The Painting That Changed New York City
Classical nudes were once reserved for learned men in elite spaces. Then a hotelier hung Nymphs and Satyr in a public bar, shaking up NYC's bourgeoisie.
Should Manhattanites Worry About the New Manhattanish-Size Iceberg?
Probably. If all Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets melt, the sea level will rise over 200 feet.
Revolutionary Writer Maxim Gorky’s NYC Sex Scandal
In 1906, Russian Bolshevik writer Maxim Gorky was given a warm welcome in the United States. Then the American media manufactured a scandal about his girlfriend.
Burying NYC’s Forgotten Dead at Hart Island
A few miles off the coast of the Bronx is Hart Island, a potter's field where New York City's poor and unclaimed dead are buried.
The 19th Century War on Dogs
Dogs have always been a matter of debate in American cities. In 19th-century New York City, the debate involved paying impoverished children to participate in dog-murder.
The Unlikely Spy Alliance Behind the 1916 Black Tom Explosion
German imperialists teamed up with Irish republicans and Indian nationalists during World War I; the resulting conspiracy trial ended in a courtroom assassination.
How Anti-Catholicism Created an American Saint
Elizabeth Ann Seton is known today as the first American Roman Catholic saint. her road to canonization was no easy path.
Public Baths Were Meant to Uplift the Poor
In Progressive-Era New York, a now-forgotten trend of public bathhouses was introduced in order to cleanse the unwashed masses.
The Real Reason Why NYC’s Skyscrapers Are Where They Are
Why does Manhattan have two business separate districts? Turns out that it's not because of the usual story about bedrock depth.