Category Archives: Almanac
It Happened Today in New York City
On December 30, 1868, Andrew Haswell Green proposed the amalgamation of Greater New York. The visionary city planner had already served on the school board and the Central Park Commission and was active in the creation of the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, and the …
It Happened Today in New York City
On December 29, 1968, the New York Jets avenged their Heidi loss against the Oakland Raiders and won the AFL title at Shea Stadium. Less than six weeks after the most notorious snafu in the history of sports broadcasting, when Jets fans didn’t see their heroes snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against their …
It Happened Today in New York City
On December 26, 1968, legendary photographer Weegee died of a brain tumor. A major pioneer in street photography and crime photography, the Ukrainian immigrant who was born Arthur Fellig sold his photos to newspapers and other periodicals and competed with the police to be the first at the scene of a crime. He kept a …
It Happened Today in New York City
On December 24, 1993, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale died of a stroke in a small village just north of the city. The pastor of Marble Collegiate Church for over 52 years, Dr. Peale was also the author of The Power of Positive Thinking, founder of the American Foundation of Religion and Psychiatry, and host of …
It Happened Today in New York City
On December 20, 1968, legendary novelist John Steinbeck died of a heart ailment in New York City. More traditionally associated with his native California, where many of his most famous novels are set, he had a love-hate relationship with the metropolis, writing “New York is an ugly city; a dirty city. Its climate is a …
It Happened Today in New York City
On December 19, 1903, the Williamsburg Bridge opened to traffic. The second suspension bridge to cross the East River, it cut its predecessor’s construction time in half, having been started in 1896. Though popularly considered nowhere near as beautiful as its neighboring bridges, the Williamsburg has captured the imagination of many artists, including painter Edward …
It Happened Today in New York City
On December 15, 1893, Symphony no. 9 (From the New World) by Antonín Dvořák premiered at Carnegie Hall under the baton of New York Philharmonic conductor Anton Seidl. Dvořák had arrived in New York the previous year and taken up residence on East 17th Street, while serving as director of the National Conservatory of Music. …
It Happened Today in New York City
On December 9, 1968, the U.S. Department of Justice decided not to seek an indictment against Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. effectively putting to rest the legal travails that had plagued him for nearly two years. Having served in Congress for over two decades, Powell was under investigation for several misdeeds connecting to the alleged misappropriation …
It Happened Today in New York City
On December 5, 1933, Luchow’s became the first New York restaurant to obtain a liquor license after prohibition. In business for over half a century, Luchow’s had become the center of Café Society in New York and is said to have served as the inspiration for the final sequence of the Broadway musical Hello Dolly! …
It Happened Today in New York City
On December 2, 1943, Carmen Jones, an African-American modernization of Bizet’s opera Carmen, opened on Broadway. Using Bizet’s original score with updated English lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, the show was set on a U.S. air force base during World War II and featured an all-black cast. Starring Muriel Smith and Luther Saxon, both in …
Beautiful New York 
Recent Comments