"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

Picture That

My man Brad pointed out this wonderful photo gallery of old New York.

Don’t miss it.

5 comments

1 RagingTartabull   ~  Jul 12, 2011 3:57 pm

that picture of McSorley's could have been taken last week

2 Sliced Bread   ~  Jul 12, 2011 4:30 pm

my sister just looked at this gallery and noted even the bums looked better back then!

[1] yup, the exterior hasn't changed at all - except of course for the American flag with 48 stars.
My dad was at McSorley's for the 100th anniversary in 1954. I have the certificate. Cool document. I've been meaning to bring it in to show it off, and maybe get a round of beers on the house.

3 Alex Belth   ~  Jul 12, 2011 4:42 pm

2) Whoa, that's dope.

4 Sliced Bread   ~  Jul 12, 2011 5:06 pm

3) it really is something. I just unrolled it, and checked it out. It has my dad's name on it, along with the 3 guys he was with (one of them being my Godfather).
It's signed by the owner, Dorothy O'Connell Kirwan, and the manager, her husband, Harry Kirwan. They were the second family to own it. According to the McSorley's website, Dorothy still wasn't allowed in the place (along with all other women) at the time of the anniversary. She just came in on Sundays when it was closed. They ran the joint until Dorothy died in 1974. Harry died a year later.

5 Bronx Boy in NC   ~  Jul 12, 2011 5:54 pm

Wow. First thing that comes to mind whenever I see one of these galleries is to send the link to my dad.

Then I saw the one part of the way down titled "Looking up Riverside Dr. just north of George Washington Bridge (1941)." That's Castle Village off Cabrini Boulevard, and the ivy-covered promenade is the spot where the retaining wall fell onto the Henry Hudson Parkway several years ago.

When we were renting on the UES my wife and I came thiiiis close to buying there. A 1.5 "bedroom" with an I Love Lucy-era kitchen that would have needed immediate gutting. What almost sold me was the roof deck view -- the highest point in NYC, views EVERYWHERE (including the Stadium), and the GWB arrayed at twilight like our own set of party lanterns. It was the retaining wall issue that helped scare us away; they were in the process of fixing it, and no one could say how much or how often owners were going to be assessed for it.

Instead we came here to NC and bought an entire house for a little more than half what that apartment would have cost. A very Sliding Doors moment that smacked me right in the face when I saw that photo.

Always love links like this one. Keep 'em coming!

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"This ain't football. We do this every day."
--Earl Weaver