Places Named After Them?
It's been 20 years since the day that changed New York City, the country, and even the world, but I still feel no closer to comprehending what happened on 9/11 than I could as a confused six-year-old wondering why our parents were picking us up from school so early in the day. As I was…
These days, New York City's waterfront is a maritime playground, but for most of the city's nearly 400-year existence, the waterfront used to be strictly business. Anyone who wasn't a dock worker or a passenger on a ship steered clear of the shoreline, as all the action we've come to associate with New York City…
Continue reading ➞ Where to Go to Learn About the Forgotten History of New York’s Waterfront
Washington, D.C. is the seat of the U.S. national government, but it doesn’t have a monopoly on the country’s presidential history. Believe it or not, New York City is quite presidential if you look beyond the rats and the shoebox apartments. Keep reading and I’ll prove it to you! New York City was the first…
Continue reading ➞ NYC’s Surprising Presidential History and Where to Find It
https://soundcloud.com/shiloh-frederick-718117019/the-unusual-street-names-of-inwood-explained Press play and I'll read this article to you! There are few things I take pride in more than knowing my way around Manhattan. I relish in knowing those little tips and tricks that lessen my reliance on Google Maps. But recently, I moved to Inwood, where everything I know about navigating Manhattan means…
Continue reading ➞ The Unusual Street Names of Inwood, Explained.
