ALMANAC
FOR NEW YORKERS
FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT
3939
n
iFl«3
With an Urbane Commentary on the World's Fair
Weather- Day-by-day Events - Slayings- Amazing Prophecies -History -Fiendish N.Y. Hap- penings - Maps - Quips - Sea- sons . . . AND more than 1066 most Helpful Hints for the Metro- politan Gentleman and for his Lady.
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About the Almanac
For the third year running, the Almanac for New Yorkers, springing full-born from the brow of the New York City Federal Writers' Project, offers its pub- lic a bird's-eye preview of the coming urban year. Its two forerunners— for 1937 and 1938— have firmly estab- lished it as an annual civic institution— one of the most cheerful events on the municipal scene.
A frothy punch, compounded in equal parts of useful information and pert comment, the Almanac tells you where and when to see— or to avoid— what; drops wise hints on the conduct of your daily life; and joyfully excavates and refurbishes buried episodes from New York's inimitable past— all with good-humored eclat and levity. Every page is a rollicking scramble of wise- cracks, mock-gravity and pointed observations. A play upon words will crowd upon the heels of a lovely lyric; stately prose is juxtaposed with the lingo of the East Side; and everywhere the dashing, supremely appro- priate accent of Soriano's unique thumbnail sketches.
The Almanac's light touch and irresistible gayety give the most telling proof of the Project writers' ver- satility. With the main energy of these several hundred novelists, poets, reporters and researchers concentrated on socially valuable work— guides, encyclopedias, studies of racial groups and other thoughtful indices to contemporary American life— the giddy yet informative Almanacs merely serve to enhance and underscore the worth of the unique cultural experiment embodied in the Writers' Projects.
The New York World's Fair 1939 Incorporated is treated with a straighter face than is customary for the Almanac, as befits the massive size and impressive claims of the biggest show ever to hit New York. After all, not even the Almanac for New Yorkers can laugh off a tornado!
J
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2006 with funding from
Microsoft Corporation
I i
http://www.archive.org/details/almanacfornewyorOOfederich I
Almanac
FOR NEW YORKERS 1939
COPYRIGHT, 1938 BY THE guilds' COMMITTEE FOR FEDERAL
writers' publications, inc.
FRANKLIN P. ADAMS, BRUCE BLIVEN, HERSCHEL BRICKELL, VAN WYCK BROOKS, HENRY S. CANBY, MALCOLM COWLEY, MORRIS ERNST, JOHN ERSKINE, CLIFTON FADIMAN, LEWIS GANNETT, TRAVIS HOKE, ROCKWELL KENT, ALFRED KREYMBORG, LOUIS KRONENBERGER, BURNS MANTLE, BURTON RASCOE, RALPH THOMPSON, JOSEPH B. ULLMAN, IRITA VAN DOREN, MARK VAN DOREN
WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION
HARRY L. HOPKINS, Administrator
ELLEN s. WOODWARD, Assistant Administrator
HENRY G. ALSBERG, Director of Federal Writers' Project
Published by Modern Age Books, Inc. Printed in the United States of America
DON'T BLAME US if people change their minds
When this Almanac went to press, many organizations could give only tentative dates for events late in 1939. For certainty, therefore, dates for specific events should be verified through daily newspapers or through the organizations concerned.
FOREWORD TO 1939
SKIP THE PREFACE, WHICH JF YOU ARE LIKE THE REST of us, you will do without benefit of advice by me, a man with prefaceophobia. Anyway, you will rush to see whether January i, 1939, will be New Year's Day, just because it has been as long as you can remember.
I dislike to forecast, because what with one thing and many others, somebody may abolish New Year's Day this imminent year.
Yet I would like to make one prophecy, even though it is hard to predict that the 1939 Almanac will be as informative, as wise, and as witty as the '38 book was. Hard for me, I mean, because I am not a member of the Lily Calciminers' Union. That Almanac was so good, and was done so well by the calmly omniscient New York Federal Writers' Project that I am shooting the works when I say that this is an improvement on last year's volume.
But I have seen some of the stuff of this, the third Year Book for New Yorkers, and, if the N.Y.F.W.P. wins with this entry, it should gain permanent possession of the Almanac Eye Cup. I am an old Almanacker myself, but I never dreamed of such all-seeing wis- dom, such lovely reports of municipal foibles, from January 1 to December 31 inclusive, as is in the following pages.
Franklin P. Adams
'' h%t
THE ALMABFAC AT A GLANCE
A brief guide to the treasures within, for our readers who are, nonetheless, urged to read from cover to cover in order to derive full benefit therefrom.
Calendar
Inside Front Cover Fish in Season
Days of the Year
All -Night Drugstores
Literary Prizes
Poetry Prizes
Street Address Guide
Birthstones
Legal New York City Holidays
4 109 110
113 116 117 120
New York City Statistics
The Worlds Fair How to Get There Map of Exhibit Area Map of Amusement Area
188 187
134 141
147
Astronomical Data Inside Back Cover
CITY OF INTOLERANCE
Let's found our City on hard intolerance. And not on compromise, that melts, half-way; Let us dig deep beyond the sand and clay To granite certainties, where earthquakes
dance In shackles, with indifferent wavering: In the fierce sect^ and battles of Today It is no miserable, middling Thing That stands, unthreatened!— nor can music
make. Or a soft wish, what great storms gently
shake!— And there burns but One Writing on the Wall When summits rain in fire, and girders fall: Cities that fall have been too tolerant Of children's miseries, of gray-faced want Creeping in sunless tenements; civic ill And shameless penuries that oppress men still. The long, slow rot of piecemeal poverty Where men, like sick beasts, creep apart to
die,— Evils to which the Courts grant no repeal— These are the termites that can eat down
steel . . . For golden thieves that flout the world's dis- tress Whose tables creak with surfeit '« heaviness. This is the monstrous Writing oa the Wall That burns out, bright, before the cities fall!
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1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
January
Bells all wag their mighty tongues. Whistles roar, and a million lungs Blast the air with a monstrous cheer: Another New Year headache's here. j. r.
"d SUNDAY. New Year's Day * * * Gelukkig Nieujaar, •■- Nieuw Yorkers (Dutch) * * * Emancipation Day * * * Feast of the Circumcision * * * Fast of Tebet * * * The Phil- harmonic's at Carnegie Hall; 5 p.m. * * * On this day in 1873 Augustin Daly's theater was destroyed by fire * * * On this day in 1902 Henry Miner's 8th Ave. theater burned up, too.
3 MONDAY. Calling all chickens to the Poultry Show at the 14th St. Armory (12^ West) * * * Logic of Social Inquiry is Dr. Sidney Hook's topic at YMHA, Lex. Ave. & g2nd St. * * * Budapest String Quartet at Town Hall, y,^o p.m. * * * NYU students sign on dotted line for next term,
O TUESDAY. St. Genevieve * * * Ernest Schelling, pianist, ^^ at Town Hall, 8:^0 p.m. * * * Eugene Ormandy con- ducts Philadelphia Orchestra and Mischa Levitzki as soloist at Carnegie, 8:4^ p.m. * * * Brooklynites swing with La Argentinita and her Spanish Ballet at Academy of Music, 8:^0 p.m. * * * On this day in 1888 Isidor and Nathan Straus, "crockery importers," were taken into the firm of R. H. Macy & Co., as partners.
/M WEDNESDAY. Philharmonic at Carnegie, 8:4^ p.m.
-*• * * * Piano recital by Frank Sheridan at Town Hall, 8:^0 P.M. * * * On this day in 1883 the New York Cremation Society held a meeting in Cooper Union, Room 24; several new members were elected.
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
5 THURSDAY. Full Moon: 4:^0 p.m. * * * Ethical Cul- ture School opens its season today * * * Boston Sym- phony at Carnegie Hall, 8:4^ p.m. * * * Brooklyn Traffic Club starts its monthly Thursday meetings at the Granada * * * Cross- wordpuzzle craze drove dictionaries to the top of best-seller lists in 1925. Remember? * * * Scientists predicted this day in 1932 that the sun's radiation would continue 15,000,000,000,000 years more * * * Today's Horror: Only 14, 999, 9 99^999^99 3 )'^^^'^/f7\ left. Kg)
6 FRIDAY. National Motor Boat Show begins today at Grand Central Palace * * * Brooklyn Academy of Music, 8:^0 P.M. Dr. Serge Koussevitzky conducts Boston S. O. * * * Car- negie Hall, 2:^0 P.M.: Philadelphia S. S. ^^^^^^ ^.^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^
In a cafetearya.
J.R.
7 SATURDAY. Eva Jessy e Choir of 22 voices at the Insti- tute of Arts and Sciences, ii6th and Broadway * * * Physicians got together this day in 1847 ^^^ organized the Acad- emy of Medicine * * * Eleanore Duse declared this day in 1900 that Gabriele d'Annunzio had done her wrong and that her end was near; she was half right.
The arrival in Nieuw Amsterdam of Petrus Stuyvesant, on May 2y, i6^y, was accompanied by none of the fanfare which signalizes the current comings of transatlantic personages. There were no cameramen, because there were no cameras; no reporters, because there were no newspapers. Petrus stepped quietly ashore from the good ship "Princess," opining that the Nieuw Am- sterdam looked fertile, suspecting with no great tact that the settlers already on the island hadn't been working too hard. He was accompanied off ship by the new vice-director. Dr. Lubbertus Van Dincklagen, the new schoutfiscal, Hendrik van Dyck, William Beekman, and Dame Stuyvesant, who made no comments.
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
January
In January I often sigh For the torrid days of July- While in July I'm apt to be very. Very fond of January. tiber.
C^ SUNDAY. Efrem Zimhalist at Kaufman Auditorium, ^^ g2nd & Lex. Ave. * * * Philharmonic at Carnegie, 5 p.m.
* * * American Jewish Committee meets at the Astor * * * Underground straphangers enjoyed their first ride from Bowling Green to Borough Hall this day in 1908.
9 MONDAY. Bertita Harding, author, at Institute of Arts and Sciences, McMillin Theatre, ii6th and Broadway, this eve. * * * If you want a smooth string concert, there's the Musical Art Quartet—Sascha Jacobsen, Paul Bernard, William Hymanson and Marie Roemaet-Rosanoff—at Town Hall * * * Among other inhabitants, 2,503 cows made their homes right here in our city in 1880, producing 17,708 quarts of milk a day.
W TUESDAY. Ice Hockey at Madison Square Garden * * * $28,000 in pre-depression money exchanged hands last night 10 years ago for a perfect copy of the Pickwick Papers, a Dickens world record price * * * Henrietta Sontag made her New York debut in "La Figlia del Reggimento" this day in 1853 * * * And 30 years later Richard Mansfield created a sensation at his first NY appearance as Baron Chevrial in "A Parisian Romance."
1 1 WEDNESDAY. // you performed at Town Hall during
-■--*- 1937-38, you will perhaps be proclaimed the winner of
the "Young Artist Award" tonight at Town Hall; see daily papers
* * * Trudi Schoop and her Dancing Comedians at the Institute of Arts if Sciences, Columbia University— tonight.
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
1 €^ THURSDAY. Moon: Last Quarter - 8:io a.m. * * * ^^ Burton Holmes at Brooklyn Academy of Music, 8:i^ p.m. * * * Stefan Zweig will entertain an audience at ii a.m. at the Town Hall * * * If you miss Burton Holmes in Brooklyn at 8:i$, rush to Carnegie Hall for the Philharmonic Concert start- ^^^^ ing at 8:4^ P.M. \^_^
1 O FRIDAY. This is Friday and the i^th and exams begin -■-^-^ at Cooper Union, but Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn holds an Open House Party, so choose and run * * * Stately society matrons stood aghast this day in 1912 watching a new dance called "turkey trot" at the annual dance of the Southern Society in the Plaza Hotel; the ladies watched closely, and when it was all over demanded and received a promise from the hotel management that in future it would bar such dancing . . . and such dancing was never seen in our city again. Eth^oio 'caiNote
Harlem sounds Dutch, But isn't, much.
M. W. W.
1 /jl SATURDAY. Josef Lhevinne at the piano at Carnegie
-*■ -*- this afternoon * * * Greeting-card Association convenes at Commodore * * * Personal Property and Sales Taxes due to- morrow.
The odd tradition whereby New York- ers feel impelled to honor visiting emi- nents by dumping tons of ticker tape, torn telephone books and miscellaneous findings upon their newsworthy heads had its birth years before the Lind- bergh-Ederle-Hughes-Corrigan days. The first manifestation of this sort, in fact, occurred on June 18, 1910, when Theodore Roosevelt rode up Broad- way. He was a bit astonished at the paper showers but assumed smilingly, and correctly, that the bombardment was a token of true esteem.
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
January
FOR WINTER
Now, in the dim and dreary season ^ ^
One lives (if one lives) for some reason.
To see a fight, to keep a date.
Or watch one's life coagulate. t. s.
"M B^ SUNDAY. Midwinter Conference on Jewish Affairs at
■*-*^ Jewish Theological Seminary, Broadway and 122nd; ^00
congregations will be represented * * * This day in 1889 ^^^ ^^e
dry-goods stores on the East Side, save 18, closed at 7 o'clock as a
result of agitation by the Dry-Goods Clerks' Early Closing Ass*n.
1 1^ MONDAY. American Institute of Consulting Engineers -■-^^ meets at the University Club * * * From the Tribune this day in 1884: "Dire Results of a Collision. Two street cars came into collision at Grand St. and the Bowery yesterday, caus- ing the drivers to rip and tear, curse and swear, snort and cavort."
"fl ^ TUESDAY. Professor H. A. Overstreet speaks on "Un- -^ ^ derstanding (for) Ourselves" and ''We Move in New Directions/' and will explain his philosophy furthermore at the Institute of Arts and Sciences of Columbia this evening * * * On this day in 1932 Andrew Varipapa of Brooklyn bowled a 6-game total of 1,652 in Queens Village.
1 ft WEDNESDAY. New York Lamp Show plugs in at the -■•^^ New Yorker * * * Alexander Kipnis, basso, at Town Hall * * * An editorial in the Evening Sun of this day in 1905 warns Mr. George Bernard Shaw "not to attempt to land in these U.S.," stating that "Shaw is not only an Irish Socialist, but ... a vegetarian, an anti-tobacconist, an anti-everythingist, a jeerer of respectabilities, a maker of epigrams, paradoxes and trouble . . ."
8
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
"g A THURSDAY. Point to Remember: One will seldom lose -■-•-^ one's mittens if one attaches to them strings which go up one's sleeves and cross one's shoulders * * * On this day in 1863 season tickets for the skating pond at 5th Ave. and 58th St. were offered at $5 for a gentleman, $2.50 for a lady, or $10 for a gentle- man and 2 ladies. „ ^^^'^f^, «* ^*- Mark's-in-the-BouweHe
Here Peter Stuyvesant hes, so the record tells. Except for one of his legs, which is somewhere else,
M. W. W.
^ft FRIDAY. New Moon-8:2y a.m. * * * Maurice Hindus ^^^ will lecture on Soviet Russia tonight at the Institute of Arts and Sciences at C.U. * * * Philharmonic at Carnegie, 2:^0 P.M. * * * On this day in 1920 Mrs. Dora Mintz was getting ready to leave Willard Parker Hospital, "the first case on record of a person entirely recovering from sleeping sickness." Said Dr. Royal S. Copeland, "Violin music probably accomplished this cure . . ."
O"! SATURDAY. St. Agnes * * * Mischa Elman at Car- ^ ^ negie * * * Sergei Barsukoff, pianist, at Town Hall this afternoon * * * This day in 1900 Governor Roosevelt (T.) was honor guest at a dinner prepared by the Union League Club; the main discussion was "Preventing Policy Playing in the City"; it was not prevented.
In one of the semifraudulent opium dens that dotted Chinatown in the '90s a half-caste Chinese named Georgie Yee and a woman named Lulu made a fair living by posing for the tourist trade, using a mild grade of the stuff. "This exhibition can't reely be called im- moral," the guide would assure the more sensitive sightseers. "These pore people are slaves to the opium habit, and they'd be here whether you came to see 'em or not."
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
January
The City's bars are crowded to pollution
By people breaking that certain resolution.
This month was named by the seers in days "^^
gone by For Janus, the two-faced god: I wonder why.
M. w. w.
^^ SUNDAY. Today at Town Hall: Bach Program by New ^ ^ Friends of Music Orchestra * * * The Pha. Symphony Society at Carnegie, 5 p.m. * * * The Egyptian Obelisk, better known as "Cleopatra's Needle," was erected this day in 1881 in Central Park SW of the Metropolitan Art Museum.
00 MONDAY. Troubles at Barnard College and Poly. In- ^^^^ stit. of Brooklyn: Mid-year exams, start * * * This day in 1907 opera goers still shuddered at breakfast over yesterday's silver-platter-head-presentation of Salome's lover; debutantes thought it served him right.
^►^ /• TUESDAY. Yehudi Menuhin, famous violinist, at ^^ -"• Brooklyn A. of M. at 8:^0 p.m. * * * Efrem Zimbalist, ditto, at Carnegie Hall 75 minutes later * * * Two electric eels arriving this day in 1936 at the Aquarium were connected with light bulbs, and lighted them, and a lot of people wouldn't believe it.
O ^ WEDNESDAY. Conversion of St. Paul * * * Martha ^^^^ Graham, danseuse Americaine, at the Institute of Arts and Sciences, 116th and Broadway * * * Richard Tauber, Tenor, at Town Hall * * * Mayor Jimmie Walker fell in his shower bath this day in 1931, and dislocated his shoulder, and was twitted.
10
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
^^fi THURSDAY. Point to Remember: Paragraph y^, sec- ^^^^ tion (b) of Traffic Regulations rules that ''no person shall stand on sidewalk or roadway and solicit a ride from the occupant of a vehicle by word or gesture" * * * This day in 1918 Herbert Clark Hoover issued his first list of less-food days: wheat- less Mondays and Wednesdays, meatless Tuesdays, porkless Thurs- days and Saturdays.
^%^ FRIDAY. Rose Quong, Chinese actress, in a lecture on ^ • "The Soul of China" at the McMillin Theater, Colum- bia U. * * * President Wilson urged New Yorkers to think about "National Defense," to keep us out of war for 1916, this day, the
' * My landlord speaks Latin — his erudite dictum
When the rent gets behind is ' Ejectuml Evictum!"
W. D.
# # #
Oft SATURDAY. Moon: First Quarter-io:oo a.m. m^'^W Q^g Qj ff^g Popular Concerts series by the Philharmonic tonight at Carnegie * * * The Sheriff, this morning in 1897, ^^^k possession of the Metropolitan Hotel, and turned many ^^^^ guests out of bed. ^^1
The Raines Law of i8p6 was New York's most ambitious and most disastrous attempt to leg- islate into being the moral state. It decreed, without much foresight, that no liquor could be sold on Sundays except in hotels, and in connection with meals. The meal clause wasn't so bad, since most proprietors got around it by nailing one sandwich firmly to the center of each table. The hotel part, how- ever, brought into being thousands of rooms, too jerry-built for legitimate travelers' occu- pancy, which soon made the Raines Law a snickering synonym for vice.
11
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
January
Winter's full of winter sports and falling on your
bottom. Moving and Electon Day get here every Ottom, "A^ Spring has rain and leaky roofs, and where the
hell's the plumber. And the hottest day in forty years gets here every
summer. g. n.
OO SUNDAY. At Town Hall, 8:^0 p.m.; Ana Drittell, Cellist m^%y * * * At ^ P.M.: NY Philharm. at Carnegie * * * This day in 1861, Mayor Fernando Wood sent a message to the Com- mon Council, proposing that NY secede from the Union and become a free city to be called Tri-Insula.
O £^ MONDAY. Fifty-seventh birthday of Franklin D. Roose- O" velt * * * Old Grads meet at Yeshiva College * * * Water rents due tomorrow * * * The NY Tribune reported this day in 1884 Jiat a parrot in a Fulton St. eating house had taken to screaming "Don't tip the waiters," and had caused consterna- tion among the waiters.
O'J TUESDAY. Dr. E. A. Hooten, who knows all about
^^ ^ "Apes, Men and Morons," will lecture to men only at
the Institute of Arts and Sciences, 116th St. and Broadway * * *
Others will go to see Ice Hockey at Madison Square Garden.
February
Atop St. Patrick's lofty steeple One meets few, if any, people. T. S.
1 WEDNESDAY. Parents and traffic cops get a breathing spell: school opens again today at NYU, Brooklyn and St. Johns Colleges, Theological Sem., and other temples of higher learning * * * Half of the first marriage by long distance tele- phone took place here, this day in 1899.
12
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS 1939
2 THURSDAY. Candlemas * * * Groundhog Day * * * Theos Bernard, the first white man to live in hidden cities of Thibet, will tell a thing or two at the Inst, for A. and So. at Columbia, tonight * * * 35 tons o£ dynamite in transit for shipment from pier 7 at the Communipaw Terminal of the Cen- tral R'y of NJ exploded at one minute after noon, killing 34, injuring hundreds, this morning in 1911.
Today the ground hog's choice is checked For snow or thaw, and it's seldom correct. M. W. W.
O FRIDAY. Freshman "Orientation" day at Polytechnic
^^ Institute * * * This day in 1900, during a dinner for 18
given by one of the "400," the butler sampled all the liquor,
offered to knock anyone's head off * * * On this day in 1924,
after a long illness, died Woodrow Wilson.
M SATURDAY. Full Moon-2:^^ a.m. * * * Pop. Concert -*■ by the Philharmonic at Carnegie, 8:^^ p.m. * * * Over- crowded surface and elevated railroad cars got on Senator Wag- ner's (Brooklyn) nerves in 1903, whereupon he introduced a bill
providing that no more than 5 passengers over and above its actual seating capacity may be carried in a car.
®
In ipoo the New York police were beginning to have their worries about the new steam automobiles. Toward the fall of that year the department's bicycle corps, following a summer of feverish activity, began systematically overhauling and stopping drivers of the steam vehicles and asking to see licenses issued by the boiler inspectors. Num- bers of chauffeurs came to grief, particularly in the fast and sporty highroads of Coney Island.
13
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
i/
February
This month is noted for its brevity And Leap Year cracks, just full of levity; Of lovely girls who strive to please And marry with surprising ease. w. d.
