Knickerbocker

Definition (courtesy of www.dictionary.com):
1. A descendent of the Dutch settlers of New York
2. A native or inhabitant of New York
3: Full breeches gathered and banded just below the knee

It all started in 1809 when a certain Mr Washington Irving - of "Rip Van Winkle" fame - published "A History of New York," a satirical account of the settlement of New Amsterdam, which we know today as New York.

Irving wrote this under the pen name Diedrich Knickerbocker, posing as a Dutch historian who wove fact and fiction into his chronicles of this fabled city under Dutch rule in the 1600s. Full of anecdotes such as the reason for the higgledy piggledy street layout in lower Manhattan being due to the meandering Dutch cows, and claiming the donut for the city, New Yorkers of the time became enamored with Knickerbocker and his tales. So much so, they thought he was a real person.

Since then, New Yorkers have embraced this character as an emblem of everything quintessentially New York. Knickerbocker's legacy can still be found all around the city:

It's where the basketball team New York Knicks got their name.

There was a Knickerbocker beer but sadly it was discontinued in the 70's.

The Knickerbocker Club is located at Fifth Avenue and 62nd Street. It's a private men's club that dates back to 1871 and whose past esteemed members included John Jacob Astor IV, Roosevelt's son and David Rockefeller.

The Knickerbocker Bar and Grill has been a Greenwich Village fixture since 1977.  It's known for its live jazz and leather banquettes, remnants of the Grill when it occupied in the former Knickerbocker hotel in the early 20th century.

There was a Knickerbocker Hotel located at 1466 Broadway at 42nd Street. It was an opulent hotel built in 1901 and supposedly the residence of opera titan Enrique Caruso and birthplace of the martini.

Although the hotel no longer exists, the building does and so does a secret entrance that has been sealed up in the 42nd street subway station. Behind this door lie stairs that lead to what was once the rear lobby of the hotel.

Who knew that one day I would be called a knickerbocker as well!

Images: amazon, michael dore, a history of new york, flickr, mine, forgotten new york, mine

Vinegar Hill

I had brunch today again at one of my favorite haunts over in Brooklyn, Vinegar Hill House. It is situated in a once derelict carriage house in a neighborhood that is so tiny and obscure that not even native New Yorkers have heard of it. Vinegar Hill - the neighborhood and place of VH House -  sits snuggled against DUMBO, behind the Brooklyn naval yards and is only about a 4-5 block radius. It is a truly isolated 'hood full of 1800's brown stones and belgian block streets flanked by a power station and derelict warehouses and unfortunately now, ugly new apartment developments. There is honestly nothing here except a few closed store fronts, a notice board that I think is still used and now VH House.

According to the wonderful Forgotten New York website, the name Vinegar Hill had nothing at all to do with vinegar. In 1800, a certain John Jackson purchased this area of land and hoped to attract Irish immigrants, thus naming the area Vinegar Hill after the battle site of the Irish rebellion of 1798. In Ireland, the name "Vinegar Hill" was an English transliteration of a Gaelic term meaning "Hill of the wood of the berries". 
I don't think the owners of Vinegar Hill House have taken this into consideration with their less-than-Irish menu. However, I guess, like an Irish tavern, this space is wonderfully warm and eclectic, with mismatching chairs and tables, a worn copper bar, vintage wallpaper and an assortment of decorations such as a colonial flag, succulents, a random piece of stained glass and lanterns.

The owners are a husband and wife team who met when they worked at Freeman's (another super cool eatery in an alleyway on the Lower East Side). They serve yummy brunches on weekends and dinner only, during the week. In summer, there is a gorgeous courtyard out the back, to eat under the shade of a fruit tree. And when it's time to amble home, why not walk across the Manhattan Bridge and take in the sublime view!

Images: Yelp, Telegraph, New York magazine, we heart new york, mine

Tin Pan Alley

I walked down Tin Pan Alley today. Who knew such a place really existed except in a song sung by Stevie Ray Vaughan and in musicals and films. In fact, it very nearly doesn't exist today. In November 2008, apparently five of the historic buildings on West 28th St between 5th and 6th Avenues went up for sale. Luckily for the preservationists, the sale was forestalled by the economic crisis, so they now have more time to make a case against another ugly residential development going up. 

Tin Pan Alley is fondly referred to as "the birthplace of American song". From the 1890s to the 1950s, this stretch of 28th Street in Chelsea was the place where music publishers and songwriters - including Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer - were concentrated. Jewish immigrants opened up sheet-music publishing houses and created songs in their offices. Composers, arrangers and lyricists all came to this once dense musical enclave to grind out ragtime, jazz and blues hits. Apparently it got its name because of the chaos of sound produced by so many pianos playing at the same time on one street, which was said to sound like the clinging of pots and pans, which at the time were made of tin. 

I love these old New York stories. I must dig out more.

Image: Gothamist

The Disappearing Store Front

Manhattan 1963-2007

New York has some of the most iconic store fronts in the world. But they are rapidly disappearing as the local "mom and pop" shops close down in this flagging economy and the big bad developers come and swallow up the precious real estate.

James and Karla Murray want to make sure we don't forget these wonderful urban icons. As highly recognized photographers who specialize in urban photography and whose work is found in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian and the New York Public library, the Murrays have captured the "rich cultural experience" of the local New York neighborhood through its shops.

SoHo. Closed 2008

Brooklyn 1969 - 2007

Brooklyn

Little Italy in the Bronx 1938-2006

Manhattan

Brooklyn 1953-2008

Brooklyn. Closed 2006

Harlem

You can either buy this wonderful work at Clic Gallery or you can purchase the beautiful coffee table book at Amazon. This has inspired me to go and find my own local shop fronts now before they also disappear.

Images: James & Karla Murray