UWS ARCHAEOLOGY: A FORMER CLOTHING STORE PEEKS OUT
This week, an old sign popped out as workers rehabilitated a building at 376 Amsterdam Avenue, between 77th and 78th streets. Rue St. Denis is a funky clothing store that opened on the Upper West Side in 1990, but left … Read the rest of this entry >>
BLOOMINGDALE: AN OLD NAME RESURFACES, BUT WILL IT STICK?
By Marjorie Cohen The members of a local history group think that the name of the area from 96th street to 110th, from the river to the park, should be known as Bloomingdale. They want to differentiate this piece of the island from the rest of the Upper West Side, to give the area its own name to evoke its unique past. The first step i … Read the rest of this entry >>
2012: BIGGEST UPPER WEST SIDE STORIES OF THE YEAR
What will you remember about 2012 (other than the song “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen, which never seemed to stop playing)? Luckily, you don’t have to wrack your mind for the answer, because we’ve got a list of … Read the rest of this entry >>
REMEMBERING LENORE NORMAN, AN ADVOCATE FOR THE UPPER WEST SIDE AND THE CITY
By Mark Diller The historic preservation movement, the Upper West Side, and indeed the City of New York, lost a determined and gracious leader with the passing on December 21st of Lenore Norman. Lenore’s professional career was remarkable and inspiring. … Read the rest of this entry >>
SYMPHONY SPACE FOUNDER ISAIAH SHEFFER DIES
Whether or not you knew Isaiah Sheffer, you probably owe him a debt of gratitude. Sheffer, who died at 76 on Friday from complications due to a stroke, was one of the founders of Symphony Space on 95th Street, and its artistic dire … Read the rest of this entry >>
REVIEW: HISTORICAL SOCIETY UNVEILS A STRIKING NEW EXHIBIT ON WORLD WAR II
By Marjorie Cohen Of all of the extraordinary material that has been collected for the New York Historical Society's new exhibit, WWII & NYC (October 5-May 27) what I found most striking is the 22-minute … Read the rest of this entry >>
THE RICE MANSION, A REMINDER OF RIVERSIDE DRIVE’S GLORY DAYS
When I started to research the Rice Mansion at 89th Street and Riverside Drive, it was the bricks and mortar that drew me to it. I was seduced by the looks of such a beautiful old mansion, one of only two that remain standing as a reminder of the glory days of Riverside Drive. At the … Read the rest of this entry >>
THOSE AREN’T GARGOYLES! THOSE ARE HUNKY PUNKS! AND THEY’RE WATCHING YOU…
By Stan Solomon Hey, you! Yes, you, busy UWSer – have you ever felt, as you rushed about this place, that somebody…or something…was watching you? Now, don’t get all paranoid and start scanning for black helicopters over Broadway or holding … Read the rest of this entry >>
12 REMARKABLE OLD UPPER WEST SIDE PHOTOS REVEALED IN CITY ARCHIVES
The city released a set of more than 800,000 photos from the municipal archives earlier this year in a searchable Internet database. The archive is frankly pretty incredible — there are photos from the NYPD, the parks department, the mayor’s … Read the rest of this entry >>
R.I.P. NORA EPHRON, UPPER WEST SIDER
Writer and filmmaker Nora Ephron, who died on Tuesday, was an Upper West Sider to her core. She was born here, and although she grew up mostly in California, she returned to the neighborhood and became one of its keenest … Read the rest of this entry >>