• •
^ SUNDAY. Septuagesima * * * Cornelia Otis Skinner's ^^ Drama and Song Recital at YMHA, Lex. Ave. & p2nd St., 8:^0 * * * About this time in 1903 the town first became Automat-minded when a restaurant opened on Broadway where "you drop your money in a slot and out comes your food in a jiffy."
6 MONDAY. Spring term starts at New School for Social Research and at Hunter College * * * The 206th anni- versary of the birth of James Duane, first Mayor of New York after the Revolutionary War, may or may not be celebrated this day * * * The first Negro minstrels, Billy Whitlock, Dan Emmet, Frank Brower and Dick Pelham, presented their premiere at the Bowery Amphitheater, this day in 1843.
7 TUESDAY. What's behind the scenes of transatlantic broadcasts will be explained by Cesar Saerchinger to- night at the I. of A. and Sc, Col. Univ'y * * * This day in 1898 William A. Brady and Florenz Ziegfeld took over the Standard Theater and presented Lottie Blair Parker's "Way Down East"
for the first time. „ ^J"^-^ Square Telescope
Here, for a piece of petty change.
You glimpse a world less strange
Than ours. M. W. W.
» WEDNESDAY. National Association of Wool Manufac- turers at the Commodore * * * Musical Art Quartet at the Town Hall this evening * * * Plans were afoot this day in 1899 for a woman's hotel to meet the needs of vigorous, indepen- dent, hardworking NY young women who earn good incomes.
14
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
» THURSDAY. Dr. Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony at Brooklyn Acad, of Music, 8:^0 p.m. * * * "Saturday Half Holidays Must Go" demanded the Executive Committee of the NY Mercantile Exchange, this day in 1888, it (the free Saturday p.m.'s) having been found "to be inoperable and very objectionable in practice."
1 A ^^II^^Y. Moon: Last Quarter-ii:i2 p.m. * * * Vicki -■•^^ Baum will speak at Town Hall, 11 a.m. * * * The Phil- harmonic at 2:^0 and the Boston Symphony at 8:4^, both at Car- negie Hall * * * The East River was frozen over for the second time on record at the Weather Bureau, this day in 1875, inducing the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher and wife to walk from Brooklyn via river to Manhattan, to show "that the wicked were not ^^^^ the only ones who could stand in slippery places." ((.
1 1 SATURDAY. Bruce Bairnsfather, creator of ''OV Bill," -^-■- at Inst, of A. and Sc, at Columbia, this eve * * * The
Joy Line Steamer "Larchmont" sank in L. I. Sound, this day in
1907, and more than 100 perished.
The city's prints of January p, igio, re- ported with a still unexplained show of indignation that the three rooms of Mrs. Augusta Swiss at 400 Grand Street sheltered "a hundred cats and nine hundred lives. . . . Mrs. Swiss, going to market, with two score or more of the felines at her heels, seems to enjoy the distinction of being called the 'Pied Piperess of Catdom.' "
15
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
February
When February's lenten tide "it^
Engulfs New York's pagodas. Our dames devout are all denied
Cocktails and sweets and sodas. R. K..
"I ^% SUNDAY. Associated Terriers get together at their an- -*-^^ nual show at Commerce Hall, iii 8th Ave., lo a.m.
* * * 5 P.M.; Philharmonic at Carnegie * * * Ice Hockey in the eve, at Madison S.G. * * * Today's Anniversary: coldest day in the annals of the city was Feb. 12, 18^^—40 years ago.
1 O MONDAY. Athletic Contests at Annual Open House of -*-^^ Prospect Park Branch of Brooklyn's "Y" * * * i^o years
ago yesterday a son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Lincoln of
Hardin Co., Ky.; he was named Abraham.
1 Zl TUESDAY. St. Valentine * * * Another Dog Show is •*--•- under way at Madison S.G. since yesterday continuing today and tomorrow * * * American Institute of Mineralogical and Metallurgical Engineers meet at the Engineers' Club till the i6th * * * Kirsten Flagstad at 8:4^ with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra * * * Vilhjalmur Stefansson will address an audience at Town Hall tonight.
1 fij WEDNESDAY. Boake Carter will commentate at Town
-■-*^ Hall this morning at eleven * * * In the evening, same
Town Hall: Jascha Heifetz in his last NY recital this season
* * * "Start 'em early" remained the slogan of the NY State Assembly when for the 3rd time in 4 years it voted against ratifica- tion of the Federal Child Labor Amendment, this day a year ago.
16
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
"M £^ THURSDAY. Point to Remember: It's a crime to say
-■-^-^ publicly you will help anyone to get a divorce (Penal
Code, Sec. 120, ig^y) * * * Another Point to Remember: Ana-
hleps have four eyes, two to look above and two to see below
when swimming on the surface of the sea.
*! ^^ FRIDAY. Midterm recess at Ethical Culture School, till -•- • the 2yth * * * John Drew made his NY debut this day in "The Big Bonanza" at Daly's Theater * * * The first Inter- national 6-Day Bicycle Race was held in 1891 at Madison Square Garden and was won on a * 'high-wheeler " by William Martin.
"fl C]^ SATURDAY. National Sportsmen's Show starts today at -^'-^ Grand Central Palace * * * Perole String Quartet per- forms at 8:^0 at Columbia's Instit. of Arts and Sciences * * * "The Bowery, the Bowery!" was sung for the first time in 1892 in C. M. Hoyt's comedy "A Trip to Chinatown"; its popularity swept across the country but veteran NY East Siders swear to this day that it was a slanderous lampoon that "killed" the street.
Back in the opulent pre-1929 days a constant source of wonder to New Yorkers was the stream of raids which John S. Sumner, successor to Anthony Comstock as secretary of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, persuaded the police to make on publishers' offices for the purpose of seizing copies of some just-published novel, often of re- spectable merit. The raids were even more strange because Mr. Sumner never
won a case when genuine literary works were seized, and usually succeeded only in publicizing hitherto obscure trivia. In one of the most noteworthy of Sumner's sorties 800 copies of "The Well of Loneliness," by Radclyffe Hall, were seized at a publisher's office.
17
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
February
The calendar Gregorian (its age is pre-Victorian), Is such that days are rather apt to vary.
And though we know its history, 'tis something of a mystery What happened to the days in February, w. d.
^^
1 Q SUNDAY. New Moon-^:28 a.m. * * * Point to forget:
-■-•-^ the weather: max. temp. 55; min. ^^, this day two years
ago * * * The Philharm. Symph, Soc'y entertains this p.m. ^^
(^ o'cl.) at Carnegie, ^jQP
1^ A MONDAY. "Judges as Rulers'* will be the topic of Dr.
^^^^ Beryl H. Levy's address at YMHA, Lex. Ave. and p2nd St. * * * This day in 1837 50 horses, a big cast and pretentious scenery attracted New Yorkers to the Bowery Theater to see "The Wild Horse, or Mazeppa" and for 4 weeks thereafter the average
niehtlv receipts were $800. ^? *»attfr "^hat tomorrov/s fate
o ] r ^ It's vn the papers tonight at eight.
J.R.
^1 TUESDAY. Shrove Tuesday * * * This day will be re- ^^ ^ garded as Wednesday at Cooper Union * * * H . . . . y at the Garden tonite * * * Councilmen meet at Columbia Univer- sity * * * The Board of Electrical Control, this day in 1889, ordered the first face-lifting for the town, when it revoked permits for stringing wires and erecting poles in the city's streets. The City Linemen's Association objected.
00 WEDNESDAY. Washington's (George) Birthday * * * ^^ ^^ Ash Wednesday * * * Phi Alpha Sigma Medical Frater- nity meets at the Commodore * * * The Bronx Marriage license bureau got mad and closed up this day in 1911, because Bronx couples failed to patronize home industry and came from the Bronx to downtown City Hall to be licensed.
18
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
€^ •> THURSDAY. Another Dog Show opens today at Bloom- ^^9 ingdale's * * * Philharmonic at Carnegie this eve 8:4^ * * * After two years of reform government under Mayor Wm. L. Strong, the town became wide open again under the administra- tion of Mayor R. A. VanWyck and Big Bill Devery, "the best police chief New York ever had" (1897). The city immediately agreed to pay $90,000 a year for garbage removal to the NY Garbage Utilization Co., and the better citizens said that it smelled.
€^ M FRIDAY. Arthur Schnahel, pianist, at Carnegie, 8:^0 m^^M. * * * 7^/^^ American Orthopsychiatric Association meets in town— candidly, we don't know where * * * It was in 1877, this day that 5 persons met and founded the Society of Decorative Art.
€% aj SATURDAY. The decent citizenry of New York com- ^^ plained this day in 1878 to the police, stating that the Alhambra, at 12 th Street and Greenwich Avenue was giving in- decent performances. The police took a peek too and raided the show. The place became a livery stable.
One of the first, though minor, city employees— when New York was start- ing to get ideas about becoming a city- was William Butler, official chimney sweep. It was Burgher Butler's duty to "frequently passe through the Streets, Lanes <t Passages" and to make "such noise or cry as may discover him to the inhabitants" After a while Burgher Butler decided he didn't like the job, so he said the hell with it and he quit.
19
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
February
March may come in like a lion,
March may go out like a lamb;
But if added together, its volatile weather
Is something I'm tempted to damb! w. d.
^f^
^ft SUNDAY. Moon: First Quarter-io:26 p.m. * * * First ^^^^ Sunday in Lent * * * This evening at Town Hall: Reah Sadowski, pianist * * * The New York World this week in 1900 advertised that nice three-room apartments could be had for $13.50 in refined neighborhoods or for $8.50 elsewhere * * * The rural sport, "pulling the goose," was forbidden this day in ^^*^ 1658, but Nieuw Amsterdammers continued to pull geese. ^J
^%^^ MONDAY. Bach, Mozart and Brahms Sonatas in a joint ^^ • recital at Town Hall this evening by Adolf Busch, vio- linist, and Rudolf Serkin, pianist * * * Pearl Buck of Good Earth fame tonight at the Instit. of Arts and Sc. at Columbia.
^^€> TUESDAY. Point to Remember: In genteel society
^^9 young matrons will not permit loaded dice to be used,
even if they are losing * * * The first Trust Company to be
trusted to do a trust business among trusting New Yorkers was the
Farmers' Insurance and Loan Company, incorporated this day in
1822.
1^ A See ALMANAC FOR NEW YORKERS 1940.
March
1 WEDNESDAY. St. David * * * Harold Kreutzberg, "the first male dancer of his time/' performs at Town Hall tonight * * * "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was hailed with delight this day in 1862 at its premiere at the Broadway Music Hall.
20
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
€^ THURSDAY. Andre Maurois, author of ''Ariel, ou la
^^ vie de Shelley," will address the audience at Town Hall
tonight * * * Edward Weeks, "Atlantic Monthly" editor, at Inst.
of Arts and Sc. of Columbia. Journalists on Almanacses
' ' Lose no sleep through income taxes.
R.
O FRIDAY. Afternoon concert by the Philharmonic Sym- ^^ phony Society of New York (NY) at Carnegie Hall, starting at 2:^0 * * * When Barnum's Museum burned down again this day in 1868, for the second time in 2 years, Barnum was through with museums * * * Because of a masked ball held at the Park Theater this day in 1829, which ended in rumors of scandal and elopement, the Legislature was petitioned to pass a law against masquerades, and did.
M SATURDAY. Fast of Esther * * * The first President ^* born as a citizen of these U.S., a New Yorker, Martin Van Buren, took the oath of office this day in 1837 * * * Said "Mr. Dooley" at the turn of the century apropos the machine age: "A cow goes lowin' softly in to Armours an' comes out glue, beef, gelatine, fertylizer, celooloid, joolry, sofy cushions, hair restorer, soap, lithrachoor and bedsprings so quick that while aft she's still cow, for'ard she may be anything fr'm buttons to Panny-ma hats."
Children of the Civil War period were no little delighted by an adver- tisement that appeared in the Times on May 75, 186^. "Rosy cheeked boys and girls!" it exclaimed. "Outdoor fun!" And underneath: "A can- tering horse that is always ready, requires no oats, will not run away, but which goes rapidly over any good road, propelled by the weight of the rider." The name of the genius who invented the plush-covered improvement has been lost to history.
21
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
March
TO ONE GIRL IN A MILLION
Let this information strike you With a chill like that of malaria- There must be at least twelve like you In the metropolitan area. m .w. w.
^^
5 SUNDAY. Full Moon-i:oo p.m. * * * Purim * * * Haydn and Bach Symphonies and Concerti respect'y, by New Friends of Music S.O. at Carnegie, y,^o * * * It won't he long now . . . Dodgers start for Clearwater, Fla. * * * Local gendarmes, this day in 1900, felt that Olga Nethersole's per-
formance in "Sappho" was indecent, and closed the show.
®
6 MONDAY. Point to Remember: Application of lamb's fat or bear's grease to the runners of drawers will as a rule cause them to slide easily and without further aggravation • * * 2,903 arrests were made in 1937 ^^ persons found intoxi- cated in the streets of Manhattan.
7 TUESDAY. 5^ Aquinas (Thomas) * * * The Phila- delphia Orchestra, Vladimir Golschmann conducting, at Carnegie, 8:4^ * * * The Academy of Music opened an Opera season this day in 1867 with Clara Louise Kellogg in "II Barbiere di Siviglia" * * * Columbia's faculty smiled this day in 1911, when donations to the tune of $1,897,853.20 in one day enabled Trus- tees to raise salaries.
8 WEDNESDAY. Today's anniversary: ^00 years ago this day (i6^p) the first Almanac this side of Ambrose light- ship was published by William Pierce "for the New England colo- nies" * * * The City Temperance Society was formed this day in 1829.
22
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
A THURSDAY. Great Modern Struggles for Liberty will
^-^ be scrutinized today by Louis M. Hacker at the YMHA,
Lex. Ave. & p2nd St. * * * This day in 1917, Governor Whitman
ordered all males between 18 and 45 to register for military duty.
1 1% FRIDAY. Sidney R. Montague of the Canadian Mounted •■■^^ will lecture tonight at the Ac. of Arts and Sciences, Columbia * * * This day in 1880, Castle Garden was the scene where English girls sang and played the tambourines at the Pio- neer meeting of a new religious body called The Salvation Army.
1 1 SATURDAY. 7^ the World Really Improving Query: ■■--^ The largest shipment of Bibles ever made— from NY to San Francisco, was made about this time, but the year was i^ii ♦ * * The Hudson-Manhattan tunnel holed through at noon, this day in 1904 * * * This was the day in 1888 when the blizzard started, when one NY managing editor got his Boston news by way of Ireland, when streets were dark for two nights, when the Blizzard Men organized.
On May 20, 19^2 a Jersey City automobile salesman announced to a mildly interested world that he had discovered a new use for his ly^'pound Great Dane, Fred- erick the Great. It was as a radio receiving set. All that was neces- sary to make Frederick the Great function in this helpful fashion was to attach an aerial to his tail. The salesman said that thereafter music from Newark emerged from his dog, and a lecture which he believed was broadcast from Philadelphia.
n
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
March
"March comes in like a lion," . . . et cetera. But the less said about that, the bettera. Even March weather wouldn't be so worse if Spring poets weren't quite so discursive, r.
^^
1 1^ SUNDAY. Moon: Last Quarter-^.-^y p.m. * * * St.
-■-^^ Gregory * * * ^ p.m.: Philharmonic, and at y.^o New
Friends of Music with Fritz Stiedry, at Carnegie; in the evening
there's a choice of violin recital by Vincent Botticelli at Town Hall, and/ or Ice Hockey at the Garden.
c
1 O MONDAY. International Flower Show at Grand Cen-
-^^^ tral Palace starts today and continues to the i8th * * •
"Raising the Wind" was "the first newspaper cartoon of Uncle
Sam," published this day in 1852 in the NY Lantern, though
others have claimed precedence.
M TUESDAY. Catherine Littlefield and her Philadelphia Ballet Co, entertain tonight at Brooklyn's Academy of Music * * * On this day in 1806 the legislature granted New York Hospital a State annuity of $12,500 for 50 years * * * Mr. L. H. Rogers, a New Yorker, played 75 holes of golf on this day in 1933, his 75th birthday.
1 f^ WEDNESDAY. Today, up to midnight, is Federal in- -■-*^ come tax time, and you'd better have yours in or mailed by midnight, or 2^ Jo of it anyway * * * On this day in 1773 "She Stoops to Conquer" had its first NY showing at the John St. Theater * * * The first indoor fly-casting tournament was con- ceived in 1897, 3^^ beginning this day and continuing for 5 days, champion fly-casters cast flies in Madison Square Garden.
24
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
1 A THURSDAY. Lord Elton speaks at Town Hall, ii a.m.
-■-^-^ * * * Philharmonic, Carnegie, this day, 8:^^ p.m. * * * "Pepita, or The Girl with the Glass Eyes," inspired Chauncey Olcott to debut as operatic tenor in support of Lillian Russell, this day in 1887, at Union Square Theater.
1 ^ FRIDAY. St. Patrick * * * H. V. Kaltenborn at Inst, of -■- • Arts and Sc, Columbia, this eve * * * Great loss of life and destruction marked this day in 1899 when the Windsor Hotel burned down * * * Feminism: Women who are bona fide resi- dents of NY State may fish without being licensed.
"d C^ SATURDAY. Points to Remember: 18,1^0,000,000 com- •■•^^ plete circular index-finger moves were made during the year ending May i, 19^8, in order to put through 2,^po,ooo,ooo telephone calls over 1,620^^64 'phones, connected by g,2']j,ooo miles of wires, which if laid straight across would cover nearly 575 times the distance around the world at the equator, all of which in the City of NY, NY, USA.
At a regular meeting of the Dressmakers' Protective Associa- tion on September 16, 1904, in New York, it was stated deter- minedly that "Corsets will al- ways stay straight-front as long as we shall live."
25
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
March
SPRING
Spring brings forth verse
from my heart But what could be worse
than verse from my heart, s. a.
1 C^ SUNDAY. Symphony Concert at Carnegie, 5 p.m. * » * •*-*-^ New Yorkers skipped an hour for the first time this day in 1918 * * * Radio broadcasting of news, Sunday sermons and concerts, put on a daily basis this time in 1922, united families once more while Dad manipulated a crystal receiving set with headphone which entertained the company when it worked.
30
MONDAY. New Moon-8:4g p.m. * * * Helen Thomas, pianist, at Town Hall, 8:^0 p.m. * * * Freedom's Jour- nal, the first newspaper for Negroes, appeared in NY for the £Sj^ first time this day in 1827 * * * Spring starts tomorrow. ^9
^>^"J TUESDAY. As promised, spring begins today, at j:2g ^^-™- A.M. * * * St. Benedict * * * Georges Enesco, composer, conductor and violinist, is the soloist tonight at Brooklyn Academy of Music * * * Raymond J. Walsh, author of "CIO" at the McMillin Theater, Columbia * * * If you're a young man your fancy will turn to thoughts of love this day; for several
more years, too. ^* *^y ^^ snowing Uke everything,
•^ But still it's the newest day of spring.
M. W. W.
€^ €% WEDNESDAY. Dr. Lewis Browne will address the audi- ^ ^^ ence at the Institute of Arts and Sciences tomorrow night at Columbia * * * Louis M. Hacker continues Struggle for Liberty at YMHA Auditorium, Lex. Ave. and p2nd St., tonight * * * Incidentally, the YMHA was founded this day exactly 65 years ago. Dr. Hacker.
26
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
^O THURSDAY. Albert Spalding and Caspar Cassato to- ^^^9 gether with the Philharmonic at Carnegie tonight * * * In Bowery flop houses, where for a nickel one could sleep on the floor, one's body space closely chalked off, a hose was turned on to "clean out" ten minutes after the fixed rising hour, which be- hooved all lodgers to make a hasty exit, in 1880.
^M FRIDAY. 5^ Gabriel * * * Edgar Allan Poe said of ^^ -■- "Fashion," produced for the first time this day in 1845, "It lacks originality and invention, (it) is theatrical but not dra- matic," but he praised the staging and acting of the play. It was a success and ran for 20 nights * * * The Workmen's Compen- sation Law was declared absolutely unconstitutional by the New York Court of Appeals this day in 1911.
15
SATURDAY. Lady Day
Today's Anniversary:
271 years ago this day the first horse race took place at "The Newmarket Course," Hempstead, L. I., N. Y. * * * This day in 1911 the Triangle Waist factory blazed, and 148 women were burned to death.
One of the most exotic experiences of our prohibition era was that of being present at an expensive night club as dry sleuths staged a raid. Customers had the thrill of seeing priceless fix- tures destroyed by axes in the hands of virtuous enforcers of morals and aridity— a fundamental feeling much akin to that of modern Coney Island patrons who are privileged to break crockery, three balls for five cents. Two noteworthy raids occurred the evening of May 25, 193^, at the Chateau Bruno and the Surf Club, in the Fifties. The damage approximated f 1^0,000.
«7
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
March
APRIL FOOL
Today I knew that Spring was here I tied a tulip round my ear And moustached seven subway signs And thought I saw an elf in Klein's, g. n.
^ft SUNDAY. Passion Sunday * * * Residents of the out- ^^^^ skirts of the Bronx were delighted this day in 1910 when the Public Service Commission let them have a new trolley * * * At about this time in 1899 the Art Workers' Club for Women was dedicated "to lift the woman model from her present indefi- nite social status— and raise her— to the position of a social equal."
^^^^ MONDAY. The Metropolitan Automotive Maintenance ^ • Show is at Commerce Hall, iii 8th Ave, * * * Double- check on exams at CCNY today * * * In order to make America safe for Democracy, the 77th division— "NY's Own," the first to go overseas, the first to go into active service and the first to hold a sector— left these shores this day in 1918. „. ^^'"^ for spring
i ^ Sing a song of foaming bock.
Put your overcoat in hock. R.
