Calvert Vaux and Central Park’s Dairy

In the early days, Central Park had sheep, but no cows. It did, however, have a Dairy, because of a scandal that broke in the summer of 1858. The Swill…

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Egbert Ludovicus Viele, first engineer of Central Park

During the Mexican-American War, Lieutenant Egbert Ludovicus Viele watched helplessly as his men died of cholera. No one knew how to prevent or cure the disease, but it clearly spread…

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Blockhouse, Central Park

Manhattan has always been a target, first for its harbor and rivers, then as a commercial center. The British sailed in to grab it from the Dutch. The Dutch briefly…

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The Arsenal, Central Park

The Arsenal has a motley past. Despite its forbidding battlements, it wasn’t designed to withstand a siege - only to store gunpowder and cannonballs so that they could be hauled…

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Progress on the Tappan Zee, November 2017

I posted on the Tappan Zee in April 2016 and June 2016. I am so jealous of my friend Al M., who gets to see the progress from a train…

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Capitalist Christmas 2017

My annual survey of amazing goods and decorations in Manhattan. You can't escape the Greeks (and why would you want to?) The windows you shouldn't miss are at Louis Vuitton…

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