Harlem’s history usually elicits images and memories of it as the longtime citadel of black American life, but were it not for one enterprising young man from Massachusetts, such history might have never been written. When Philip Payton arrived in New York in 1899, real estate speculators were quickly throwing up modern apartment buildings and brownstones in formerly rural ... Read More »
Stepping into a Stanford White building in New York feels like stepping into history. One has to only walk under the Washington Square Arch he designed in 1892 or into his glittering and gilded Metropolitan Club to feel in awe of an architect who during his day, built many of the city’s most important structures and whose life was a ... Read More »
Located in the Topkapi Palace grounds, in the first courtyard behind the Hagia Sophia, the Byzantine church of Aya Irini features classical music concerts and art exhibitions year round during important festivals such as the Istanbul International Music Festival in June and July. It is said that Aya Irini has the be acoustics in the world so a concert ... Read More »
Yesterday, we told you about the famous residents of Gramercy Park and among them was the Nobel Prize winning author of The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck. Though Steinbeck was a California native, he made New York his home, spending much of his life there. On June 23rd, Bloomsbury Auctions in New York will offer buyers a rare glimpse ... Read More »
Stephanie Wooster is an artist with a pedigree. Not only does this Michigan native hold an MFA in painting, she also has her MS in art history from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY with academic and fine art honors. Her art history specilization is 19th-century Russian art specifically the realist painter Ilya Repin, and her paintings have been exhibited ... Read More »
The most exclusive club in New York isn’t guarded with a velvet rope, instead, members are given a key to the high iron gates and it’s only with proof of address that one is allowed access. Ever since 1832, when landowner Samuel Ruggles first pled his case to the New York City government to grant him permission to turn ... Read More »
Oslo’s Øya Festival, the greenest festival in Europe, has just announced the final additions to their line-up for this year and they are big, Yeasayer, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, The Black Angels, Die Antwoord, Broken Bells, Flaming Lips, The Specials and Field Music. They join the previously announced line-up: M.I.A (UK) Pavement (US) Iggy & The Stooges (US) Paul Weller ... Read More »
In 1804, dueling wasn’t allowed in New York. Intrepid and determined souls had to cross the Hudson River to New Jersey to carry out their plans and even in the more lenient state, the stakes were high. Precautions, such as the pistols arriving aboard separate boats from their owners, had to be taken to ensure that all participants could plead ... Read More »
MUSEYON BOOKS Smart City Guides for Travel, History, Art and Film Lovers