Oft TUESDAY. Moon: First Quarter-y:i6 a.m. * * * Jm%9 Waldemar Kaempffert at the Inst, for Arts and Sc, Mc- Millin Theater, Columbia * * * Leopold Stokowski batons Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie tonight * * * Mr. C. M. Graham got a patent about this time in 1910 on the new ^^^ improved teeth which he had invented. ^J
00 WEDNESDAY. Point to Remember: There are 130 ^^^^ licensed pawnshops in town where, if you have a mink coat, you can get some money on your mink coat * * * This day in 1917 a census of "the military resources of the state" was ordered, and a few days later the census was used * * * Today in 1921 John Burroughs died on a train which was taking him to his country home, in his 84th year. 28
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
O^ THURSDAY. Boston Symphony at Carnegie, 8:4^ p.m. ^-^^-^ * * * Today's luncheon (choose one): sweetbread braisee bordelaise (French); smorgasbord (Swedish); GefUlltefisch (Jewish); suki yaki (Japanese); moo goo gai pen (Chinese); chop suey (American); Gdnsebraten (Reich); coffee and sinkers (New York) * * * Also in the evening today: Charity Ice Carnival at Madison Square Garden.
O "f FRIDAY. Mwalimu Festival Chorus at Town Hall * * *
^^ -■- One of the town's oldest savings banks reported this day
in 1932 that its 378,000 depositors now owned over half a billion
dollars in savings accounts * * * This is the last day of March,
1939 * * * Coming Event: Fool's Day tomorrow.
April
Expect the worst On April First. F.
f SATURDAY. Fool's Day, as predicted * * * Classes sus- -■- pended at Columbia College as Barnard College lassies do their annual Barnard College Greek Games * * * i^ your Real Estate Tax is due this day before midnight * * * No use phoning Mr. Fish (Whitehall 4-1569); the Aquarium's telephone IS disconnected for the day.
A euphonious name, "The Mug," was given to the concert saloon of John McGurk, of County Ty- rone, Ireland, when he estab- lished his place of business in 1884. It was located at 26y Bow- ery, and the waiters, by cus- tom, carried knockout drops for presentation to customers who looked prosperous.
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
April
With deep despair My mind I vex: Why is Times Square Shaped like an X? m. w. w.
O SUNDAY. Palm Sunday * * * Mischa Elman at Kauf- ^^ man auditorium,, g2nd and Lex, * * * In the late after- noon, ^:^o, Haydn and Bach at Carnegie * * * Sensational news this day in 1877: a performer in Philadelphia was heard over the phone by an audience in NY; he played a piano which was clearly audible in this town.
3 MONDAY. Full Moon-ii:i8 p.m. * * * Polytechnic Inst, students return for hard labor as classes are re- sumed * * * Easter Show for children begins today at Blooming- dale's * * * Eyes and 'kerchiefs were wet when hundreds were moved to tears, this day in 1863, as the young and beautiful Lucille Western impersonated Lady Isabel and Madame Vine in the sensational play "East Lynne."
4 TUESDAY. Passover begins * * * Arthur Rubinstein at Carnegie this eve * * * New York State Bottlers of Car- bonated Beverages convene at the Pennsylvania, today and to- morrow * * * General and Mrs. George Washington were "at home" at the first presidential mansion, 1 Cherry Street, NYC, these days in 1789 * * * Boss Tweed died this day in 1877, in Ludlow St. Jail.
fif WEDNESDAY. The Eastern Commercial Teachers As- ^^ sociation meets today and the next ^ at the Pennsylvania * * * Conferences allowing, the teachers will hear the Philhar- monic S.S. this afternoon at Carnegie Hall. I
30
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
6
THURSDAY. Army Day * * * Barnum and Bailefs Circus may or may not be in town today till the end of this month * * * U.S. Congress declared war on Germany, this day in 1917 * * * Justice Jenks handed down a decision, this day in 1900, that mothers-in-law have no right of domicile in their married daughters' houses, and was abused roundly therefore.
7 FRIDAY. Good Friday * * * Easter recess at NY public and high schools * * * It's spring recess at Ethical Cul- ture * * * 25 years ago this day Kid McCoy k.o.'d George Chip in 1 minute at the Broadway Arena in Brooklyn.
C^ SATURDAY. Today's Anniversary: 10 years ago this ^^ day, the Supreme Court reversed its previous decision to permit a 7-cent fare on the IRT * * * 871,873,400 nickels were deposited in the turnstiles of the IRT's subway division alone during year ending June, 1937 ^^^ ^^^ total number of nickels paid into the coffers of all traffic companies was 3,130,- 490,488 during 1097 in NYC. „ , , ^/ *^ ^^o»j* ^^o
^^ ^ o JOt Perhaps the beasts enthuse about
Those big, strong bars which keep us out. M. W. W.
The night of February i, ip20, was an unhappy one. The licenses of ^,000 saloons expired at midnight on that date. These licenses were short-term certificates which their optimistic own- ers had taken out in October, confident that the prohibition idea would have blown over before the fatal date ar- nved.
81
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
April
PHILOLOGICAL NOTE
'Twas many a year before I found A dudgeon was not underground. But to this day I can't tell why A dudgeon's always billed as "high."
f]k SUNDAY. Easter * * * In case of rain, the Easter pa- *^ raders who want to have their pictures taken will show up and have their pictures taken anyway * * * We NYers spent this day in 1653 in prayer, because we had been tipped off that New England was going to attack * * * About this time in 1658 Nicholas Albertson decided he didn't want to marry his betrothed, so she complained, so he had his head shaved, and was flogged, and had his ears bored, and was put to work for 2 years.
1 i% MONDAY. Beethoven Association entertains at Town ^" Hall * * * Mayor Hugh J. Grant did not like the moral
tone of "Thou Shalt Not," playing this day in 1891 at Union
Square Theater so he ordered the theater closed.
U TUESDAY. Moon: Last quarter— ii:ii a.m. * * * Pass- over ends * * * Leopold Stokowski conducts the Phila- delphia Orchestra at Carnegie, 8:4^ p.m. * * * A correct predic- tion was made this day in 1932 when 3,000 members of the Loyal Order of Moose accepted Franklin D. Roosevelt to mem- bership and hailed him "our next president."
1 iTJ WEDNESDAY. Eric B. Gutkind will be heard tonight at ^^ YMHA's auditorium on Significant Ideas Underlying the Social Sciences * * * Point to Remember: Gentlemen {1904) ^'wearing the newfangled foreign boots with long toes should be careful lest they trip up horses or upset wagons without their knowing it."
32
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
"M O THURSDAY. Pre-Swing Note: At a dance given 27 years -^^ ago at the Hotel Astor printed slips were distributed, stating "the ushers of the Mozart Society would consider it a per- sonal favor if the guests would refrain from dancing the turkey trot, the grizzly hear, or the bunny hug— as these dances would not be in sympathy with the ideals of the Mozart Society."
M FRIDAY. The Second International Photographic Ex- position will be held at Grand Central Palace, beg^g today, ending the 2^rd * * * Afternoon concert by the Philhar- monic at Carnegie, 2:^0 p.m. * * * The "Titanic" tragedy was this day in 1912.
-g ij SATURDAY. Personal Property Tax due today * * * So icP is the Sales Tax. (Sorry to remind you, we felt we had better) * * * Almost forgot the State Income Tax, due also today, 50% at any rate * * * Lily Langtry complained this day in 1900 that Americans shouldn't hate her, because she had nothing to do with England's Boer War.
One of the goriest incidents of the "Native American" movement took place on May 10, 1849, at the Astor Place Opera House. This episode is known as the Forrest-Macready riot, and in it true patriots demon- strated in favor of Forrest, the American actor, and against Macready, his English rival. More than 200 persons were killed or injured before Macready's backers conceded that Forrest was the better actor.
33
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
April
MISANTHROPIC QUERY
Sopranos who snivel Ochi Chornya,
Why do you do it? Why were you born? Ya
Can go to the devil, or California,
And who will miss ya? Who will mournya? g.n.
1 £^ SUNDAY. Low Sunday * * * ^oo delegates endeavoring
-■-^-^ to get Better Understanding of Judaism convene today at
the Jewish Theological Seminary * * * Maxim Gorky arrived in
town this day in 1906 for the purpose of interesting America in
freedom for the Russian people.
"M J^y MONDAY. Dr. Ernest Nagel lectures on Philosophy of -■- • Science today at YMHA * * * In protest of the H.C. of clothing, 5,000 marched on Broadway and Fifth Avenue— men in overalls, women in ginghams— this day in 1920 * * * New York's first fire inspectors were appointed in 1655, but it was not until this day in i860 that legislation was passed requiring fire escapes on all tenements.
"M #• TUESDAY. Brooklyn Dodgers begin season at Ehhets mMW field * * * Eastern Arts Association at the Pennsylvania
* * * On this day in 1831, New York University was chartered by
the Legislature.
1 O WEDNESDAY. New Moon-ii:^^ a.m. * * * ^ partial
-^•-^ eclipse of the sun will he visible today at 2:14 p.m. * * *
Cotton reached 2ii/^^ the pound, the highest since the Civil War,
this day in 1917 * * * NY Legislature felt that 70 hours per week
is enough time to buy your groceries and told clerks in that indus-
try to work not more. The law became effective April 20, 1915.
34
o
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
OO THURSDAY. Point to Remember: New York's Jews ^^9 were first granted full citizenship rights on this day in 7(557 * * * Mrs. Myrtle Huddleston established a new world's record endurance swim this day in 1931, remaining in the water for 87 hours and 47 seconds * * * The American Chemical So- ciety was organized this day in 1876.
^^"f FRIDAY. Philharmonic at Carnegie, 2:^0 p.m. * * * On ^^ this day in 1892 ground was broken for Grant's Monu- ment, and it still isn't finished * * * Yesterday, in the year 1900, Jonathan West, inventor of a horseless carriage, was sued by a laundry, because the laundry's horse got scared and ran away. The laundry lost.
€^€^ SATURDAY. Something to shoot at: 331,913 persons ^^ ^^ enjoyed performances given by NY's Federal Theatre during the first 3 months of 1938; the number of people attend- ing 4,087 professional shows by the same Theatre during 1937 was 3,609,984; in addition there were 513,237 who came to see 1,412 non-professional performances of community and school groups, a total of 4,123,321 for 5,499 varieties of productions.
In the year igoo there was a considerable munici- pal hullabaloo about what lady cops should wear. Hundreds of yards of dark blue serge had been ordered by the city fathers, but nobody could decide how the uniforms of the new "petti- coat squad" should be cut. The matrons were finally dressed in the officially correct fashion for the making of a pinch (they had, of course, been wearing their own clothes meanwhile) but the matter was never really decided until police offi- cials decided they might as well let the ladies wear mufti, if that was what they wanted*
35
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
April
CHANTY FOR A STATEN ISLAND VOYAGE
Oh, they may have their swanky ships. And they can keep their Norway fjordsl But I can make two daily trips As one of the commuting hjoardsl w. d.
OQ SUNDAY. St. George * * * The D.A.R. together with ^^^9 jjiilitary organizations and members of General Grant's family, assemble at Grant's Tomb in commemoration of the for- mer President's birthday.
€% M MONDAY. Point to Remember: New York's bartenders ^^ ^ have taken an official stand against horse racing and prize fighting, on the grounds that it takes money that should by all rights be spent in saloons * * * Her homely features and lack of feminine charm drove Charlotte Cushman, this day in 1837, to play masculine roles; she became famous as "Romeo" at the Na- tional Theater.
€y HJ TUESDAY. St, Mark * * * NTs Women's Symphony ^^^^ Orchestra at Carnegie * * * Simon Bellison's Clarinet Ensemble at Town Hall * * * This day in 1907, Mme. Nellie Melba sang farewell to America at the Manhattan Opera House as Mimi in "La Boheme." ^ • c^ • d
Prosaic Spring Poem Spring-cleaning housewives waving brushes, mops, and brooms Have no time for capers under little April mooms.
G.N.
^£t WEDNESDAY. Moon: First Quarter-i:2^ p.m. * * * ^^^9 Coolidge String Quartet tonight at Carnegie together with Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy * * * The Columbia University boathouse opened yesterday in 1931, proved to have no room for the boats, so this day ^,^^ they were put in another building. ^3
86
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
^^ THURSDAY. Firsts: Charles O'Connor of NY was the ^ • first Catholic to be nominated for the Presidency, in 1872 * * * The Jewish Daily News was the first daily Yiddish newspaper, 1885 * * * The first tuxedo appeared in 1891 on the Bowery, of all places * * * The first Sunday comic strip was "Hogan's Alley" (1893).
^ft FRIDAY. Symphony at Carnegie, 2:^0 p.m. * * * It was ^^9 in the year 1885 and Central Park was overrun by stray cats and the citizens organized in posses of nine each (one for each life) and they exterminated the cats.
^O SATURDAY. The Faifs tomorrow * * * Daylight Sav- m^%y 'lYig time starts tomorrow at 2 a.m. * * * Popular concert at 8:4^ P.M. * * * Not so popular meeting at tax office: Real Estate Tax without interest today and tomorrow; then with * * * The National Horseshoe Pitching Association was formed 24 years ago about this time for the purpose of nationally associat- ing all horseshoe pitchers * * * At the last census (1930) there were 3,457,490 fe- and 3,472,956 he-males in NYC; placed side by side it would be decidedly unfair to 1 5,466 he-s.
Col. W. F. (Buffalo Bill) Cody arrived in March, 1900, at the Hoffman House direct from his ranch in The Little Big Horn Basin. "The Colonel" the New York World assured its subscribers, "is here waiting for the arrival of the rough riders of all nations, who will in a few days assemble here for their annual engagement at Madison Square Garden."
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
April
MAY 1ST
An economic tory O C
Had an awful scare, q5 ^^IK^^
Fell asleep at Wall Street,
Got off at Union Square. R.
O A SUNDAY. D. S. T. starts at 2 a.m. today * * * New ^W\W York World's Fair 19^9 Incorporated opens today with *]8 hot dog and 55 popcorn stands, 44 fruit juice and ^8 root beer bars, and some 100 other food and beverage stands and bars, in charge of Grover A. Whalen, Official Greeter. The reason (for the Fair): George Washington was inaugurated exactly 1^0 years ago this day * * * But Fair or no Fair, there's a concert at 5 p.m. at Carnegie Hall, S. E. corner ^yth and yth Avenue.
May
Each street with traffic's over-gushing. And all is Fair in love and Flushing. M. W. VV.
1 MONDAY. Columbia College: last day for filing appli- -*- cations for scholarships * * * Parade on Fifth Ave. * * * The first penny post cards appeared this day in 1873 * * * To- day's Puzzle: there are 99,599 stanchions and signs in NYC giving warnings and directions to influence traffic and confuse people.
3 TUESDAY. The Paraders got tired at 12:^0 this a.m. * * # Franconi's Hippodrome at 23rd and Broadway opened this day in 1853 with chariot and ostrich races.
3 WEDNESDAY. Full Moon-io:i^ a.m. * * * The Wag- nerian Opera season begins at the Metropolitan O. H. * * * Field Day at Polytechnic Institute * * * It was in 1890, this day, that Manhattan- and Brooklyn-ites desired to unite as one big family; so a commission was created to arrange >^^ the nuptials. \^/
38
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
4 THURSDAY. Point to Remember: Don't sell liquor in a courthouse while a court is sitting, it's a misdemeanor (Penal Code, Sec. lypo) * * * The most popular method of com- mitting murder is by stabbing; out of 331 murder and man- slaughter cases, 122 chose the stiletto in preference to a bread- knife, in 1937; ^^^ least popular was throwing the victim from a fire escape, of which method there was only one sample.
5 FRIDAY. To get that fish story, reserve a seat on the "Fisherman's Special," leaving Penn. Station in the small morning hours, beg'g tomorrow, every Saturday, till Sept,
6 SATURDAY. You're probably leaving town today: lock your doors and windows * * * "Hail to the Chief": 30 of our 31 Presidents were married (5 twice) and had 116 children (70 boys, 46 girls); 7 were NYers and 22 were lawyers; the young- est to become President was Theodore Roosevelt (42) and the oldest William H. Harrison (68); James A. Garfield died at the age of 49, John Adams lived to reach 90 years; 2 successive presi- dents, John Adams and Jefferson, died on the same day (July 4, 1826).
One of the most notable^ if not elegant, social affairs of i8pp was the first fort- nightly banquet of the Hobo Club, held in the clubrooms at 25 Mulberry Street, on February 8, of that year. The banquet was strictly subscription, each guest having chipped in two cents a day for thirteen days. Covers were laid for thirty, and the guests who hadn't paid got trund out.
59
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
May
Oh, May is really very nice. For with one final peroration Concerning drinking, blondes and dice. The wife leaves town for my vacationi w. d.
7 SUNDAY, ^^rd Day of Omer * * * Campus Day at Man- hattan College * * * The SS "Lusitania" was sunk by German submarines off Head of Kinsale, Ireland, this day in 1915
* * * NYers got their first glimpse of a lion this day in 1728, at the Jamaica Fair.
C^ MONDAY. Today's Puzzle: More than 10,000 autos are ^^ abandoned in the streets of NY every year * * * The town was still chuckling, this day in 1835, over the discomfiture of young, brash James Gordon Bennett, because the first word of the first item of the first number of the Morning Herald was a misprint— "Ptblished daily by James Gordon Bennett Sc Co."
* * * The people were plenty sore this day in 1900, for the Tam- many-controlled ice trust had raised prices 100%, and refused to sell 5-cent pieces of ice any more.
9 TUESDAY. Sons of the Order of the Golden Sceptre leave home to attend convention tomorrow in our midst
* * * The day before this in 1932 Dr. Rowena Ripin told the Association of Consulting Psychologists that ladies were 3.3% happier than gentlemen, so the ladies read it this day and became
JO oO/ happier. -^^ ^^^ laugh at the antics of the monkeys in the zoo, suh,
O'O /O rr ' Just because they look and act so much like you, huh?
M. F.
1 1% WEDNESDAY. This is the last day on which your thesis
-■■^-^ MS will be accepted at Polytechnic Institute * * * Two
famous Jims, Jeffries and Corbett, battled for 23 rounds in favor
of the former, this day in 1900 * * * The first American Bible
Association was founded this day in 1816.
40
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
n THURSDAY. Moon: Last Quarter-y.40 a.m. * * * Ora- torical contest finals at St. John's College, 8:^0 p.m. * * * Irving Berlin made his NY appearance this day in 1888 in plenty of time to compose "Alexander's Rag Time Band" * * * ^^^ Daniel DeLeon, Socialist editor, died this day in 1914. \\_^
"M €^ FRIDAY. American Management Association — Insur- -■-^^ ance Division in session at the New Yorker * * * Point to Remember: It is unlawful to boil, burn or grind bones in Man- hattan; nor is it permitted to skin a horse, cow or any other dead animal; nor boil offal * * * Licenses to carry pistols were issued to 25,043 persons in NYC during 1937 ^^^ 25,531 arrests were made by our finest in the same year for murder, manslaughter, robbery, burglary, assault, larceny and other felonies, leaving ex- actly 488 pistols unaccounted for.
"M O SATURDAY. Get your davenport ready: Your wife's M.^^ relatives are here for the Fair, and that's where you'll sleep * * * An air mail pilot, Charles A. Lindbergh, arrived in town this day in 1927, after a record flight from the coast, cover- ing 2,550 miles in 2 1 hours and 20 minutes.
In the days of the Old Bowery back yards were by custom used for chicken runs, to the continuous indignation of the New York City police force. The Jews and Italians of the Bowery, Bax- ter, Division, Grand, Mulberry and other streets stocked their yards with chickens, which, spasmodically shoved into other precincts by police, invari- ably came back again. The problem was not solved until the chicken owners, puzzled but wearied by the turmoil, shrugged their shoulders philosoph- ically and ate the chickens.
41
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
May
At Flushing, gates swing open wide- Come on, don't be a chump: There's room for just one more inside. If he is not too plump. m. w. w.
M SUNDAY. Florists' Day * * * Mothers' Day * * * Flor- ists' Day * * * Rogation Sunday * * * A cornerstone was laid in a wheat field this day in 1764 for St. Paul's Chapel, the oldest church in NYC and still on the same spot between Fulton and Vesey.
~fl flf MONDAY. The International Plate Printers' and Die
•^^^ Stampers' Union of NA start a four-day discussion today
* * * Dr. Ernest Nagel will lecture on the Philosophy of Science
at YMHA, Lex. Ave. & p2nd St. * * * Final exams at NYU start
and continue till Sat.
1 £^ TUESDAY. St. Joan of Arc * * * The last Contem- -■-^-^ porary Anthropology (the i^th) lecture by Dr. Alexander Lesser at Kaufmann Auditorium, p2nd and Lex.
'M ^ WEDNESDAY. Today is Cooper Union's exam day M. W * * * S. & D. of Liberty, State Council of NY, and the United Order of the Golden Cross convene * * * Farmingdale, L.I., was scared silly one year and a day ago, when the Army staged a mock battle with searchlights and airplanes and flash- light bombs and some of the bombs didn't go off until they lit in people's chimneys.
42
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
1 52 THURSDAY. New Moon— 11:2^ p.m. * * * Ascension JIO * * * The State's Hospital, Dietetic, Nurse Anesthetists and Medical Record Librarian Associations talk things over for 5 days at the Pennsylvania * * * Among the arrivals at Rockaway Point was a 50-foot whale, this day last year; he threshed around for a while, splashed water 25 feet high, blinked at other visitors and went someplace else * * * A call for all males from 21 to 30 was issued this day in 1917, for war.
1 Ck FRIDAY. Nothing much has ever happened on May ig, -^•-^ and the odds are against anything much happening to- day; ''The Almanac for New Yorkers" never tells a lie * * * The Bowery's Social Register in 1883: Red and Bull Hurley, Googy Corcoran, Slops and Baboon Connelly, Mike Lloyd, Red Rocks Farrell, Fig McGerald, Hoggy Walsh. Their motto: "A guy ain't tough till he's knocked his man out."
^ft SATURDAY. Alumni Day at Pratt Institute * * * ^^^^ NYU's Hall of Fame was opened this day in 1901 * * * The National Academy of Arts and Design held its first public exhibition in NYC this day in 1826 and, on the profane side, the first gas pipes were laid end to end the same day, but in 1825.
The metropolitan cop, after genera- tions of honest perspiration superin- duced by regulation garb, is now permitted by official ukase to become as cool as his nature permits. Commis- sioner Valentine rules: ". . . members of the force on patrol or traffic duty . . . may . . . remove summer blouses." The well-dressed cop wears regulation shirt, black four-in-hand and black belt. No gloves or suspenders. The shield is fastened to the left side of the belt.
193$
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
May
MAY POEM
In the Spring the poets sing About the bird upon the wing. Upon my word that is absurd. Because the wing is on the bird. h. de s.
