ROWLAND Hussey Macy (1822-1877) was a Nantucket seaman aboard the Emily Morgan whaling ship at age 15, and while serving there he picked up at a port of call a red, five-pointed star…

On December 31, 1838 Lin Ze Xu (1785-1850 ) was appointed by the Chinese emperor as Imperial Commissioner with the mission to eradicate opium in China. The sale of opium…

I have found what is, without a doubt, the shortest street in the NYC metropolitan area and possibly, the shortest in the United States. It’s found at the undefended border…

A State Education Department of New York sign, created in 1952, hangs in front of an American Legion hall at 3rd Avenue and 9th Street, stating that remains of the 1st…

YOU cannot accuse the MTA of ignoring Canal Street. In previous eras, the IRT, BMT and IND have all constructed major stations at the east-west Manhattan route that traces the…

A pleasant plaza is encountered at Gold and Fulton Streets, where Fulton takes a slight jog near the Seaport area. There are large rocks, pleasant vegetation, and a winding path.…

THERE’S a tiny triangle at Gold and Frankfort Streets west of the Seaport at the Brooklyn Bridge off-ramps that remembers one of the most powerful  stock brokerage and investment banking services firms in…

NYC’s King of Lampposts Bob Mulero found this 1970s MTA subway stanchion, complete with a silver metal post and old MTA “M” at West Brighton Avenue and West 1st Street…

JAMAICA is one of Queens’ three oldest neighborhoods, along with Newtown and Flushing, and it’s no surprise that those three neighborhoods have the lion’s share of colonial-era buildings and locations.…

THERE it sits at Parsons Boulevard and 82nd Drive in Hillcrest, the massive “T building” of Queens Hospital Center (nee Queens General Hospital) that was originally known as Triboro Hospital,…

YOU find the darnedest things on Facebook. I subscribe to several pages that display historic images, such as Brownstone Detectives. Last week, this photo was displayed showing what was the…

JUST across 3rd Avenue from the ancient high pressure fire hydrant featured on February 2nd, 2022, I spotted this Dresser hydrant, which is actually the one on duty on this…