The Book of New York Firsts: Unusual, Arcane, and Fascinating Facts in the Life of New York City

Everything you wanted to know about the unusual, arcane, and fascinating in the life of New York City.

The term "only in New York" takes on new meaning in page after page of this intriguing survey of firsts in one of the world's greatest cities--from extraordinary people to ghosts and graves, from troubles and aspirations to crimes and disasters.

For six years, the City had a governor who dressed in his wife's clothes and paraded along Broadway until his soldiers dragged him home.

The City's first subway, dug in secret under Broadway in 1870, had elegant cars propelled by wind from a big fan.

The City's first settlers were not Dutchmen, but French-speaking Protestant Belgians in 1624 who were followed by African Blacks in 1625.

The first City Hall had a tavern on the premises to quench the thirst of City Fathers with beer and schnapps.

The City's first bagel was produced in Clinton Street in 1896, but its ancestors date back to fourteenth-century German boar hunts.

Author: Henry Moscow
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Published: 04/01/1995
Pages: 128
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.58lbs
Size: 9.30h x 8.02w x 0.36d
ISBN: 9780815603085

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 06/01/1995 pg. 172

About the Author
Henry Moscow, a veteran journalist, worked as a submarine cable telegrapher, night editor of the New York Telegram, managing editor of the New York Post, and the editor of Life's international editions--a position he held for over twenty-five years.