^]| SUNDAY. Feels like summer, doesn't it? * * * Charles ^^ Lindbergh arrived this day in 1927 in Paris after a 33V2" hour solo flight.
^\^\ MONDAY. Final exams for all courses at Columbia ^^ ^^ * * * There-isn't-any-jreedom-any-more department: You may not, unless you want to go to a NY jail, sell pretzels on sticks (Sanitary Code); nor eavesdrop (Penal Code); nor shake your carpet in public (City Ordinance); nor, if you own or man- age a movie theatre, fail to scrape the gum from the seats once a
mnnfh /<:J|•mf^ Father, dear father, come home with me comma
muiiLii \^aaiixc;. ^^^ ^^.^^ ^^^^ ^ highball with Grandma and Momma.
T. S.
^O TUESDAY. John D. Rockefeller died this day last year, ^^ at the age of 98 * * * Brooklyn Bridge was ready this day in 1883 to be opened the next * * * Memo for Gourmands: Over 70,000,000 pounds of perishable food arrive in town every working day, by train, truck and boat; this includes almost a daily million pounds of fruits and vegetables, mostly bananas and olives, shipped from Central and South America, Europe and Africa.
^/M WEDNESDAY. Shevuoth * * * Today's Anniversary: | A^^ 120 years ago this day the first NY-built steamboat, the "Savannah," left NY harbor, crossed the Atlantic and reached Liverpool 26 days later. |
44
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
€^ IJ THURSDAY. Moon: First Quarter-6:20 p.m. * * * The ^^ first airplane express NY to Washington made the trip in 3 hrs. 5 mins., this day in 1916 * * * St. Patrick's Cathe- ^0^ dral opened for worship, 1879. ^J
^ft FRIDAY. Spring's over at the New School for Social Re- ^^^^ search * * * The editor of the Evening Post received letters from horrified subscribers this day in 1826, protesting that they had seen naked bathers in the East River, so the editor printed the protests, so quite a few people walked over to the East River the next day to protest personally, and walked back when they saw the bathers were little boys.
^J^^ SATURDAY. Luna Park opens its season today * * * ^ • The Century of Progress Exposition opened in Chicago, this day in 1932 * * * Also the Chrysler Building in 1930, but in NYC * * * 14,000 IRT workers got a raise this day in 1937, as the Interborough signed up with the Transport Workers Union * * * Today's Horror: Some 8,000 couples ask for marriage licenses every year, and then forget all about it.
Accumulated years of dryness caused, one tumultuous day in 1933, the most frenzied rush to the dramshops which New York's liquor stores have ever known. Latecomers were turned away unserved and unmolli- fied. The World stated that ". . . the liquor rooms of department stores sold over 100,000 bottles of whisky, gin and wines. The crowds stretched for blocks, waiting in the rain to get in and buy. The supply was inadequate. Drinkers thronged hotels and restaurants."
45
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
May
This month your springtime romance, real or
phoney Is apt to culminate in matrimony. And it's too late to profit by my warning To break it up some rainy April morning.
M. w. w.
O Jt SUNDAY. Pentecost * * * Whit-Sunday * * * Hun- ^^^^ dreds, maybe thousands, of scorchers went up Fifth Ave. this day in 1883 when the League of American Wheelmen had their big parade * * * On this night in 1935 Mr. James McLarnin and Mr. Barney Ross had their third fight, which Mr. Ross won this time.
^ A MONDAY. Point to Remember: 75I/2 Bedford Street is ^^^^ the narrowest house in NYC. It's g' 6" wide and 5 stories high, built in a driveway and can be entered only through the rear * * * Another Point to Remember: Houston Street is the dividing line between named and numbered streets. If you can count you'll get along nicely north of Houston, while south of it you'd better ask a native, or better still a gendarme.
^B ^^ TUESDAY. Memorial Day: holiday all over town except ^^^^ Columbia University * * * Coming headache: Chauf- feurs' driving licenses expire tomorrow * * * New Yorkers are generous: there's the bagatelle of tax-exempt land to the tune of $4,581,263,094; at 2% $91,625,261.88 * * * There was a panic on the new Brooklyn Bridge this day in 1883, and 12 people were trampled to death.
O f WEDNESDAY. If you don't have your blood test today,
^^ ^ you won't be the first June bride * * * This day in 1879
the Hippodrome on Fourth Avenue became Madison Square
Garden * * * A "new deal" was needed by the 23 banks in NYC
who were obliged to shut down for several days this time in 1837.
46
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
June
1 THURSDAY. Full Moon-To:ii p.m. * * * Founders Exhibit at Grand Central Art Galleries * * * Judge Franklin Chase Hoyt of the NY Children's Court won $25,000 this day in 1929 for telling us how to have temperance under the Volstead Act * * * it was in 1872, this day, that the Erie (Rail- road) was serving food and drinks on its trains for the ^^ first time. \^)
2 FRIDAY. Summer session at St. John's College starts today * * * President Grover Cleveland was married this day in 1886 to Miss Frances Folsom at the White House * * * Grover Aloysius Whalen greets parents this day in 1886 on his first arrival in town.
3 SATURDAY. Fireworks at the Fair today, unless they all blew up yesterday * * * The burlesque "Evangeline" was a great hit-show these days in 1877 fit the Daly Theater; Nat C. Goodwin and Henry E. Dixey played a horse in the show, but neither ever told which was hind legs and which the fore.
The first attempt td reach the stratosphere in America was made by Joseph Decker or Decker in New York. Decker arrived from England in June, 178$, and immediately began circulating his "Broadside" of advertisements, and on June 10, lyS^, he sent up "an Hot Air inflated Balloon 10 feet high" from 14 Wil- liam Street. The balloon landed in Flushing. Four years later, when Decker himself went aboard as pilot, the balloon was consumed by flames before it left the ground.
47
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
June
AS AGE CREEPS ON—
June is glowing, August stately, April's full of smiles and tears; Have you noticed, rather lately. How the months rush into years? w. d.
M SUNDAY. Trinity Sunday * * * Baccalaureate Services -*- at Columbia and NYU, also at Pratt, and Commence- ment at Jewish Theological Seminary * * * "Go lay an egg" was taken seriously by a little white hen who suddenly laid one 21/^" through the center, 3 §4" in length and 7%" in circumference at the middle and 9^2" ^^e long way, this day in 1937.
fif MONDAY. St. Boniface * * * Class Day at Columbia 9W * * * Edison Electric Institute meets at Waldorf-Astoria
* * * Sea-serpents pay their annual visits to NY and NJ resorts
around this time of the year.
^? TUESDAY. Five thousand (est.) degrees will be con- ^^ f erred by Columbia University today, including several without charge * * * West Twelfth Street has a baby: Little West Twelfth Street; it's located near the North River, several blocks away from its father thoroughfare * * * Today's Horror: The 34th Street and Park Avenue N.E. address has no house number.
7 WEDNESDAY. Final exams at Yeshiva College * * * Commencement at NYU * * * John D. Rockefeller, Jr. took the town by surprise this day in 1932, when, a lifelong teetotaler and supporter of the Anti-Saloon League, he urged wet planks in the platforms of both major parties and repeal of the 18th Amendment * * * A "Bonus" Army was on the march to Washington from NYC this day in 1932.
48
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS 1939
» THURSDAY. Corpus Christi * * * Brooklyn's school children have a holiday, celebrating Anniversary Day, a yearly custom during which all kids participate in patriotic parades in various sections of the borough. This is the day in the year during which Manhattan's youngsters are sore and filled with envy of their comrades across the river.
9 FRIDAY. Moon: Last Quarter— iiioy p.m. * * * Point to Remember: It was on this sort of hot day, in lySS, that a Mr. Hall of ^6 Chatham St. first manufactured ice cream on a commercial basis, and what did he get out of it? * * * As far as that goes, Mrs. Henry A. Beach, wife of an invalided school teacher, learned how to run a Scholes & Glidden typewriter in early 1900 and became the first of New York's female typists, and what did she get out of it? For questions read the Almanac ^=^ for New Yorkers; for answers the NY City Guide (adv.). s^J
1 i^ SATURDAY. Ho hum; another weekend, and more folk M.\W to see the Fair: How do you like sleeping on the daven- port by this time? * * * The "Phoenix," the first steamboat to make an ocean voyage, went from NYC to Philadelphia by sea, this day in 1809.
"By the Liev' Governor" (Jacob Leisler):
"Whereas There is made an Order
dated this day to Secure all porke w*^m
this City to be Brought to his Ma**^*
Store howse for his "* Ma**** service.
These . . . will & require you to make
dilig* Enquiry & Search In all sellars
stores pack howses and other places
where you Know suspect or hear of any
to Be take an Exact ace* of y' names of y* owners & secure s^ porke , . , &
in Case of refusall for opening s^ sellars stores and pack howses to use
all manuall force to Brake open y" same. . . . Given ire this 15th day of
May, 1689."
49
1939
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
June
May and December weddings vary Sometimes they happen in January, Sometimes, too, they occur in June, Always involving a bride and groom, w. d.
"fl "M SUNDAY. Brooklyn Lodge of Elks hold annual Patriotic -■--■- Service in Prospect Park * * * If all the paved streets of NYC were measured, they'd add up to 2,811.24 miles, or more than ^ of the earth's equatorial radius; but there are close to 2,000 miles of unpaved streets in greater NYC, which is more sur- prising.
*! ^\ MONDAY. Colleges are still at it: Class Day at Man- ^^ hattan; NYU starts the year's Summer Term * * * "The World's Strongest Man," Eugene Sandow, made his NY debut this day in 1893, ^^ ladies swooned and hussies leered.
1 O TUESDAY. St. Anthony of Padua * * * Ten million -■-^-^ more passengers were carried in 1900 than in 1899 on the various branches of NY's El, which additional revenue made it possible to electrify all trains this day in 1900 * * * Twenty-two thousand music lovers attended a Beethoven Festival at the old Skating Rink at 61st and 3rd Avenue this day in 1870.
M WEDNESDAY. Flag Day * * * This is the end of the term, called commencement, at Hunter College * * * A resident of Flushing was desirous this day in 1900 to find out how much water was in his well; when he accidentally toppled in, crawling out without harm, he'd found that it reached the second button from the top of his waistcoat.
50
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
"M HjT THURSDAY. State Income Tax due today * * * Federal
-■- ^^ ditto— so sorry * * * The Brooklyn Dodgers dodged the
burning sun and inaugurated night baseball this day in 1938 at
Ebbets Field. 38,748 fans liked the cool breezes, and were happy,
although John Van Der Meer allowed not a single hit and the
In the territory traversed by the Bronx River The natives exist almost solely on chopped chicken liver.
J.R.
~fl £^ FRIDAY. The Caravan Theater is in your neighbor- -"-^-^ hood, with a good show tonight, and free * * * The first Japanese Embassy delegation landed at the battery this day in i860, lead by Ambassador Simmi Boojsen No-kami * * * Point to remember: The 212 religious bodies in the US are represented in NYC in one form or another.
1 ^ SATURDAY. New Moon-Si^y a.m. * * * Point to Re- -■- • member: Leaf-tobacco warehouses at Pearl, Water and Front Streets were the first establishments in town to close Satur- day afternoons at j p.m. during the summer months (1880).
In his restricted field, Dong Fey was a metropolitan celebrity of the late 1800's. Dong Fey, who was proprietor of a shop at 19 Pell Street, was known to the press and public of the day as the fattest Chinaman in town. He weighed 310 pounds— not a prodigious figure- but, as an added feature, Dong Fey also was the sleeping champion of Greater NY. He frequently slumbered, while awed sycophants watched, for three days without waking.
5»
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
June
"What is so rare as a day in June?"
Asked the rhetorical poet. \fjy^y f Of^
Nothing! And anyone not a buffoon
Would know it. w. d.
•go SUNDAY, Father's Day * * * Today's Warming ■-'^ Thought: The city's comptroller reports that during 1937 $125,467.01 was returned by persons who received relief illegally. But there's another item in the same official's report: $89,955.25 worth of unclaimed salaries and wages at the end of the fiscal year; we're just puzzled about this.
1 €) MONDAY. Commencement at Brooklyn College * * *
-■-•-^ The first NY baseball team. The Knickerbocker Club,
played the NY Baseball Club at the Elysian Field at Hoboken
this day in 1846 * * * Henry Louis Gehrig was born this day, but
in 1903.
^^^^ TUESDAY. The Royal Order of Scottish Clans convenes ^^J^ in our city * * * Among the 640,000 buildings in NY, 716 have more than 20 stories, 4,000 from 10 to 20 stories, and 500 are over 500 feet high; the others are just houses * * * And those street lamps that light your footsteps home add up to 1 19,546 and cost $5,000,000 a year to operate.
^^ WEDNESDAY. Border Trouble in Brooklyn: To the ^■^-^ Worshipful Cort of Sessions nowe sitting at Gravesende, June 21, 1683: these maye certiffie thatt inn obedience too an order ffrom sayde Cort and bye consente of bo the townes of Breucklyn and Ffackbush, too run the lyne twixt the sayde townes which are wee underwritten, have done and markt the trees twixt towne and towne, as witness our hands the days and years above written. Jacques Cortelyou . . . Richard Stillwell.
52
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
€%€% THURSDAY. Summer arrives today, at 2:40 a.m. * * * ^ ^ The Albion, a weekly paper devoted to British, Colonial and foreign news, began its career at 37 William Street, this day in 1822 * * * If you haven't overcome that kicktown craving for a mid-street promenade, you can indulge in this pastime any day between noon and 2 p.m. downtown in Nassau Street.
^^ O FRIDAY. Moon: First Quarter— 11:^^ p.m. * * * Lewi- ^^^ sohn Stadium at CCNY campus opens its concert season * * * Broome, Norfolk and East Houston Streets was the beer area during the early nineties; 242 large beer saloons and 61 liquor dives were crowded day in, day out— and nights, too. The area bounded by Chambers, Centre, Bayard Streets and the Bow- ery was the one where whisky reigned, with 99 liquor ^^^^ saloons and only 41 catering to beer drinkers. ^J
^/H SATURDAY. St. John, Baptist * * * Midsummer Day ^^ -*■ * * * The first Protestant Episcopal Negro Bishop, Samuel David Ferguson, was consecrated in Grace Church this day in 1885 * * * Canfield's Gambling House at 5 East 44th Street was a famous rendez-vous for Ward McAllister's "400" this time in 1910.
John Coleman, an Englishman who had accompanied Henry Hudson on previous voyages, was the first white person to die on the Island of Man- hattan, it is recorded. He was shot through the throat by an Indian arrow, September 6, i6op, while returning with an expedition sent to explore the Narrows. He was buried at Coleman's Point, which is named after him.
53
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
June
Once again the Lewisohn Stadium's Filled with gentlemen and ladiums Who've deserted Loew and Minsky For Debussy and Stravinski. g. n.
€^ IJ SUNDAY. Sunday after Trinity * * * Today's Anniver- ^^^9 sary: 298 years ago Governor Kieft instituted the first fair in New York— to be correct, two fairs, one for cattle and one for hogs; both were held at the Bowling Green * * * Joe Louis spoiled Primo Camera at Yankee Stadium in the 6th round, this night in 1935.
€% ^^ MONDAY. Woodmen of the World Sovereign Camp at ^^9 the Pennsylvania, which is fireproof * * * The first illus- trated tabloid in NYC— T/?^ Daily iVeu;^— appeared this day in 1919 * * * The 10,000 fish in the NY Aquarium review in the neighborhood of 3,000,000 visitors a year * * * Dr. Keathe's Yellow Dock Syrup purifies the blood, invigorates the body, gives tone to the nerves, strength to the muscles, health to every chan- nel, joint and limb. One bottle often cures. (Adv. 1863.)
^^ TUESDAY. Building the World of Tomorrow is in ac- ^ ^ tive progress at the NY World's Fair ip^p Incorporated # * # 'pjig Bowery Theater was the scene of Mile. Celeste's first appearance as dancer and actress, this day in 1827.
#^€^ WEDNESDAY. Summer session begins at Manhattan ^^^^ College today * * * Twenty-five years ago this day 2 members of Austria's imperial house were assassinated and three years later 7,446 NYers lost their lives in consequence thereof.
54
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
^ A THURSDAY. St. Paul * * * St. Peter * * * Columbia ^^y University conferred the city's first Law degree (LLM) this day in 1864 * * * The estimated population of NYC for 1937 is 7,500,000 which is a larger population than enjoyed by any of our 48 states with the exception of Illinois, Pennsylvania and NY.
0#^ FRIDAY. Some 12,000 summer students, young and old, ^9\W domestic and foreign, arrive at Morningside Heights today to the great delight of cafeterias, soda dispensers, lodging houses, the IRT and book emporiums in that vicinity * * * The murder of J. B. Elwell, famous bridge player, this month in 1920, has remained one of the several unsolved crimes in our city.
July
Note on a Fight Won on a Foul That rumble you hear beneath the clover Is John L. Sullivan turning over.
M. W. W.
1 SATURDAY. Full Moon-i 1:16 a.m. * * * Special trains -■- stocked with 6 cases of champagne, 50 bottles of whisky, 500 ditto of beer, 100 bottles of soda water and 50 siphons of seltzer, some sandwiches and 50 packs of cards, left NY, also stocked with 500 Tammany statesmen, for the Kansas City Convention, this day in 1900. ^*^*^
Do you overwork your overcoat? Most people in New York did in 19^8, according to current statis- tics. Men earning $1,34^ a year got new overcoats only once in eight years, the table shows, and those earning $2,010 replaced theirs once every three and a half years.
55
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
July
I dread the sultry summer sun; I dread the skies of cloudless blue! But most of all, these trying days, I dread that oft-repeated phrase: "Is it hot enough for you?" h. n.
2 SUNDAY. The Swiss-American Gymnastic Association is in town * * * Flatbush took on character, this day in 1791, when plans for a court house and a jail were accepted.
At noon today, before you knew, One-Nine-Three-Nine was halfway through. M. W. W.
O MONDAY. Point to Remember: Citizens buying fire- ^^ crackers in NJ for tomorrow should remember that they are illegal if they contain chlorates (except chlorate of potash and barium), picrates, fulminates and sulphur in admixture * * * This day in 1900 Mrs. Belle Chalmer said her husband made her wear his old trousers for housework, and so sued him for divorce.
4 TUESDAY. Independence Day * * * Feast of Tammus * * * Sachems of Tammany Hall explain to NYers the real significance of this Day . . . ''year in and year out celebrated in this great city of ours ../'*** "The Pirate's Signal" delighted the spectators at the Bowery Theater this day in 1840, when a full-rigged ship sailed across the stage in a huge tank of water.
5 WEDNESDAY. Summer entertainments open at Colum- bia, CCNY and Union Theological * * * The Honorable the Corporation of the City of New York had a gay time on the loth anniversary of July 4th (1786). John Corre's catering bill for the official celebration was for: 100 gallons of punch £75.; 130 bottles of wine £32.10; cheese and crackers £20. and 10 pounds' worth of broken and missing wineglasses, tumblers, bowls, de- canters, plates, bottles and pewter mugs.
56
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
6 THURSDAY. Point to Remember: If the Communists ever split the country up equally, we'll each get i8 acres, hut lower Manhattan's spoken for * * * Swallowing cigarette smoke proved an ineffective means to commit suicide, this day in 1903, when a youngster of 24 tried it and just got sick.
7 FRIDAY. The Beaches will be jammed tomorrow, but nobody will mind much * * * Agents' Convention of the Equitable Life Insurance Co. of Iowa, at the Waldorf * * * For- mer Governor Alfred E. Smith returned this day last year from his first trip to Europe * * * Why men were men in 1885: Porter- house Steak— .28; Sirloin— .20; Bone Steak— .18; Rump Steak— .15.
» SATURDAY. Point to Remember: No gentleman, how- ever great the provocation, will ever crowd, or ogle, or otherwise make himself conspicuous at a public place * * * On this day in 1900 John Farrell told his friends that he could hypno- tize animals by a secret process and he went to the Bronx Zoo and hypnotized a snake and a brown bear but when John hypno- tized a polar bear and put his arm in the polar bear's mouth to prove it the bear was not hypnotized and John Farrell got his arm bit off.
Marie Barberi, a taxi-dancer and street- walker, murdered her sweetie, Dom- enico Cataldo, on May 25, 189^. She was 25 years old and had lived for ten years as a daughter of joy. Marie, her counsel urged, was a good girl at heart, and had longed to retire to a Jersey farm. But Domenico was uncooperative, and when she stopped him in front of a bar at Avenue A and 14th Street he refused her again, so she stabbed him to the heart. She was acquitted, her man having done her wrong.
57
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
July
FORTY-SECOND STREET
On the library steps I sit Wondering what will come of it. Musing, "Does it really matter If the pigeons get much fatter?" g. n.
A SUNDAY. Moon: Last Quarter-2:^p p.m. * * * Tonight ^-^ the Jersey tunnels and Geo. Washington Bridge expect their heaviest homeward traffic of the season, excepting holidays * * * This day in 1929 the first cable of the Geo. Washington bridge connected New Jersey and New York * * * This day in 1825 saw the first passenger balloon ascension in the city, and the Marquis de Lafayette was a passenger.
1 1^ MONDAY. Point to Remember: Tannic acid will keep -"-^-^ you from dying of sunburn , but you'll still wish you
hadn't done it * * * This day in 1929, the US Treasury reduced
the dollar's size to B-i/8" x 2-9/16''.
"f ~f TUESDAY. Latest styles in books are shown at Columr
-^-*- bia University's Educational Exposition this week * * *
The day's topic, this day, back in 1805: Vice-President Burr and
ex-Secretary Hamilton fought a duel on the Palisades near Wee-
hawken over in Jersey and Mr. Hamilton was shot.
1 ^ WEDNESDAY. Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, invites ■*-^^ your presence for an entrance interview and test, either at p A.M. or I P.M. * * * Questioned a testy Tribune reader, this day in 1903: "Why is it that a woman stands with an expression of patient resignation and helplessness on her face in a half-filled street car until some man points to an empty seat, then, and only then, seats herself with a relieved manner and begins to look for a nickel?"
58
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
1 O THURSDAY. Two days to St. Swithin's Day * * * "I'd
-■-^^ rather go to Hell with the Sinners than go to Heaven
with the Suckers" were the dying words of "Hi" Pierce, one of
NY's oldest gamblers and a nephew of a former President, this
day in 1900.
M FRIDAY. One day to St. Swithin's Day * * * An out- raged Dodger fan, who resented allusions to his favorite team as "a bunch of bums," killed two men this day last year * * * Among the 8,947,900 daily subway. El, street car and bus passengers in good old NY are 1,400 daily who use slugs for a free ride and many are arrested for it * * * NY launched its first World's Fair July 14, 1853; ^^ aroused notable lack of interest, flopped.
"fl HJ SATURDAY. St. Swithin, and never mind the 40 days of -■-•^ rain * * * If higher learning at CCNY or Brooklyn C. is your ambition come Fall, you must apply for it today * * * And if all the eggs used by NYers and guests in one year (2,435,147,280) and all the butter used ditto ditto (244,299,056 pounds) were to be thrown in one immense pan for a dish of scrambled eggs, it would take 695 men to do nothing else for one year but to open the eggs and throw 'em in the pan; which is too long to wait for scrambled eggs.
The famous Broadway Squad of the city's police was organized in i860. This was the first unit of the department to have special traffic duties. The members were stationed along Broadway from Bowling Green to 59th Street to wave the buggies on.
59
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
July
Now is the time that Stadium clients Say nasty things about the Giants, And meanwhile Polo-Grounded cranks Dust off their insults for the Yanks, m. w w.
1 tfm SUNDAY. New Moon— 4:0^ p.m. * * * Italians here and -^^-^ elsewhere celebrate "Our Lady of Mt. Carmel" * * * $600 bought 640 acres of Texas land in 1882, around this time; this has nothing to do with NY, but it's a big chunk of land * * * Forty million gallons more water per day were released this day in 1890 when the new aqueduct opened.
]fl ^^ MONDAY. Point to Remember: If your favorite baseball
-*- • team was leading the league on July 4th, it was a good
omen, but if it was leading today it was a better omen * * * Terry
McGovern won over Frank Erne in a fierce battle lasting 2 rounds,
2 minutes and 8 seconds, this day in 1900.
"f €B TUESDAY. Point to Remember: Total resources of NY's ■"-'-^ banks reached $1^,206,406,^^4 in ig^J, enough to liqui- date all debts our 20 World War debtor nations owed us in i^ip, and leave bank resources in the sum of about fy, ^00, 000, 000 un- touched * * * The distance from City Hall to the city line is 14^ miles; 2 hours on foot, or a nickel by chemin de fer, so it is better to ride.
1 O WEDNESDAY. 5^ Vincent de Paul * * * NY's first Sum-
-^•^ mer Theater, the Mount Vernon Gardens, opened this
day in 1800, at the junction of Broadway and Leonard Street * * *
General Balbo and his fleet of 24 Italian planes arrived here on
their way to the Chicago Fair, this day in 1933.
60
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
^O THURSDAY. 5^ Margaret * * * Sheriff O'Brien had a ^^^^ grievance of his own, this day in 1871, and he told the editor of the Times, and the T. began to publish the doings of the Tweed Ring and they were below par and Mr. Tweed got into
trouble. '^^^ Coney Island seaside
Is the favorite resort of people from the Lower E. Side.
J.R.
^^"[ FRIDAY. To prevent salsify or vegetable oyster from ^^•*- turning brown cut and scrape under water and do not
expose to air while cooking * * * The city was in mourning this
day in 1903 for Pope Leo XIII.
^^ SATURDAY. Today's Horror: Experiments in N, Y. ^ ^ high schools have proved that intelligence tests don't mean much, and have probably been misleading worried, or de- lighted, parents ever since they were started * * * It was in 1884 during warm summer nights when the town's Park Commissioners removed all benches from City Hall Park, whereupon the Board of Aldermen got sore for all their close friends slept on these benches, so the Park Commissioners had to put the benches back and the Aldermen could count again on their close friends, which was OK in 1884.
When Hewitt was elected mayor in iSSy a few gestures of reform followed and John Mc- Gurk's dive at 267 Bowery was among those closed. McGurk opened another shortly, how- ever, at 255, called Sailors' Snug Harbor, which catered to seafaring men and women who helped tars to spend their money. He ex- panded in 1892, starting the Merrimac at no Third Avenue, which was closed by reformers after the Lexow investigation. He was back in 189^, better than ever, with a place at 2^5 Bowery which became known popularly as Suicide Hall.
61
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
July
Snow topped mountains are
a pretty sight But an ice cream cone now
would just be right, s. a.
^^ O SUNDAY. Moon: First Quarter— 6:^^ a.m. * * * j^z days ^^^^ left to shop for Xmas * * * Point to Remember: If you have a dead horse, place it in the street at once with tag giving name and address; if not removed at twilight, put lights around
properly protected carcass till called for. (San. Code, Sec. 9; Art. 2)
3
^^/H MONDAY. Three of Jupiter's 4 visible moons will he ^^ -*- invisible today at 2:4^ a.m. * * * Fashion note 1888: expert tailors now make bow-legged trousers, not straight ones, for bow-legged patrons, by shortening the pants inside at the knee.
€^ ^ TUESDAY. St. James * * * St. Christopher * * * Feast A%3 of Ab * * * The Weather: Hot * * * Don't look for a druggist on Fifth Ave. between 42nd and iioth; there is none, but there's a plumber on Fifth, at 55th, with some swanky outfits.
^£t WEDNESDAY. Kiwanis Club Luncheon at the McAlpin, ^^9 12:^0 P.M. * * * The Constitutional Convention met, found itself in harmony with the provisions of the proposed con- stitution and ratified it— lock, stock and barrel— on this day in lySS * * * Emil Jannings was bom this day in 1886, in Brooklyn * * * New Yorkers read or at least receive 15,000,000 letters every day in the year.
62
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
^^ THURSDAY. Yesterday was New York Day: On July ^^ • 26, iy88j this state joined the Union, as No. jj * * * About this time in 1933 occurred the most oddly connected of New York deaths. A machinist, hungry and despondent of help, bought a restaurant roll with his last nickel, put poison in it, walked to the washroom after eating a portion, and died. A woman sitting beside him grabbed the half-roll remaining, ate it at her own home, and died. After her death the cases were con- nected, and it was discovered that the woman had $41,000 on deposit in New York banks, and that her miserly act had cost her life.
i!J€B FRIDAY. Peruvian Independence Day (1821) * * * ^^^^ German troops paid a visit to France and Russian sol- diers to Germany this day in 1914 * * * "Steve" Brodie did not jump off any bridges this day in 1888; he was in Mulberry St. Station, unintentionally.
^ A SATURDAY. 5^ Olaf * * * "Home, James" is obeyed ^^y by some 48,000 chauffeurs employed by NYers, in spite of That Man.
In 188^ one could sleep in a Bowery flop house for 7 cents, in contrast to the 10 or 75 cents demanded for comparable accommodations today. The beds were strips of canvas stretched like hammocks between wooden posts. Jacob Riis once said that the proprietor of three such hostelries made $8,000 a year and lived on plutocratic Murray Hill.
63
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
July
GARDENING ON PARK
Now the upper classes struggle
With the beetle and the buggle.
In penthouse gardens patient dowagers
Grow the most amazing flowagers. g. n.
O J~k SUNDAY. Mr. Whalen has a surprise for you, we bet ^^^^ * * * Charles Becker, former police lieutenant in NYC, was electrocuted this day in 1915, for complicity in the murder of Herman Rosenthal * * * The Black Tom Dock explosion over in NJ this day in 1916, caused the loss of 2 lives, did 22,000,000 dollars damage and broke 700 windows in the Whitehall building, 17 Battery Place, NYC * * * The first Neon sign appeared at the Cosmopolitan Theater, 59th Street and Columbus Circle, this day in 1923.
0"g MONDAY. Full Moon-i:^y a.m. * * * St. Loyola
^^ (Ig'natius) * * * 25 years ago the World War brought
about the closing of the NY Stock Exchange, this day. /0\
Vacationists now are thinking it nifty \c77>/
A m To spend in^two weeks the savings of fifty-
August
1 TUESDAY. Lammas Day * * * Degrees of D.D.S. and B.S. awarded in August, M.S. and LL.M. in October, A.M. in December, may be had at Columbia, if applied for today * * * The N.R.A. blue eagle was displayed for the first time by a number of NY's establishments and stores, this day in 1933.
WEDNESDAY. Weather: Steady * * * Civil War threat- ened NYC as Brooklyn and Manhattan each wanted the first chance of greeting Douglas Gorce Corrigan, who mistakenly flew to Ireland, on his return in 1938 to these shores * * * Street letter boxes for mail collection appeared this day in 1858.
2
64
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
3 THURSDAY. Rotarians meet at Lunch today at 12 at the Commodore * * * Rubbish: If all the garbage col- lected in the city on one single day would be dumped into one big pile, it would reach as high as the Empire State Building, but you would not care to go and see the town from that point * * * 1^80: Benedict Arnold was appointed to command West Point.
M FRIDAY. St. Dominic * * * The Graf Zeppelin passed -*■ over the city on her second trip from Friedsrichshafen to Lakeview, this day in 1929 * * * Unless you or your husband or your wife own someway somehow $250 you're not qualified to serve on a jury in NYC * * * NY Stock Exchange closed at noon today, 1933, because tear gas bombs exploded in the ventilating shaft.
^ SATURDAY. Point to Remember: The sweet corn sea- *^ son is past its peak, but by judicious selection one may still be fortunate enough to find some tender ears * * * On this day in 1933 the sky was dark with Transatlantic aspirants, among them Maurice Rossi and Paul Codos, who flew 5,900 miles from Floyd Bennett to Rayak, Syria.
On September i^, 1900, the lower East Side lost one of its best known citizens. He was Solomon Solowitz, a fish ped- dler, noted for his remarkable mus- tache, which was so long that Solomon could tie it in a knot behind his back and, upon request, would. But a jealous rival, one day, pulled Solomon's mus- tache out by the roots, and Solomon, rather than grow another, ended his life.
65
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
August
We greet the gentle goldenrod. Which changeth men to sneezers
And causeth tears to ripple down Their unattractive beezers. g. n.
6 SUNDAY. Bolivian Independence Day (182^) * * * This day in 1926, Gertrude Ederle crossed the English Chan- nel in 14 hrs., 31 min. * * * Bloomingdale's had Schenley's Rye Whisky at 75c a quart; 2-star Cognac for 59c and 3-Star for 69c; Champagne Cognac for 79c— also sale on ladies' bicycle skirts and bloomers, this day in 1899.
7 MONDAY. Point to Remember: You may not arrest a dead man for a debt, it's a misdemeanor * * * St. Ann's Episcopal Church, founded in 1852, is the first house of worship for the deaf; its pastor delivers sermons in sign language and a choir "sings" with hands only * * * "Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl" started a 2-week run at the Bowery this day in 1870.
» TUESDAY. Moon: Last Quarter-4:i8 a.m. * * * Sum- mer Session exams at Brooklyn College * * * The first newsboy to deliver papers was employed by The New York Mercury, a weekly, started this day in 1872.
9 WEDNESDAY. Lamentable sign of Cannibalism in a 42nd street lunch room: Today's Special: Veal Suttee. ''Suttee'* is Hindoo for cremating a widow with the body of her deceased husband; but this is a big, cosmopolitan city * * * So the Dutch came to NY and captured the village, this day in 1673, and changed its name to New Netherlands and New Amsterdam and then later the name was New Orange, whereupon it became NY again for good.
66
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS 1939
f £^ THURSDAY. Ecuador celebrates Independence Day
-■-^^ (1810) * * * Bob Fitzsimmons defeated Gus Ruhlin in 5
rounds, 2 minutes and 10 seconds, this day in 1900, at Madison
Square Garden * * * Point to Remember: Never make a display
when removing insects from your food.
Style Note With dirndls in front and in backta You feel you're in Czechoslovakia. W. D.
1 1 FRIDAY. Point to Remember: "The Dachshund'* was ■*-■■- the first Movie-Cartoon, patented this day in 1914 by John Randolph Bray, released by Pathe. One saw a dachshund eating sausages * * * Andrew Carnegie died this day in 1919.
1 ^ SATURDAY. It's cooler now, a little * * * "Under the -"-^^ Gaslight," Augustin Daly's sensational melodrama, opened at the New York Theater (the former Church of the Mes- siah) this day in 1867 * * * George Jones, one of the chief owners of the NY Times in its earlier days, died this day in 1891. He had taken a leading part in unearthing the devious ways of Boss Tweed and his Ring * * * This day in 1899 marked the closing of Roster and Bial's famous Music Hall at 34th and Broadway, the site now frequented by the smart and thrifty.
At ten p.m. April 22, 18^8, the lyS-joot steamship "Sirius'* churned through the darkness of New York Harbor and dropped anchor off the Battery. Her commander, Lieutenant Roberts, made a proud entry in his logbook, took the loaded revolver from his pocket and laid it aside with a sigh. Despite head winds and a near mutiny, he had brought the first transatlantic steam passenger ship safe into port, sixteen and a half days out of Cork, beating two rivals and opening a new era in travel.
67
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
August
AMBITION
I do not need a blaring drum To serenade my foes, Just give me P. Camera's thumb And J. Durante's nose. s. a.
~| O SUNDAY. Columbia's 40th Summer Session ended yes-
-^ ^-^ terday, and 12,000 teachers are riding toward Des Moines
today * * * One year ago, this day, The People started to say
things about Mr. James J. Hines, and Mr. Dewey said too much,
and The People were told to come back some other day.
M MONDAY. New Moon— 10:^^ p.m. * * * The first air- mail delivery to a steamer at sea was made this day in 1919, when a flying boat dropped a bag of mail on the forward deck of the White Star liner "Adriatic," ii/^ hours after she left her pier * * * James J. Jeffries did whip James J. Corbett ^-j^ in 10 rounds, this day in 1903. f^j^
"f ff[ TUESDAY. Point to Remember: If you are a New -"-•-^ Yorker and want to sell broken eggs, or manufacture sausages, or erect a barber pole, or move your house, or breed ferrets, you must obtain a license * * * This day in 1935 Will Rogers and Wiley Post lost their lives, when Post's airplane fell 60 feet, into an Alaskan river. ^^^^^^ ^^^^
Comes the time when it behoovies Us to lurk in air-cooled movies. G.N.
1 A WEDNESDAY. Hunter College's Summer Session ended -^^^ yesterday * * * "Keep this under your hat" had its origin, it is assumed, during the days when NY policemen were cautioned not to spoil their symmetry with bulging pockets, and carried notebooks, pencils, cigars and other objects in their helmets.
68
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
f ^ THURSDAY. Point to Remember: The World's Fair -■- ^ will take care of you if you turn your ankle, or break your leg, or have a baby while watching the exhibits, but you'll have to make your own decision * * * "This is Station WEAF" was heard for the first time yesterday in 1922, from the top of the Western Electric Building, NYC * * * 320,000 guests can find rooms in hotels in the city at almost any given time and the prices range from loc up.
"fl C^ FRIDAY. Point to Remember: New York has never had ^^^ a real tidal wave, and never will, this Almanac prophe- sies * * * At this time in 1899 flourished Mr. Caput Magnus, "man of deeds, not words— predicts names, dates, love, business, anything— morphine addictions cured, separated reunited, 50c."
l Ck SATURDAY. Point to Remember: Your private railroad -"-^-^ car can be switched directly to the Waldorf -Astoria's underground entrance, so don't forget to tell the porter * * * On this day last year only 20 of New York's 5,000 Chinese were re- ceiving home relief * * * On this day in 1937 and in 1938 people were tired of reading about baby Giant Pandas.
On August 2, ipoo. New York was intrigued, and faintly alarmed, to learn that everybody in Newark had fleas. A cloud of insects had been blown to that city from the Passaic marshes and, on close inspection, they proved to be not the customary mosquitoes, but fl—s. After a worried interval, while the local editors speculated about the possibility of the epidemic's spreading, it became apparent that this wasn't going to happen, and metropolitan alarm changed to a lofty condescension, which some say has persisted to this day.
69
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
August
Oi'm a N'Yawker, begorra Oi am; Mama mia, she's froma Milan; Mine fodder is commink from Rossia yet. But me, I'm a New York son, you bet. j. r.
O A SUNDAY. St, Bernard of Clairvaux * * * National ^^^9 Shade Tree Conference at the Astor * * * The German Palatines of this colony, this day in 1722, found that their wealthy master, Mr. Livingston, wouldn't give them food, so they "were forc'd to put themselves on the mercy of the Indians— and begg of them, since they had so long sukled them at their breast, not to wean them so soon and Cast them off."
^"1 MONDAY. Moon: First Quarter-4:2i p.m. * * * St,
^^ ^ Jane Frances de Chantal, Widow Foundress * * *
Widow's Day * * * The first occupational death of one of the
city's firemen occurred this day in 1822, when Walter ^^-i^
McCann received fatal injuries. ^3
€^€% TUESDAY. Point to Remember: There will he an earth- ^^ ^^ quake today, but only the seismograph at Ford Univer- sity will know anything about it. (Confidentially, there are earth- quakes every day.) * * * 100 meters in 10.2 seconds was the world record set this day in 1937 W -^^^ Johnson, Columbia's Negro track team captain, at Paris, France.
iT^ •J WEDNESDAY. Broadway managers are announcing ^^^^ their '^g productions, some of which will open * * * The fare on the 3rd Ave. El was loc in 1878 if there was a seat, otherwise one paid nothing; but between 5 and 7 a.m. & p.m. it was a nickel, sitting or standing; there were also palace cars with curtained windows and plush-upholstered seats, in which one might ride for 20c, as far back as 1868.
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ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
^/% THURSDAY. St. Bartholomew * * * Small steam loco- ^^ -*■ motives pulled those early El trains in '78; each one had a name and you were as apt to find yourself hauled by Aristotle or Pericles as by Jay Gould or Chauncey M. Depew * * * Work- ing at the scows, picking garbage, was a regular city job in 1882 at $10.50 per week, till the city fathers got wise and sold the privilege, which, in 1899, fetched the neat sum of $90,000.
^ ^ FRIDAY.. 5^ Louis of France * * * "No more mittens, ^^^ till . . ." said 1,500 striking glove cutters at Gloversville, N. Y., this day in 1914 * * * Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pinafore/* performed on a real ship floating on a great tank of water in Madison Square Garden, was the talk of the town around this time in 1879 * * * Point to Remember: The Isle of Manhattan is linked to the mainland by 13 bridges, just in case you have to go to the mainland.
^\tL SATURDAY. Haymakers will assemble today at the ^^^^ Astor for the meeting of the National Haymakers Asso- ciation of the US * * * A record low was established by the NY Reserve Bank as it slashed its re-discount rate to 1%, this day in
1937-
The first slaves to arrive in New Harlem were landed in Fort Am- sterdam on May 2g, 1664, and were bought at auction on the following day by a number of people from the uptown com munity. Both servants and labor- ers were scarce, and the advent of the slaves solved all, for those pioneers who could afford them.
71
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
August
CRYING NEED DEPARTMENT
Please number among the "Hie Jacets" That eminent, clever physician. Who'd invent for nudists some pockets— Maybe by scalpel incision. w, d.
^^ SUNDAY. The Weather: Total rainfall 7.92 during 17 ^^ • days o£ almost continuous rain and thunderstorms; humidity around 90; highest temperature 98°; all o£ which two years ago this month * * * A total of 16,560,708 books was used by readers in New York's Public Library and its branches during 1935, representing over 6% of all the books used in the libraries of the US.
Haven't we established once and for all the validity
Of that time-honored remark: "It isn't the heat, it's the humidity"?
H. N.
^^ €^ MONDAY. American National Retail Jewelers Associa- ^^^^ tion in convention assembled at the Waldorf-Astoria ** * From Pasko's ''Old New York" (1765): "Fuller and Knight, 2 women who had been found guilty of keeping a bawdy house, were placed upon the pillory . . . were this law truly enforced we would have a number of pillories in every street in the city."
OQ TUESDAY. Full Moon: y.og p.m. * * * Final Exams ^^ (Feb.-Sept. term) at NYU and at St. John's * * * J. Hud- son Kirby was the best liked actor in the city in 1847. He was noted for his death scenes. "Wake me up when Kirby dies," said patrons to neighbors, then dozed off early in the play.
O A WEDNESDAY. The Moon is still pretty full; ^:op p.m. ^3\W * # * 17,000 couples have pet dogs but no children in NYC, while the whole dog population numbers over 300,000, the cats over 400,000 and horses still number close to 20,000.
72
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
O "i THURSDAY. Final Exams are still going on at St. John's
OJl * * * This day in 1903 a Packard automobile, "Old
Pacific," was the first horseless carriage to cross the continent
under its own power; the journey ended in San Francisco and
took 52 days. j^^^^ j ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^.^^ ^ ^^^^ ^^^ -^
Yet I'm always glad to come back to it.
September
J.R.
]| FRIDAY. Harlem celebrates Lincoln's most famous -■- Proclamation * * * On this night in 1824 General Lafayette arrived late to a Chatham theater performance, whereat his waggish friends called "Lafayette, we are here" * * * Cooper Union held the First National Convention of the Single Taxers— 1890 * * * New York Hospital opened its new building this day in 1930, an edifice designed to last not less than 100 years.
2 SATURDAY. Point to Remember: Probably the least violated law in this city is the unwritten one that it's all right to read headlines on a newsstand, but no touch if no buy * * * On this day in 1844 Barnum anticipated Darwin by billing "Mile. Fanny— the largest ourang-outang ever exhibited— the con- necting link between man and the brute" * * * On this day in 1932, James J. Walker resigned, in a pet, promising to run for the Mayoralty again some day.
The presidential campaign years (circa 1884) were periods of great if some- what biased enthusiasm. Thousands of marching men, often frock-coated, gloved, top-hatted, carrying torches- chanted jerkily as they stepped:
"Blaine! Blaine!
Jay Gould's Blaine!
Continental liar from the State of Maine."
73
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
September
LABOR DAY
Labor Day is rightly named- Tor then— oh, more's the pity!— We leave the mountains, sea and shore To toil for fifty weeks or more Within the busy city. h. n.
3 SUNDAY. Labor Day's Tomorrow * * * On this day in 1783 George III signed the Versailles Treaty— the one which recognized the independence o£ America.
M MONDAY. Labor Day's Today * * * On this day in -■■ 1938 died Patrick Cardinal Hayes, peacefully at his country home * * * The first Self-Service restaurant, called the Exchange Buffet, opened today in 1885 at 7 New St.
5 TUESDAY. This is the last day for filing applications for college entrance exams at Columbia * * * Today in 1840 the Erie R.R. received its first rolling stock, 6 freight cars which cost I900 each and had each 4 wheels; but they arrived before the track was laid, so the first Erie R.R. gag was born.
6 WEDNESDAY. Moon: Last Quarter-^: 24 p.m. * * * Lafayette Day * * * p. T. Barnum took over the old Chinese Rooms at 539 Broadway this day in 1865, and did exhibit a 1280-pound turtle * * * Brooklyn citizens were up in arms about this time in 1890, alarmed by rumors that the traction in- terests were scheming to replace horse cars with electric trolleys. Said the NY Tribune, in Brooklyn's behalf, "In Newark this past month four persons have been mutilated by the electric cars, three of whom are dead . . . and one had an arm and a leg severed . . . three were women . . . for the sole reason that using an elec- tric system in place of horses . . . saved a few dollars. ..."
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ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS 1939
7 THURSDAY. Brazilians celebrate Separation Day (1822) * * * On this day in 1867 J. Pierpont Morgan, No. 1 Tycoon, was born in Irvington, N. Y. * * * Grover A. Whalen, President of the World's Fair Corporation 1939, announced last year, "Our visitors to the Fair will be transported about the Fair Grounds quickly and safely."
ۥ FRIDAY. One may register this day, if one wishes, at '-^ either Brooklyn College or Pratt Institute, for the Fall term * * * The "New York Magdalen Benevolent Society," for promoting "moral purity and to afford asylum to erring females, who manifest a desire to return to the paths of virtue," was organ- ized in 1833. ^^ ^ P,^^
How frustrate, generally cold and always dank — ■ To spend one's life in an Aquarium tank.
T. S.
9 SATURDAY. Point to Remember: In the compilation of Life Expectancy tables, first obtain pivotal values and central rates, then derive the intervening rates by osculatory inter- polation * * * California Day * * * This day in 1900 pedestrians in 5th Ave. ran for cover when the contractor used too much dynamite and blasted a long ton of Union Club foundation into the street.
Two barrels, supporting a long board which served as a counter, a chair and "writing apparatus" constituted the simple appointments of the New York Herald's first office. It was established in a basement in Nassau Street, fronting Clinton Hall, in 18^5.
75
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
September
I wonder what's the reason
That oysters "R" in season
In all the months containing the letter after "q"
But not in Jurly and Aurgust too. j. r.
"fl #^ SUNDAY. Point to Remember: To bring down the mos- -"-^-^ quitoes that settle on the ceiling by day to wait for their victims at night, fasten the cover of a tin box on a lath, pour a little kerosene in the cover, hold it up close under the mosquito, and he will fall into it every time * * * Yesterday in 1904 New York's mounted police mounted for the first time.
U MONDAY. Today i^ visitors to Radio City will inquire, *'Is this to be torn down after the World's Fair?" * * * Yesterday's Horror: The housewives of the town, 39 years ago, were thrown into a dither by the discovery that servant girls, upon termination of their employment, had taken to writing candid opinions of their employers beneath the sink, where the next girl would find it.
"d €^ TUESDAY. They're listening to lecturers at Pratt Insti- -*-^^ tute today * * * On this day in 1900 steam automobile fans celebrated the decision of Magistrate Olmstead in Jefferson Market Court that "no licenses will be needed for drivers of steam automobiles— as a majority of that kind have a capacity of less than 10 horsepower."
1 O WEDNESDAY. New Moon-6:22 a.m. * * * President -"-^^ Grover Whalen, of the World's Fair Corporation ip^p, said: "Every artist, whether he lives in Provincetown or Greenwich Village, Taos or Seattle, Carmel or the French quarter of New Orleans, will have an equal chance to have his work rep- jm^ resented at the Fair/* |QP
76
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
1 M THURSDAY. Rosh-Hashonah * * * "New York Pano- -■--■- rama," published by Random House this day in ig^8, remains a good book * * * At this time in 1872 votes were being sought for Charles O'Connor, first Catholic Presidential nominee, who declined the nomination tendered him by insurgent anti- Greeley Democrats, but who nevertheless was listed as a candidate and received approximately 30,000 votes from 23 states.
"g flj FRIDAY. Crass Note: The Third Quarter Federal In-
-■-•-^ come Tax (25% 0/ it) is due at midnight * * * Costa
Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Salvador celebrate
independence today * * * Birds of the World, by the NYC FWP,
was published this day last year.
~| £^ SATURDAY. Feast of Gedaliah * * * Independence Day M.\W for Mexico * * * This day in 1912 Daniel Faunbauer of 22 Worthington St., Long Island City, invited 12 people to a mushroom party and you know what happened * * * This same day in 1920 occurred the still-unsolved Wall St. explosion, which killed 30 outright, injured hundreds, damaged the J. P. Morgan offices slightly.
"The boom of a strange gun at day- break alarmed Van Twiller and the soldiers of Manhattan. Capt. DeVries had returned, and after having piloted his vessel thru the Narrows, had hu- morously decided to speak in his own behalf and watch the result."
The result was that Capt. DeVries almost got his ship blown out of the water, and there were those respectable citizens who wished aloud that he had.
77
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
September
ODE TO SEPTEMBER
Sing the dirge of broken leases. Bundles, boxes, trunks, valises. Chant September's sad refrain, "We'll never, never move again!'
1 ^ SUNDAY. Constitution Day * * * School-clothes, Fur, -■- • and Plain Sales are on now * * * In 1899, this day, we were waiting for Admiral Dewey to get back from the Far East, so we could give him a pageant * * * On this day in 1911 C. P. Rogers left NY in an aeroplane and made the first transconti- nental flight; arriving at Pasadena Nov. 4, after 84 hours and 2
' o* Take that hand front my pocket, you thief.
All that you'll find there's a card for relief.
J. M.
1 O MONDAY. It's the Fall Term at Brooklyn College * * * J^^^ Registration day at Columbia for Medical, Dental, Oral, Entering, Deficient and Debarred Students * * * 2,500 web press- men went on strike this day in 1923, and for a week there was but one metropolitan newspaper.
1 O TUESDAY. Coney Island closes for the year * * * In -^^-^ 1850, this day, the Fugitive Slave Bill had become a law, and the first act for its enforcement took place in NY * * * Mayor Van Wyck was receiving monies in 1900 for Galveston flood re- lief; the contributions yesterday came to $2,388.55.
Oft WEDNESDAY. Moon: First Quarter-y.^4 a.m. * * * ^^^ From the NY Tribune, Sept. 21, 1890: "The bronze statue of Horace Greeley at the entrance of the Tribune Building was unveiled with simple ceremonies— prayer by Bishop Potter- address by John Hay— oration by Chauncey Depew" * * * This day in 1937 ^^^^ American Legion came to town, and of it ^^-^ made pieces. ^^J
78
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
^1 THURSDAY. 5^ Matthew * * * Henry and Charley and
^^-■- Minnie and 286 other New Yorkers were horn today, if
today is an average day * * * This day last year NY had its worst
hurricane in history; lives were lost, the wind reached 100 m.p.h.,
hundreds o£ suburban houses were washed into the sea.
€%€^ FRIDAY. Potential students at Barnard and the Colum- ^ ^ bia School of Law register today * * * On this day, in 1776, Nathan Hale was executed as a spy, American; he was also accused, probably falsely, of a hand in the fire the day before when 500 structures, including Trinity Church, were burned.
1^0 SATURDAY. Yom Kippur * * * 7^'^ Autumn, at y.^o ^^^^ P.M. today * * * Teachers College Registration's today * * * At this time in 1922 a respectable newspaper alleged that "Poor artists are being driven out of their quarters by persons renting studios for improper purposes— landlords are deliberately catering to those who seek to cloak loose conduct in the glamour of art. In one case a studio which formerly rented for $35 was let for $150 and 'no questions asked.' Bonafide artists are unable to obtain suitable studios—"
A New York divorce court precedent, not followed in later years, was set in i6']o in connection with one Eleazer Leveredg, whose wife Rebecka com- plained that she had "in all that tyme received no due benevolence from ye said Eleazer according to ye true inten- tion of matrimony." The court decided that "ye defect was in ye husband and not in ye wife" and declared this was sufficient ground for divorce^
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1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
September
•A*
We hail September for the reason
That oysters are again in season, ^
That school and football games begin ^f£2sS^
And coal men wear a happy grin. m. w. w.
€^ M SUNDAY. Daylight Saving time ends at 2 a.m. today, hut ^ ^ in spite of all the gags the odds are you've fixed your clock correctly * * * Start saving your moths today (this is a snapper that you won't get full details on until tomorrow) * * * On this day in 1935, the 16,000-ton motor ship, "Pilsudski," first transatlantic Polish liner since Poland's independence, arrived in NY harbor * * * But nobody noticed, because this night Mr. Joe Louis did things to Mr. Max Baer in the 4th round at the Yankee Stadium.
rt IJ MONDAY. This is it. This day (and until May 2^th) is ^^9 Bloomingdale's Annual Anti-moth Clinic, and ladies may bring in their live moth worms for analysis * * * This day in 1690 Publick Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestick, was pub- lished in Boston by Benjamin Harris. It was the first newspaper published in the British Colonies, and it was promptly suppressed.
^£t TUESDAY. Point to Remember: The famous Cotuit oy- ^^^9 sters of Cape Cod are harvested there, but are bred near Long Island * * * Today in 1933 Mayor John P. O'Brien vetoed a bill taxing stock shares and brokers, largely because the Stock Exchange said it would move to Jersey City.
^^^ WEDNESDAY. Columbia and Union Theological Semi- ^ • nary open up * * * About this time in 1936 the city grew quieter, because the ladies of the League for Less Noise talked thousands of taxi drivers into stuffing their horns with steel wool.
80
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
Oft THURSDAY. Full Moon-g:2y a.m. * * * Succoth * * * ^^9 Today is the ii^th Anniversary of 42nd St, * * * The Supreme Court for the 2nd Judicial District, covering all cases of litigation originating in Kings, Queens, Nassau, Suffolk and Richmond Counties, has been functioning for 5 days
now.
®
^^Cfc FRIDAY. St. Michael * * * Driving licenses expire to- ^^^y morrow * * * A little over two years ago today Senator Bingham returned from a period of historical research in Eng- land, stating that he had discovered the founding of Yale College to have been "a Red plot" * * * This day in 1936 Dan O'Brien, the Hobo King, aged 79, left his wife, Meta Henrietta, because she insisted on his working.
0|^ SATURDAY. 5^ Jerome * * * Some, not all, driving ^^^y licenses will be invalid tomorrow * * * This day in 1936 a Jersey City man lost his nose in an auto accident, and had it sewed back on again, successfully.
The Honorable Paul Richards' Receipt to make Excellent Mince Pyes (i7S3)- "Take a Neat's Tongue, boil it and blanch it, add to a pound of Tongues, 2 pounds and a half of Sezvet, 2 and i/^ pounds Currants, i pound of raisins stoned and chop'd very fine, 14 ounce mace, 14 ounce Cloves, 14 ounce Nutmegs, 14 ounce Cinnamon, i pound dried powdered Sugar; squeeze in juice of 3 good lemons, i orange, 6 spoonsful of rose water or Orange flower water, i^ pint Madeira wine. Chop the Sewet fine, put it close down in Pott after mixing and keep it from the air. Use a little salt:*
81
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
October
•A*
Light bills get a biggish boost.
Tourists flutter home to roost,
Eyes grow brighter, toes grow number, ^-»^
Nights grow colder— goodbye, summer, m. w. w.
1 SUNDAY. Real Estate Taxes due today * * * Do you like your new apartment? * * * The Giants and Yankees opened their World's Series in a pouring rain this day in 1936, while snow flurries swept the Empire State building to the 86th
floor. ^^y* digolo, howager
Like to meet a Park Avenue dowager? J.R.
2 MONDAY. The Freshmen and the Sophomores are bat- tling on Morningside Heights these days, and Broadway traffic is hazardous * * * The University in Exile opened this day in 1933, with a faculty composed of 10 internationally known professors from Hitler's lands * * * Only 331 murder and man- slaughter cases were reported in 1937, leaving 34 days on which the boys apparently couldn't hit a thing.
3 TUESDAY. Point to Remember: The young lady of fashion should not forget that too abrupt or incautious sitting down may transform her hoop skirt into a halo * * * At this time in 1935 the Mayor's Anti-Noise Campaign was in full hush; the official estimate, after a vigorous campaign against honk- ing and yodeling, was that the town had become 35% quieter.
4 WEDNESDAY. St. Francis of Assisi * * * Fall Term starts at the West Side YMCA, loth Ave. and ^oth St. * * * New Yorkers clamored for seats this evening in 1935, it being the opening performance at the Hayden Planetarium * * * 7,204,343 people attended 6,763 free concerts given by WPA's Federal Music Project during the 3 years preceding May, 1938.
82
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
5 THURSDAY. Shmini Aiereth * * * The Rodeo is at Madison Square Garden * * * The cornerstone at St. Peter's, the first Catholic church to be erected since British rule, was laid this day in 1785 * * * Today's Horror: Parking regula- tions as applied to New York City's streets were violated 325,986 times in 1937, ^^ ^93 crimes per day.
6 FRIDAY. Moont Last Quarter-- 1 2 :2y a.m. * * * Simchas Torah * * * The prohibition boys made a record haul this day in 1922, when they found and seized $500,000 worth of liquor in an East 44th St. cellar * * * The stock exchange loosened up and let us buy foreign shares this day in 1927 * * * WPA opened its first comprehensive Art Exhibit this day in 1936.
7 SATURDAY. Football trains leave this morning for practically all points East and North * * * It was an- nounced at this time 2 years ago that conscience money had found its way to the city treasury in the amount of $46.98, or close to $.000006 1/^ from the average conscience-clear NYer.
Miss Jessie Lyons, with salon at ^p West ^2nd Street, was in i8pp the sole professional mustache- curler in all New York City. Miss Lyons, according to her own professional announcements, was more the artist than anything else, because she "studied men's faces, and helped them cultivate the MOST BECOMING mus- taches for their particular type.**
8s
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
October
•A*
Each year New Yorkers have a month
(Excuse the lisp for just this oneth!)
In which to cheer, shine up a badge, j--f^-^
And praise Columbus and de Magg. w. d.
» SUNDAY. Points to Remember: The City Hall station of the IRT El is closer to Brooklyn Bridge than the Brooklyn Bridge station of the IRT subway; but to even things up the Brooklyn Bridge Station is closer to City Hall * * * This day in 1914 Dr. Flexner, of this city, announced that he had suc- ceeded in isolating and transmitting the virus of infantile paralysis.
9 MONDAY. St. Denis * * * "Ye Olde Towne Hair dis- cussions of civic matters start tonight at the Prospect Park YMCA, Brooklyn * * * Opening of Seminary term and recep- tion at the Jewish Theological Seminary,
"^ ^^ TUESDAY. // you changed your address Oct, i, and -■-^-^ have a driver's license, you'd better notify the Commis- sioner of Motor Vehicles before tomorrow * * * NY's first com- mercial passenger balloon was upped this day in 1826 by Eugene Robertson. He flew a lady passenger from the Battery to Union, N. J., let her out there, came back by return wind to Westfield, only two miles from NY * * * Grand Central station was opened this day in 1871.
]| "M WEDNESDAY. There's hardly an overcoat left in the -^-*- Third Ave. pawnshops * * * The late George Gersh- win's "Porgy and Bess" was produced by the Theater Guild this day in 1935 * * * Point to Remember: Being put through the ringer is not always sufficient to remove a blot from the scutcheon.
84
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
13
THURSDAY. New Moon: 5:50 p.m.
Columbus
Day * * * A mechanical horse and an electric sewing machine were the big attractions at the Electrical Exposition held this day in 1911 * * * Fort Tryon Park, a $6,000,000, 58-acre tract, was opened to the uptown public this day in j^g^
1935- 9
"I O FRIDAY. The superstitious will be uneasy till mid-
-*-^-^ night * * * This day in 1937 the A. F. of L. announced
that it didn't approve of the NLRB, because it favored the CIO,
whereupon the CIO announced that it didn't approve of the
NLRB either, because it favored the AFL.
1 Zl SATURDAY. It's still football weather * * * No NY -*■-■• checks bounced this day or yesterday in 1857, because all the NYC banks had been closed * * * This day in 1937 former District Attorney Dodge announced that he had been short- changed $13,575 worth of salary, and that he was going to sue. The city admitted a shortage, but said Mr. Dodge should have counted his change at the time.
New York's first recorded, authentic minstrel was William Gerritson, who enlivened the colony in mid-seven- teenth century with his tuneful and aromatic ballads-off-the-cuff. On June 10, 1645, however, Gerritson was hailed to court, and there pleaded guilty to yodeling a defamatory ballad about the Rev. Francis Douty and his daughter. The unhappy minstrel was sentenced to be tied up to the May Pole in the Merry Mount in the old Dutch fort, with his libelous verse over his head. Furthermore, should he ever think up and yodel another such, he would be flogged, and banished.
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
October
Now the galleries are open Down on Fifty-Seventh Street- Disembodied hands and feet - _r\M Vie with futuristic splotches, # / Abstract fruits and melted watches, "tiber"
1 SJ SUNDAY. S>t. Teresa * * * ATF ^tate wants 25% 0/ your -■-•^ Income Tax today * * * The Rockefeller Institute for '
Medical Research was started this day in 1904, at 127 E. 50th
St.
1 tfm MONDAY. The Society of Motion Picture Engineers -*-^^ begins a 4-day session at the Pennsylvania * * * This day in 1680 the elders of the Flatbush House of Worship decreed as follows: "That the minister's field be enlarged two morgen in order that the minister may keep a horse . . . attend to the service of the Church, and also make all repairs to the fences, dwelling, kitchens, well, and appurtenances, with earnest desire and in-
° ' * Meditation at Jack Dempsey's ]
There's certainly something grand about A boss who can lick his chuckers-out. M. W. W.
1 ^ TUESDAY. Councilmen meet at Columbia University M. 9 * # * Seabiscuit and Heelfly raced to a dead heat this | day in 1937, which even the camera could not resolve; so their owners split the purse * * * Complained the editor of the NY Gazette, this day in 1826: "Twelve a Clock. The Philadelphia Post not yet come in."
1 O WEDNESDAY. St. Luke * * * "Mary is 24 years old.
-■-^^ She is twice as old as Anne was when she was as old as Anne is now. How old is Anne now?" This letter in the NY Press this day in 1903 started a nation-wide debate, and the sub- ject remained our No. 1 Puzzle for years.
86
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
1 O THURSDAY. Moon: First Quarter-io:24 p.m. * * * -■■^-^ From an agony column, this day in 1936: "Fred, please come back, Loki hasn't ate since you left" * * * This day in 1821 an ordinance was passed, prohibiting the interment of human bodies below Grand St. * * * Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst was on Ellis Island these days in 1913, suspected of being a suffragist * * * In 1935, this day, 125 pushcart peddlers were bidden ^^1^ to scram from Times Square. y^J
^feft FRIDAY. Point to Remember: An Eagle Scout badge ^^^^ and a Phi Beta Kappa key are equally ineffective in per- suading a traffic officer that one does not deserve a ticket * * * Today in 1773 the town received the first news of the "Tea Act" and was indignant, though not as indignant as Boston * * * Zev, Sande up, defeated England's Papyrus this day in 1923.
^^^ SATURDAY. Audubon Societies are meeting to check ^ ^ bird lists about now * * * The NY Authors' Club was born this date in 1882. Mark Twain, Henry James, Thomas Bai- ley Aldrich and Brander Matthews were leading members.
A familiar news item in igoo was: "Pin- cus Bath, the 'walking saloon/ is in Essex Market Police Court, held in $1,000 hail, for violating the Excess Law." Pincus was well known all over the East Side, where he dispensed whisky cocktails in winter and gin rickeys in summer, at ^(f; per drink. For years he covered a regular customers* route, wearing an overcoat in which he carried his stock of aperitifs.
87
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
October
When Dusk, a tedious Local, crawls. Infinite shirtsleeves crowd the dusty sills. And bulbs of Oberon appear. Gilding all the pawnshop balls, h. s.
^^ SUNDAY. Point to Remember: There is no New York ^^ ^^ law prohibiting one's keeping, as pets, mountain lions, tigers, wildcats or boa constrictors, but if you bring in a mongoose you'll be arrested * * * In 1927, this day, Thomas A. Edison made his radio debut, over 43 stations.
^^ O MONDAY. Preparedness note: In 19^6, this date, John ^^^^ L. Stanley of Portland, Oregon, reserved a July i, 19^9, room for self and wife, for the World's Fair * * * This day in 1924 the Internal Revenue Bureau opened its books to the public, so everybody knew who paid what * * * In 1935, this evening, Arthur (Dutch Schultz) Flegenheimer and companions walked into a Newark, NJ beer tavern, and did never walk out.
^% /M TUESDAY. Delphinium should have been covered be- ^ ^ fore this * * * Messrs. Mitchell, Wiggins, and three other financiers got together this day in 1929 and decided to throw $240,000,000 into the market, in an attempt to stave off further declines, and it was months before somebody asked whose $240,- 000,000 the boys had thrown.
€% !J WEDNESDAY. Point to Remember: You may hunt deer ^^^^ in i^ NY counties this week and half of next month, but you must have a license and you must not use dogs, jacklights, spotlights or traps * * * President Wilson spoke up for equal suffrage this day in 1917.
88
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
^^£^ THURSDAY. Harvest Moon festivities are going on, but ^^^9 there won't he a really Grade A moon until Saturday * * * A lady this day in 1935 received in the mail some suspicious objects looking like hens' eggs coated with green wax and the police investigated and they were hens* eggs coated with green wax.
^%^^ FRIDAY. Foint to Remember: You've been riding in the ^ • subway for 35 years, if you bought a ride the day the subway opened, exactly 35 years ago * * * This day in 1722 a ship from Holland was not permitted to land its passengers, be- cause Council had been informed that "there was aut Contagious Distemper on Board the said Vessel ... so suffer no Person to come on Shoar on this Island with any Cloaths Chests . . . till aired upon Nutten Island during the pace of 6 hours at least."
^O SATURDAY. Full Moon: 1:42 a.m. (Make hey-hey while ^^^ the moon shines) * * * This is the 20th Anniversary of Prohibition, the National Prohibition Enforcement Act having become a law this day in ipip. One-half of one per cent was de- clared to be the non-intoxicating maximum, and the Commis- sioner of Internal Revenue was told to keep his eyes open for dissenters * * * The Battle of White Plains was fought this ^->v autumn day in 1776. \^
Sand hogs, digging a caisson for a new skyscraper at Wall and South Streets, uncovered on July 2, 1929, 100 bottles of West India rum 12$ years old. How it got there nobody knows, nor is there an official account of where it disappeared to thereafter.
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1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
October
WINTER TOUCH
The North winds shall blow. And we shall see Moe, To redeem our pawned ulster; If you'll lend us the dough, r.
^^Cfc SUNDAY. You'll hear your favorite candidates on the ^^^ radio tonight * * * This day in 1936 Governor Alf M. Landon arrived in NY, desiring to be President.
O J~k MONDAY. One of the minor advantages of metropoli- ^-^^-^ tan residence is that Father does not have to chain down the smaller buildings tomorrow night * * * About this time in 1660 it came to the ears of the Fiscal that "an individual had done amiss in the Village, from which evil consequences were likely to flow. To punish evil doers, frighten the vicious and pro- duce Tranquility, the Fiscal . . . sent six shackles with an iron rod . . . and a good lock."
O 1 TUESDAY. Hallowe'en * * * This day in 1905 George ^^-■- Bernard Shaw's play, "Mrs. Warren's Profession," was raided by the police, and was closed. "Revolting in theme," said the NY Sun without a tear. „ . , ,. „ ,
Scholastic Note Girls with anchors tattooed an their arms Are seldom adorned with fraternity charm*. M. W. W.
November
1 WEDNESDAY. All Saints' Day * * * The first Money -■■ Order System was established this day in 1864 * * * NY, at 1 A.M. of this day in 1935, had an earthquake, but almost no- body knew it before the morning papers arrived * * * Grover A. Whalen, President of the New York World's Fair Inc. 1939, said: "Business is in no way stalemated by present conditions . . . instead business is looking far ahead."
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ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS 1939
2 THURSDAY. All Souls' Day * * * This day in 1893 the Ward Line steamer, "City of Alexandria," burned en route from Havana to New York, and 30 lives were lost * * * The NY World, this day in 1899, advertised, "Young male goat, broken to harness" * * * In 1936 18 vessels were tied up in this Port by a seamen's strike.
3 FRIDAY. Panama Independence Day * * * Point to Remember: Nature has her own ways of staunching grievous wounds, so do not apply cobwebs, tobacco, mud or other styptics * * * This day in 1899, ex-Dock Commissioner Phelan, who had been abused by the NY World and who had sued for $75,000 damages, won his case and was given a verdict of $.06.
4 SATURDAY. Moon: Last Quarter-8:i2 a.m. * * * Italian Armistice Day * * * Vigorous campaigners, this night, will nail lies, refute insinuations and request the votes of enlightened citizens, only * * * This evening in 1928 a still- unidentified man or woman aimed a revolver at Arnold ^^s^ Rothstein, gambler, and shot him mortally. (^(^
Athletic endurance tests of various kinds are not a strictly modern idea. On Sept. ^, 1900, jjf-year-old Priscilla Higgins, of Fort Hamilton, swam the three treacherous miles of the Narrows in 2 hours and 5 minutes. None the worse for it, she made the other contemporary bathing girls look pretty sissy.
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1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
November
Polar bears are seldom found Swimming in Long Island Sound: While Eskimos are very rare In Central Park or Foley Square, t. s.
5 SUNDAY. Point to Remember: For quite understand- able reasons, subway tunnels running to the Bronx are not called Bronchial tubes * * * By this time in 1900 the town had forgotten the previous spring's punning, wherein Dr. Walter Damrosch said to Paderewski, in introducing him to a noted polo player: "The difference between you is that he is a polo player, and you a solo player," whereat Paderewski retorted with "It's more than that; I'm a poor Pole playing solo, and he's a dear soul playing polo." It doesn't sound like much now, but Father told it well.
6 MONDAY. If the Horse Show wasn't at the Garden the other day, it will be soon * * * This day in 1894 New York State's voters approved, for a time, the Constitution as re- vised by the Constitutional Convention.
7 TUESDAY. Election Day * * * U.P.'s exclusive Armis- tice was celebrated this day 2 1 years ago.
No liquor, though you plead and grieve. Unless you bought it yestereve.
M. W. W.
» WEDNESDAY. Montana Day * * * In 1900 Mrs. Russel Sage had this to say of "the good-fellow girl: "This new kind of girl has come upon the social horizon. She plays tennis and golf— talks about horses— is proud of her slang— isn't easily shocked— smokes a cigarette if she feels like it— has lost the sweet- ness, refinement, and dignity that make womanhood beautiful."
9«
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
9 THURSDAY. The sun will rise, no doubt, at 6:^^ today * * * There was no medical instruction in town until this day in 1767, when there were lectures at Kings College * * * On this day in 1899 the Park Board gave fair and impartial hear- ing to those zealots who wanted automobiles admitted to Central Park's carriage paths.
"fl ^^ FRIDAY. The Kings County Legionnaires hold their -*-^-^ annual Armistice Eve Ball at the St. George tonight * * * Standing this afternoon in 1936 on the site of the projected World's Fair, the Under-Secretary of State of France exclaimed, according to the NY Times, *'C'est magnifique! Epatant!" * * * This day in 1937 ^^^ Dept. of Docks was asked please to remove an old pier near Bellevue, as a menace to safety; it had burst into flames 30 times within the year.
1 1 SATURDAY. New Moon: 2:^4 a.m. * * * Armistice -"--■■ Day * * * Martinmas * * * This day in 1937 Mr. Sin- clair Lewis told the League for Political Education that it had happened here * * * "Julius Caesar" (Orson Welles) opened in mufti the same night.
The most talented sea lion in Greater New York is named Charlie, and lives in retirement at the Aquarium at the age of 21. For eighteen years Charlie was a star performer in the Huling sea lion act, and when Charlie got old, and vaude- ville times got a bit hard anyway, his horns and tambourines were given to a younger sea lion and he was told he could take it easy. Aquarium aficionados have found that Charlie, with a bit of encouragement, will still break into a hula or give his imitations of cows und horses; and the Aquarium doesn't object. Take a sea lion out of harness all of a sudden, they say, and he isn't worth a damn.
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1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
November
Now is the time, you may have guessed. That overcoats are cleaned and pressed. With mendings there, new buttons here. To make them last another year. m. w. w.
"f ^% SUNDAY. Concerts today, at i:^o and 8:4^, at the Fed- M.m^ era/ Music Theater * * * Today is the 10th anniversary of a bad day on the Stock Exchange, wherein 6,452,770 shares were traded in 3 hours, and the average drop was 16 points.
"I O MONDAY. You only have to the i^th to complain about M.^W your real estate valuations * * * James G. Birney was nominated for the Presidency by the Liberty Party this day in 1839, but was not elected * * * Calvin Coolidge pressed a button and opened the Holland Tunnel this day in 1927 * * * This day in 1929 the stock market was still worse * * * 1680 cows were astonished this day in 1930 when a Rotolactor was installed at the Walker-Borden bams, and milked them all in 7 hours.
M TUESDAY. Point to Remember: Sutton Place is nothing more than Avenue A with its socks pulled up * * * We're late in reminding you that the West Side Motor Highway was opened on Nov. 13, 1930; but no later than the highway itself. It was first proposed by Col. John Stevens, of Hoboken, in 1829.
"B Sf WEDNESDAY. Columbia's Winter Session is well under
-"-•^ way * * * It's the last day, too, for filing one's essay if
one desires an A.M. degree in December * * * This day in 1936
the liner "Washington" was picketed in New York Port by sea,
by land, and by air, by striking seamen.
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ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
1 ^ THURSDAY. "The Trylon is-more than just a beacon ^^9 to mark these fair grounds. It is a marker of ideals for the world to consider"— Grover A. Whalen * * * This night in igoo laborers from the Bureau of Incumbrances were told to tear down the Dewey Arch columns in Madison Square, and they did * * * This untrusting day in 1933 the first American Association for the Advancement of Atheism was incorporated.
1 ^ FRIDAY. Just ^8 days before Christmas * * * George •■- • Dangerfield will speak at Columbia U. * * * This day
in 1900 Gov. T. Roosevelt of New York State was being talked
about as Vice-Presidential material.
1 O SATURDAY. Moon: First Quarter-6:2i p.m. * * * It*s -■-'-^ time to start thinking about a turkey * * * This win- ter in 1895 the NY Tribune was able to report: "The People's Supply Depot at 204 Willoughby Ave. is doing creditable work in affording relief to poor people— through its aid a man can ^^^ live decently on $i.oo a week for food." ^J
Borough President Cyrus C. Miller of the Bronx and Commissioner of Public Works Thomas W. Whittle, also of that borough, picked the wrong time when they descended with their staffs into a new storm relief sewer under Webster Avenue on March 9, 1910. The tide came up while the inspection committee was down, and almost drowned every- body.
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1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
November
The sun shines on Thanksgiving Day So make your gastronomic hay; Just dive right in— don't be a skeptici What if you are a bit dyspeptic? w. d.
l| Q SUNDAY. St. Elizabeth (Hungarian) * * * This day in -*-*-^ 1919 the Prince of Wales was sightseeing in New York, without the Duchess of Windsor * * * A billygoat butted his way into an 8th Ave. subway car 3 years ago today, and rode for several stations before other passengers complained, and the con- ductor insisted he get off.
^^tffc MONDAY. Point to Remember: No operator of a bi- m^^W cycle shall permit passengers to ride upon the handle- bars, nor may he practice fancy riding upon a public roadway * * * On this day in 1902 Carry Nation got into the horse show and overturned tables and broke bottles and was pushed out.
^"j TUESDAY. This, if a normal Tuesday, will be the day ^^ ^ on which half the Broadway romancers of yesterday's WinchelVs column will have changed their minds, and will have phfft * * * On this day in 1900 there was an automobile race be- tween a steam runabout and a gasoline runabout, in a room in Grand Central Palace * * * This night in 1893 ^ special per- formance of "As You Like It" was given at Palmer's Theater, in which the cast was all female.
00 WEDNESDAY. St. Cecilia * * * Walter Gieseking plays ^^ ^^ the Town Hall piano this evening * * * This day in 1927 the State Court of Appeals upheld as just and warranted the convictions of Henry Judd Gray and Ruth Brown Snyder, for murder of Albert Snyder.
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ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
^O THURSDAY. It's just a week till Thanksgiving, now m^^3 * * * In Jersey City, this day in 1892, Nicholas Martin denied that he had been convicted previously for horse stealing, arguing that he had merely pleaded guilty to that offense, but the Judge decided he was a second-offender anyway * * * At a lec- ture in Brooklyn this same evening, Lieut. Totten announced that the millenium would take place in 1899, or at the very latest 28 years later. ^,^^^^_^^^ ^^^^
7 sometimes think it would be great To spit from off the Empire State. M. W. W.
^^/% FRIDAY. Point to Remember: If the bread is too fresh ^^ •*■ for cutting nice sandwiches put the loaf in the icebox for a while and you will have no trouble * * * By this day in 1922 the Ku Klux Klan had had 24 hours in which to disappear from the city or else * * * On this day in 1937 ^^- A- A. Brill, recom- mending pets as emotional outlets, opined that birds were better than fish, dogs better than either.
^ Sr SATURDAY. 5^ Catherine * * * Evacuation Day * * * ^^^ Football's Big Game Day * * * This day in 1864 John Wilkes Booth gave his last NY performance, as Marc Antony in "Julius Caesar."
The unusual width of Canal Street to- day is explained by the fact that an open canal ran through the center of it, serving as a waterway and draining Lispenard Meadows. About 182$ the stream was filled in, a sewer main tak- ing its place.
Fifty or so years ago, the dead end of Canal Street at the Hudson River was known as Suicide Slip, because of the number of melancholiacs who plunged from it into the river.
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1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
November
Thanksgiving brings a noble bird.
And turkey's quite the rage;
But not the turkeys we have heard
And seen upon the screen and stage, w. D.
O A SUNDAY. FullMoon-4:^4 p.m. * * * Professional Foot- ^■^^-^ bailers are in full stride * * * Point to Remember: A free though distant view of right field at the Polo Grounds is to be had from the rocky slope just below Edgecombe Ave, /^--x * * * NY's first Thanksgiving Day was this day in 1795. \~/
^%^ MONDAY. ]ust 28 days before Christmas * * * A letter ^^ • to the editor of the Tribune this day in 1892 held up to scorn those "Democrats, Populists, Prohibitionists and Anarchists (if, indeed, these do not include all the foregoing)" who "are voluble in their asseverations that this is the last of the great Republican party" * * * This morning in 1906 Geraldine Far- rar was reading pleasant notices concerning her Metropolitan debut as Juliet.
^O TUESDAY. Point to Remember: The sun rises in ^^^^ Philadelphia, Pa., 5 minutes after it rises in New York, N. Y., but this is not the real reason for preferring not to live in Philadelphia, Pa. * * * The first U.S. Government post office opened in this city, this day in 1783.
^Q WEDNESDAY. The New York Guild for the Jewish ^^■^ Blind holds its annual Thanksgiving Eve Ball * * * In 1832 this night a benefit was given at the Park Theater for John Howard Payne (author of "Home Sweet Home") who left NY as an unknown poor boy, and had returned as a well-known poor man.
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ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
9^ THURSDAY. Thanksgiving Day, with standard entree, ^^^9 a7id Macy's Parade * * * This day in 1899 Mr. and Mrs. James Cannon were preparing for Thanksgiving and had a few drinks and got in an argument about turkey vs. corned beef and Mr. C. picked up the turkey by its legs and whacked Mrs. C. over the head with it and the police came. tl «. •
I^ Thanksgttnng
December
Today the ladies blithely cry it's Time we ail went off our diets. G.N.
1 FRIDAY. Either you file your application today for one of Columbia's A.M.j M.S. orLL.M. degrees, or you don't get one * * * At about this time in 1937 the gravediggers' strike at Greenwood Cemetery ended and 25 bodies, which had been held in vaults, could be buried.
2 SATURDAY. Point to Remember: Now is a good time to cut those fence posts you will need next spring. In building the fence, it makes no difference which end of the post is put in the ground, except that the larger end should have the preference * * * Two years ago, this time. Magistrate Rudich, Brooklyn, discharged a young lady motorist who informed a policeman that he could go to hell, because "such a statement is neither a curse nor a wish, but a statement of fact."
Bargains, as announced in the public prints of April ip, ipoo: "Very stylish, handsome cob, gentle and reliable, fearless of all sights; has extreme style and ac- tion; been ridden and driven by a lady; price $150; also fast road horse, Wilford Boy, six years old; tail touches the ground; hand- somest horse on the speedway; can trot a full mile in 2:20, wears no boots; fij^."
<r^.2^
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1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
December
GIFT FROM A CYNIC
Dear Lass, accept this token of The costly Christmas season; I sense you don't endure my love For any other reason. m. w. w.
3 SUNDAY. Moon: Last Quarter-^ .'40 p.m. * * * St. Francis Xavier * * * First Sunday in Advent * * * Frances Hall and Rudolph Gruen, pianists, at Town Hall this afternoon * * * In 1936 4 Fred Smiths— a lawyer, a doctor, an advertising man and a radio promoter— organized the Benevolent and Protective and Completely Universal Order of Fred Smiths.
MONDAY. 5^. Barbara * * * It's open season for bears, and one may take one bear, but not right in this neigh- borhood * * * Mrs. John King Roosa, who had been assigned President Roosevelt's old NY telephone number, had her phone taken out this day in 1937 because nobody knew about the change and everybody called * * * This day in 1783 Washington said farewell to his officers, at Fraunces Tavern.
4
5 TUESDAY. Winter Sports Carnival opens at the Garden * * * This day in 1876 the Brooklyn Theater blazed and 296 died * * * An eel fisherman at Corlear's Hook, East River, this day in 1937 brought to the surface 5 mail bags which had been stolen from a mail truck the day before.
6 WEDNESDAY. St. Nicholas * * * Finnish Independence Day * * * Point to Remember: The BMT uses left- hand screw bulbs in all its cars, so they will prove worthless to petty thieves; the IRT and Independent aren't so suspicious, but policemen object, so don't.
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ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
7 THURSDAY. Chanukah begins * * * Point to Remem- ber: If you are settling down for a long day at the sew- ing machine, it pays to cover the treadle with a piece of carpet to keep your foot from slipping * * * The NY Evening Post, the city's oldest newspaper, was this day in 1933 sold to J. David Stern, publisher of the Philadelphia Record 8c Camden Courier & Post.
» FRIDAY. Yesterday was Delaware Day * * * In 1918, this day, we decided the war was over and took up the steel net which had been stretched across the Narrows ever since we entered the war, to catch submarines by the gills * * * This day in 1936 a NY fence who had received $2,880 worth of wigs, and had not found enough bald-headed men to sell them to, was caught with the goods, and got 20 years.
9 SATURDAY. Christmas Seals are on sale, almost any- where * * * Grover A. Whalen, President of New York World's Fair Inc. 1939, said: "More and more men are coming to think in these terms: that science is universal in its language."
No man was considered well dressed in the 'go's unless he possessed his own personal toothpick, which he wore at- tached to his watch chain or carried in a vest pocket. Many were engraved and encrusted with precious stones. Prices ranged pom 50^ to $1,000.
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1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
December
Shop, shop, until you drop- When will shopping ever stop? How we wish that you and I Did our shopping last July. m. w. w.
10
SUNDAY. Nice New Moon— 4:^^ p.m. * * * Federal Music Sunday Concerts continue on ^^th St., afternoon and evening * * * The Park Department put some fish in ^^ Castle Garden this day in 1890, so it became an aquarium. ^B^
"M 'M MONDAY. Only a fortnight to Christmas, and what -*--*- have you got for Aunt Harriet? * * * This day in 1937 Isador J. Gennett, Jewish newsdealer of the Bronx, arrived home after decorating the grave of Berlin's Unknown Soldier with rib- bons of the American Legion and the Jewish Veterans. It had taken him 3 hours to convince the Berlin police that no wisecrack had been intended.
~fl €% TUESDAY. Pennsylvania Day * * * With any luck, and ^^ if the "Almanac for New Yorkers" has figured right, there will he some Geminids flying around tonight * * * This day in 1937 Lt. Commander James Joseph Hughes, of this city, was severely wounded when the U. S. Gunboat "Panay" was sunk by Japanese planes in the Yangtze River.
1 O WEDNESDAY. Point to Remember: Do not cut the -■-^-^ leaves of your tomato plants to force growth into the fruit. Remember that the leaves of a plant constitute the factory that takes water and mineral elements from the roots and com- bines them with carbon dioxide and oxygen from the air to make the starch, sugars, proteins and fats * * * Barbara Hutton re- nounced her American citizenship and sailed back to Europe today in 1936, while Woolworth salesgirls picketed.
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ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS 1939
M THURSDAY. Alabama Day * * * Chanukah ends * * * One of the strangest of New York's "missing men" was Chancellor Lansing, a distinguished gentleman of 77 whose dis- appearance was recorded by New York papers of this date, 1829. It was presumed, on no real evidence, that he had been mur- dered * * * For the first time on Broadway, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," a propaganda play, was presented this night in 1858.
1 H^ FRIDAY. Federal Income Tax payment (2^%) is due -^-^^ today * * * George Dangerfield speaks at Columbia to- night * * * Yesterday, in 1902, died Julia Dent Grant, widow of the General. Her body now lies in the mausoleum, beside that of
her husband. Observation on the Transience of Life
Those long-sought snows of yesteryear Are gone for good, we sadly fear.
T. S.
1 £• SATURDAY. Sunrise this morning-y:!^ * # * NY's
-^^-^ Great Fire started this day in 1835; after two days 17
business blocks had been destroyed and the total property loss
was $20,000,000 * * * The Majestic Theater, this day in 1903,
employed women ushers, a brand-new job for the sex.
When the S.S. "Lapland" docked on Nov. 10, 192'], a New York detec- tive noticed that the ship's engineer, F. Lamont, was wearing extremely large shoes. He made F. Lamont take off his shoes, and f 100,000 worth of diamonds were in the toes, so F. Lam,ont went to jail.
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1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
December
"Peace on Earth" will come to stay When we persuade all men and frails To absolutely stay away From foreign wars and bargain sales, w. d.
11 1^^ SUNDAY. This is your last Xmas shopping week * * * -*- • The Museum of Natural History exulted, about this time 2 years ago, at the safe arrival of its Peking Woman skull, 500,000 years old * * * This day in 1916 President Wilson asked the belligerent European powers to help him make peace by say- ing why they were fighting; but they were too busy fighting to talk.
1 O MONDAY. Moon: First Quarter-4 .'04 p.m. * * * For-
"■"^^ mer Mayor A. Oakey Hall, turned actor and playwright,
appeared this night in 1875 in the leading role of his own ^^^
play, "The Crucible," and got nowhere. ^ J
~fl ^}k TUESDAY. Point to Remember: A few herbs planted at -■-•^ the edge of the garden will take up little room and will come in very handy for flavoring soups and salads during the win- ter. Mint, sage, catnip, thyme and horehound are just a few that are available * * * This day in 1871 A. L. Jones patented some- thing he called Corrugated Paper, and was rewarded well for his notion.
^^^^ WEDNESDAY. Just 4 more shopping days, counting ^^^ this one * * * About this time in 1677 the city fathers decreed: "There being some difference between the towns of Fflackbush and Bruecklyne conserninge theire bounder, the which they are both willing to reffer to Captain Jacques Cortelyou and Captain Richard Stilwell to decyde, the cort do approve thereoff —and order theire report to be determinative."
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ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
^1 THURSDAY. Forefathers' Day * * * St. Thomas' Day
m^K « * * j^hg Prospect Park Branch of the Y.M.C.A. gives
its annual Christmas party to ^^o Brooklyn children
today * * * This day in 1885 John L. Sullivan made his footlight
debut at the Third Ave. Theater * * * This day in 1937 died
Frank B. Kellogg, father of a pact outlawing war.
^^ FRIDAY. Winter starts today (1:06 p.m.) * * * Fast of ^^ ^^ Tebet * * * This is the shortest day in the year, so work fast * * * This day in 1920 there was formal announcement that the Fascist League of North America had given up its headquar- ters in New York City, and had disbanded.
i^ O SATURDAY. // you haven't finished your shopping to- ^^^^ day, you'll have to try the drugstores tomorrow * * * The local constabulary went to the Metropolitan Theater, 585 Broadway, this night in 1874, and told Mme. de Rochefoucauld, can-can dancer, that she was naughty * * * The police depart- ment got its Bureau of Alien Criminal Investigation under way this day in 1930.
"Repeating," in Big Tim Sullivan's opinion,
could almost be made an exact Tammany
science. If the polls were carefully watched
"guys with whiskers" were advisable. After
that a barber took off the chin-fringe. "Then
you vote 'em again with side-lilacs and
mustache. Then to the barber again and off
come the sides and you vote 'em a third time
with just a mustache." If that wasn't enough to elect the best man, they
could always be voted once more, clean-shaven. "That makes every one of
'em good for four votes," Big Tim pointed out.
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
December
So full my heart of Christmas cheer. So full my tummy, too, my dear; So full of joy the Christmas docket- So empty every aching pocket! w. d.
^^ /% SUNDAY. Christmas Eve * * * Prudent householders, • * desirous of having Yuletide eggnog, will not permit the ingredients to be tampered with beforehand, even the eggs * * * This day in 1908 Mayor McClellan, at the request of the city's rectors and pastors, revoked the licenses of 550 nickelodeons, so
there were no Christmas movies. J}]^ Christmas thing is quite the berries
When you are full of Tom and Jerries! W.D.
€^ flj MONDAY. Christmas * * * 100 newsboys and other ^^^9 youths without homes are entertained at dinner at the Brace Memorial Newsboys' House * * * Arthur Brisbane, news- man and columnist, died early this Christmas morning, in 1936.
^£t TUESDAY. Full Moon-6:28 a.m. * * * St. Stephen ^^\W * # # Only ^64 shopping days before Christmas * * * About this time 3 years ago readers of the NY Times learned: "I will try to help anyone who is sincerely searching for God to find him: no charge" * * * About this time in 1650 a law was passed requiring bakers to make standard weight loaves, and to use only pure wheat or rye flour. This was to silence complaints about the leanness of the common bread.
®
^^ WEDNESDAY. St. John * * * At this time in 1925 ^^ • experts were puzzled by a marble bust of August Caesar, apparently 1,900 years old, which was dredged out of the Hudson River bed opposite Rector St., and they are still puzzled.
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ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
Oft THURSDAY. Iowa Day * * * Holy Innocents' Day m^%W # * * In ^35^ jjjg Phrenological Journal offered its sub- scribers, for lo cents: "How to make the hair curl; Have Negroes souls?; Habits of good society; Second-hand love; also Phrenology, Physiognomy, Psychology, Anthropology and Ethnology; also Small Talk" * * * It was on this day in 1662 that Brooklyn's first schoolmaster arrived, and his name was Boudwyn Manout.
00 FRIDAY. Texas Day * * * Hockey's at the Garden and ^^y skating' s on the pond * * * Around this time in 1788 Jacob Astor, known as a shrewd man in a deal, became NY's first installment salesman, advertising: "Has just imported some ele- gant assortment of piano fortes which he will sell upon reason- able terms, he also buys and sells (for cash) all kind of furs."
30
SATURDAY. Automobile license plates do not have to be obtained today; they're good until Jan. ^ j * * * For night-club purposes , this is New Year's Eve * * * Three years ago today the NY Post Office rummaged around the "back room and found 400,000 letters and 8,000 packages in the dead letter divi- sion, and again did plea that the Christmas spirit isn't much good without a return address.
Alexander Mackraby, writing to a friend in England in iSyS, said of New Yorkers: "They have a vile practice here, which is peculiar to the city; I mean that of playing at backgammon, which is going forward in the public houses from morning till night, fre- quently a dozen tables at a time."
107
1939
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
December
11:59 P-M., NEW year's eve
Outside, a shouting, laughing mass. Tin Horns and tugboat whistles. In here, let each hold up his glass!— Whoopsl How this highball sizzles!— Wassail! But drown that noisy bloke. Sonorous, squiffed and sporty, Who tells again the thread-bare joke That life begins in '40. m. w. w.
O "M SUNDAY. New Yeafs Eve * * * If last night was up to ^^ ■■• standard NY spent over $10,000,000 on paper hats and beverages and does not rejoice today * * * This day in 1896 Police Commissioner Andrews took stock of his Bicycle Squad, and re- ported that since its inception the Squadsmen had made 1,366 arrests, including "civilian wheelmen who persisted in risking the limbs and lives of others by 'scorching' along the Park drives . . . and large numbers of those despicable creatures known as mashers."
MANHATTAN COCKTAIL
Manhattan is a chowder, Manhattan is a drink. Manhattan is a Kansas school Or so the Kansans think. Manhattan is a Brooklyn beach, A town, a firm of builders- Look what the Injuns sold the Dutch For four-and- twenty guilders!
M. w. w.
108
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
YOUR TIME IS THEIR TIME
lOPEM *U
OKU or
The statisticians have never done a thorough job on the subject, but it is probable that New York has more all-night institutions than any other city in the world. Turkish baths and cabarets are, of course, universally recognized as nocturnal establishments, but in addition to these orthodox rendezvous of the bed-shy we have all-night movies, courts of law, and, most important of all, drugstores.
For the benefit of those to whom might come, of an early hour, a poignant desire for a mus- tard plaster, a cough drop or a double-whipped malted with yeast and egg, The Almanac for New Yorkers lists— complete as of this date— those apothecaries and gadgetries of the three up-late boroughs which will fill your needs.
THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF DRUGSTORE LOCATIONS OPEN ALL OR PART OF THE NIGHT
Location Borough of Manhattan
8th Street & 6th Avenue
S.W. Corner 42nd Street & gth Avenue
N.E. Corner 49th Street & Lexington Avenue
755 7th Avenue (50th Street)
66th Street & Columbus Avenue
N.E. Corner 87th Street & Lexington Avenue
S.W. Corner 115th Street & Lenox Avenue
N.E. Corner 121st Street & 7th Avenue
N.W. Corner 129th Street & 8th Avenue
135th Street & Lenox Avenue
136th Street & Lenox Avenue
Borough of Brooklyn 6902 Third Avenue (Bay Ridge) 454 Fifth Avenue (9th Street) Gates Avenue & Broadway Clark & Henry Streets (St. George Hotel)
Borough of Bronx
850 East 169th Street
Hours Open All Night All Night All Night All Night All Night Until 2 A.M. All Night Until 2 A.M. All Night All Night All Night
All Night All Night All Night Until 2 A.M.
All Night 109
1939
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
LITERARY PRIZES
The number and value of prizes and awards offered annually for both prose and poetry have grown to the extent that they now constitute an important additional incentive to literary composition. Below are listed a variety of competitions of current interest.
Literary Prizes to Be Awarded in 1939-1940 (A selected list compiled from announcements by publishers and others)
TITLES AND PRIZES
REQUIREMENTS AND RECENT AWARDS
CLOSING DATES AND DONORS
Atlantic Prize
Non-Fiction
15,000
($3,000 prize and
|2,ooo in advance of
royalties)
. . Manuscripts of unpub- lished and unserialized works in English . . . trans- lations ineligible ... no en- try blanks . . . not less than 75,000 and not more than 150,000 words. . . ." 1935 Award: Old Jules, by Mari Sandoz.
May 1, 1939
Offered by: Atlantic Monthly Pre 8 Arlington Street, Boston, Mass.
Harper Prize Novel Contest
$7,500
($2,000 prize and
$5,500 in guaranteed
royalties)
". . . For the best novel sub- mitted by an American au- thor who has not published a novel in book form prior to Jan. 1, 1924. . . ." 1937 Award: The Seven Who Fled, by Frederic Pro- kosch.
Feb. 1, 1939
Offered by: Harper & Brothers, 49 East 33rd Street, New York, N. Y.
Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Award
$2,500 in addition to royalties
For the best manuscript
on any political, economic or social phase of contemporary American life. . . . Only those are eligible who have not previously published in book form. . . ." Write for circular. No award in 1938. 1937 Award: The Supreme Court and the National Will, by Dean Alfange.
January 6, 1939
Offered by:
Doubleday, Doran & Co., Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Award Commit- tee, Garden City, L. I., N. Y.
110
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
TITLES AND PRIZES
REQUIREMENTS AND RECENT AWARDS
CLOSING DATES AND DONORS
Literary Fellowships
Two at $1,000 each in addition to royalties
". . . For any book project, fiction or nonfiction . . . for men and women of literary ability. . . ."
Write for application blank. 1937 Fellows: Dorothy Baker of El Cerrito, Cal., and David Cornel Dejong of New York, N. Y.
April 1, 1939
Offered by: Houghton, Mifflin Co. 2 Park Street, Boston, Mass.
Pulitzer Prizes (ten)
4 at $ 500
5 at $1,000 1 at $2 ,000
". . . P'or distinguished ser- vices, writing and cartoon- ist's work in the field of journalism (5 prizes). . . . For best novel. . . . Original American play. . . . Best U.S. history. . . . Best American biography. . . . Best volume of verse ... (5 prizes). . . ." 1938 Awards: Novel: The Late George Apley, by John Phillips Marquand. 1937. Drama: Our Town, by Thornton Wilder. Sea- son 1938. History: The Road to Reunion, by Paul Buck.
1937-
Biography: Andrew Jack- son: Portrait of a President, by Marquis James. 1937. Pedlar's Progress: The Life of Bronson Al- COTT, by Odell Shepard. 1937-
Poetry: Cold Morning Sky, by Marya Zaturen- ska. 1937.
Awards are usually made in May for work published during preceding calendar year ending Dec. 31, sub- mitted by February 1 fol- lowing.
Offered by:
Pulitzer Prize Committee,
c/o Secretary,
Columbia University,
116th Street and Broadway,
New York, N. Y.
O. Henry Memorial
Award Prize Stories
(three)
$300 for best short
story $200 for next best $100 for best short
short story
". , . A selection of the year's best magazine stories, to be published in book form . , . chosen from maga- zine stories published dur- ing 1938-1939. . . ."
Open contest
Offered by:
Doubleday, Doran & Co.,
Garden City, L. I., N. Y.
Ill
1939
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
TITLES AND PRIZES
REQUIREMENTS AND RECENT AWARDS
CLOSING DATES AND DONORS
Guggenheim Fellow- ships
(58 in 1938)
Stipends normally $2,500 for a year of work
Fellowships "in any field of knowledge and for creative work in any of the fine arts, including music ... for work eitherin the U.S. or abroad."
Write for prospectus and ap- plication blank.
October 15, 1939 (selections are made in 1940) Offered by:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Henry Allen Moe, Secretary General, 551 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y.
Centennial Prize Competition
$5,000
($2,000 prize and
$3,000 in advance of
royalties)
"Any American author eligi ble. . . . Only manuscripts of unpublished works, type written in English, of ap proximately 40,000 to 200, 000 words . . . subject mate rial must be American. . . Not necessarily historical."
1938 Award: Young Doctor Galahad, by Elizabeth Sei fert.
February 1, 1939
Offered by:
Dodd Mead & Co.,
Centennial Prize Competi
tion,
449 Fourth Avenue,
New York, N. Y.
Red Badge Prize Competition
$1,000
(on account of royal
ties earned by the
book)
"For the best mystery— de- tective novel of 1938 . . . not less than 50,000 words."
1937 Award: Fast Company, by Marco Page.
December 1, 1939
Offered by: Dodd Mead & Co. Red Badge Prize Competi- tion,
449 Fourth Avenue, New York. N. Y.
John H. Dunning Prize
$150
"Typed MS which has never been published, or printed work published subsequent to Dec. 31, 1935 . . . based on original sources not previ- ously exploited ... so origi- nal that it presents a con- tribution to historical schol- arship."
Apply for detailed sperifica-
June I, 1940
Offered by:
Dunning Prize Committee, American Historical Asso- ciation,
226 South 16th Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
112
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
TITLES AND PRIZES
Rhodes Scholarships
About $1,500 a year for three years' study at Oxford University, England
REQUIREMENTS AND RECENT AWARDS
"Applicants must have had two years of college; must be males between 19 and 25, single, U.S. citizens and must have completed their sopho- more years."
Apply to Oxford University Press, Cambridge, England, for "Current Information on New Requirements."
CLOSING DATES AND DONORS
Open Contest
New York Sponsor: The State Education De- partment,
Committee of Selection of Rhodes Scholars in the State of N. Y., Albany, N. Y.
Julia Ellsworth Ford Foundation Annual Contest
$3,000
($1,000 prize and $2,000 advance in roy- alties)
"For the best manuscript for children submitted. Any author, whether formerly published or not, is eligible. Manuscript must never have been published before in any form. Can be either picture-book length, or novel length. Can be accom- panied by illustration if de sired."
1938 Award: Hello, The BoATi by Phyllis Crawford.
March 31, 1939 (Announcement of 1939 con- test to be made in Novem- ber)
Offered by:
The Julia Ellsworth Ford
Foundation,
Helen L. Hoke, Executive
Director,
257 Fourth Avenue,
New York, N. Y.
POETRY PRIZES
Awarded by "Poetry: A Magazine of Verse," 2^2 East Erie Street, Chicago, Illinois. The winners are chosen from contributions that have been published in the magazine during each year from the previous October to October of the following year.
HELEN HAIRE LEVINSON PRIZE of one hundred dollars, for a poem or group of poems by a citizen of the United States, published in "Poetry."
1937 Award: Louise Bogan of New York City for Three Poems, printed in
"Poetry" for November, 1936.
GUARANTORS' PRIZE of one hundred dollars for a poem or group of poems published in "Poetry."
1937 Award: W. H. Auden of Harborne, England, for Two Poems, printed
in "Poetry" for January, 1937.
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1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
OSCAR BLUMENTHAL PRIZE FOR POETRY of one hundred dollars for a poem or group of poems published in "Poetry."
1937 Award: Thomas Hornsby Ferril of Denver, Colorado, for Words for Leadville, printed in "Poetry" for October, 1936.
JEANNETTE SEWELL DAVIS PRIZE of one hundred dollars for a poem or group of poems by a young poet.
1937 Award: William Pillin of Chicago for his group of three poems. Walking Through Daylight, printed in "Poetry" for November, 1936.
HARRIET MONROE MEMORIAL PRIZE of one hundred dollars-to be given, at the judges' discretion, preferably for a sonnet or group of sonnets published in "Poetry."
1937 Award: Franklin Folsom of New York City, for his group of three poems, A Room in a House printed in "Poetry" for June, 1937.
HARRIET MONROE LYRIC PRIZE of one hundred dollars, for a lyric poem or group of lyric poems published in "Poetry."
1937 Award: Roger Roughton of London, England, for his poem Tomor- row Will Be Difficult, printed in "Poetry" for October, 1936.
MIDLAND AUTHORS' PRIZE of fifty dollars for work by a poet resident in one of the twelve midland states.
1937 Award: Stephen Stepanchey of Chicago, for his group of four poems. Facing the Day, printed in "Poetry" for February, 1937.
TO THE SIXTH AVENUE "EL"
Goodby to you, my favorite "El," Fifty years have you served me well; Carried my bundles, bags and crates— My household goods of whatever weights. You weren't supposed to— but always did. Now, wreckers are here. Goodby old kid I
R.K. 114
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
EXOTIC BLOOM FROM SUMATRA
New Yorkers were startled to learn, toward the end of May, 1937, of a gigantic plant which the New York Botanical Garden, in the Bronx, had long nurtured in one of its glassed-over conservatories. An importation from the humid jungles of Sumatra, it was Amorphophallus titanum and sounded like one of the wildest inventions of Huysmans. Described as an "inflorescence" rather than a flower, it had been brought from Sumatra 5 years before and then re- fused to put forth more than an uninteresting leaf or two. But now the maroon-lined spathe (looking like a sheath) was opening and at any moment the long-awaited yellowish green spadix would emerge for its hour of glory as a tapering column.
News photographers promptly sought admission to the hothouse to watch the spadix climb slowly out of the still tightly clinging spathe. On June 7 the spathe began to open, revealing its ma- roon interior, and the crush in the hothouse was terrific. Movie cameramen set up their appara- tus on a platform built around the margins. Scores of photogra- phers from papers and news agencies jostled one another in the misty 96-degree atmosphere. An almost unbearable stench emanated from the plant. The public was kept outside the glass walls.
On June 8 the spathe opened rapidly, swelling out from the spadix in only three hours so that the whole thing looked like a colossal jack-in-the-pulpit. Next
day the spathe reached its fuU development, the top turning outward to form a wide maroon tip. The huge cup 4 feet across and nearly 13 in circum- ference opened out, with an enormous yellow spike, over 8 feet high, rising from the center.
Having developed at top speed, Amorphophallus titanum now went into equally rapid decline. On June 11 the spathe started closing and the next day, like Camille in her big scene, the spadix collapsed. Disintegration was quick and inexorable. By June 15 the plant had closed up like a tight fist. A few days later it had decayed completely, not to bloom again for perhaps 10 years.
115
1939 ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
WHAT STREET IS THAT NEAR?
IN THIS AGE of restless wanderings, how can you be certain where some urgent call may take you? What guarantee have you that a feeble cry in the night, a sudden emergency call, or a "date" will not summon you hurriedly to 432 Fourth Avenue? For just such a circumstance, the following formula is offered to you (without any strings attached) to enable you and your loved ones to locate street numbers on Manhattan's north-and-south thoroughfares. Here's how. . . . Drop the last digit in the street number, leaving, in the case of 432 Fourth Avenue, 43. Divide this by 2 and then add the secret code- number given below for Fourth Avenue, and the result is the crosstown street nearest your destination. In the case of 432 Fourth Avenue, the street is 29I/4 which gives you a choice of either 29th or 30th. Now you try one.
I
Here are the key-numbers:
Amsterdam Avenue + 60
Avenue A + 5 Avenue B + 3 Avenue C + 3 Avenue D + 3 '
Broadway — 31
Central Park West: Divide the house number by 10 and add 60
Columbus Avenue + 60
Eighth Avenue +10
Eleventh Avenue +15
Fifth Avenue +17: From Broadway to 57th Street
Fifth Avenue — Opposite Central Park: Divide the house number
by 10 and subtract 18 Fifth Avenue + 45: From 1 10th Street to Mt. Morris Park Fifth Avenue + 24: From Mt. Morris Park to 140th Street First Avenue + 4 <
Fourth Avenue + 8 Lenox Avenue +111 Lexington Avenue + 22 Madison Avenue + 26 Manhattan Avenue + 99 Ninth Avenue + 13 Park Avenue + 35
116
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
1939
Riverside Drive: Divide the house number by 10 and add 72
Second Avenue + 3
Seventh Avenue +12: From Greenwich Avenue to Central Park
Seventh Avenue + 20: North of Central Park
Sixth Avenue + 4: From 3rd Street to Central Park (Old Nos.)
Sixth Avenue — 13: From 3rd Street to Central Park (New Nos.)
St. Nicholas Avenue +111 Tenth Avenue +13
Third Avenue + 9 West End Avenue + 60
Incidentally, 432 Fourth Avenue is the address of the publishers of this book.
I think that I shall never spy
A real New Yorker from N.Y.
The most New-Yorker-looking men
Are born in Calif., Miss., or Tenn.,
While such true natives as occur
Seem to have come from Rus. or Ger.
M. W. W.
BIRTHSTONES
As listed by the late Dr. George F. Kunz
|
Ancient |
Modern |
|
|
January |
Garnet |
Hyacinth |
|
February |
Amethyst |
Amethyst |
|
March |
Jasper |
Bloodstone |
|
April |
Sapphire |
Diamond |
|
May |
Agate |
Emer?ld |
|
June |
Emerald |
Agate |
|
July |
Onyx |
Ruby |
|
August |
Carnelian |
Topaz |
|
September |
Chrysolite |
Beryl |
|
October |
Aquamarine Pearl |
|
|
November |
Topaz |
Topaz |
|
December |
Ruby |
Bloodstone |
As listed by American National Retail Jewelers' Association
Garnet (Constancy and Fidelity) Amethyst (Sincerity) Aquamarine (Courage & Truthfulness) Diamond (Innocence) Emerald (Happiness) Pearl (Health and Long Life) Ruby (Contented Mind) Sardonyx or Peridot (Felicity) Sapphire (Wisdom) Opal or Tourmaline (Hope) Topaz (Fidelity)
Turquoise or Lapis Lazuli (Prosperity and Success)
117
1939
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS
HIGH PITCH
New Yorkers are treated to any number of free shows, and one of the most entertaining is the performance put on by the medi- cine-men who rent stores to ped- dle their wares. "You don't have to buy," they reassure the gawk- ing throng who crowd before the platform; "will you step a little closer, please?" They are the "high pitchmen" who "give away" little packages of cure-alls for "a small advertising fee." Every high pitchman (high in contrast to the "low pitchman," whose scanty equipment is set up on the sidewalk) throws a spiel that lasts about an hour by way of warming up prospects for the sale. Some don Hindu or American Indian costumes, some are strong men who bend iron bars and thump their stomachs with iron fists. They will damn drugstores and advertised products of every description, meanwhile warning you that you are ready for the grave unless you try their genuine little packet of nature's herbs.
Masters of mob psychology, they know every trick for holding the crowd, including the use of veiled insults for anyone who dares to leave. Sometimes the spiel is enlivened by the presence on the platform of a comely girl in a bathing suit. She smiles demurely while the pitchman waxes learned about the functions of human organs and the dire penalty of their abuse. Or she may offer her hair for treatment of "Wonder Shampoo."
Pitchmen's professional language is colorful. A crowd is a "tip." The product on sale is called a "joint." If a drunkard spoils business he "blows the tip." A "red tip" is a profitable one.
The pitchmen lead nomadic lives and often join the entourage of a carnival. For theirs is the carnival spirit— a lot of entertainment and a lot of noisy ballyhoo to loosen the coins from your pocket.
118
ALMANAC for NEW YORKERS