A Look at St. Patrick's Day Parade’s Lower East Side Roots

St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Union Square, c. 1874. Source: Library of Congress.

St. Patrick holds a special place in the hearts of many New Yorkers. Not only is he the primary patron saint of Ireland, he is also the adopted patron saint of the Archdiocese of New York, so it is no surprise that tens of thousands of people show up every year just to participate in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade—while spectators run into the millions.

Though very little documentation exists about the life of St. Patrick, the narrative which has become universally accepted is that the former slave rose to great prominence in the 5th century, bringing Christianity to Ireland. One famous legend states that St. Patrick taught the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) utilizing the symbol of the three-leaf shamrock.

By the 10th century, a Roman Catholic holiday in honor of St. Patrick was celebrated in Ireland annually on what is considered to be the anniversary of his death, March 17. It wasn’t until the 18th century that an official parade was organized in St. Patrick’s honor and that took place over 3,000 miles from his homeland, here in Lower Manhattan.

Though it is thought of as the oldest and largest non-military parade in the nation, details about when New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade started are just as fluid as the legend of St. Patrick itself.

READ FULL ARTICLE at the LO-DOWN: http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2013/03/a-look-at-st-patricks-day-pardaes-lower-east-side-roots.html

A Brief History of Public Housing on the Lower East Side

New York Times, February 1938.

[This is our latest article written exclusively for the Lo-Down.]

When the City Planning Commission formed on January 1, 1938, one of its primary initiatives was to revitalize the most poverty-stricken neighborhoods of New York City. After identifying the Lower East Side waterfront as one of the Big Apple’s neediest districts, the commission proposed amending long-standing zoning regulations in order to restore property values, to encourage new construction and to raise the standard of living for thousands of families.

Plans were drawn to rezone a stretch of Manhattan coastline—extending half a mile inland—between the Brooklyn Bridge and East 14^th Street. This area served as the city’s primary industrial district for over a century, at various times hosting the largest concentration of stables, factories, warehouses, and coal, lumber and iron yards in the city. However, by the 1930s, these industries had moved on, leaving the long-neglected “Dry Dock District” an unsightly amalgam of abandoned piers and crumbling tenements, where some of the New York’s poorest families lived in hazardous, unsanitary conditions.

READ FULL ARTICLE: http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2013/03/a-brief-history-of-public-housing-on-the-lower-east-side.html

The Food Riots of February, 1917

Protestors at the steps of City Hall in February, 1917.
Source: International Socialist Review, April 1917/Library of Congress.

In February of 1917, thousands of local women organized to combat sharply rising food prices. Spurred on by well-known anarchist and socialist leaders, many protesters turned violent and wreaked havoc on local businesses for several days.

READ FULL ARTICLE, written by LESHP exclusively for The Lo-Down:
http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2013/02/les-history-the-food-riots-of-1917.html

"Vintage Bowery" fundraiser, March 20, 2013

This is an important fundraiser for Bowery preservation efforts. Honorary hosts include Martin Scorsese, Luc Sante and Angela Westwater. (LESHP's Eric Ferrara is on the host committee.)

Cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, live Performances and a VIP guest list all for a really good cause. Well worth the min $125 ticket price, if you can swing it :)

Vintage Bowery
A Benefit to Celebrate the Designation of The Bowery Historic District to the National Register of Historic Places
Wednesday, March 20, 2013, 7:00PM – 9:00PM
@ The Bowery Hotel, 335 Bowery, New York City

Honorary Hosts Luc Sante Martin Scorsese Angela Westwater

Host Committee Kent Barwick, Chair Simeon Bankoff Ellie Covan Sara Driver Eric Ferrara Joe Franklin  Michael A. Geyer Frank Giresi Margaret Halsey Gardiner Bob Holman Jim Jarmusch

Host Committee (cont.) Tom Klem  James Macklin Jay Maisel Joyce Mendelsohn Mick Moloney Richard Moses Joseph Perrotta Lisa Phillips Nicholas Quennell Peter Quinn Marci Reaven Mike Wallace

Tickets and Sponsorship Information: http://tinyurl.com/vintagebowery2013
*Please RSVP by Friday, March 15th. For More Information, (212) 566-2729

D.D. Badger Iron Works, 14th Street, 1850s

Source: Library of Congress

Here is an 1850s image of the D.D. Badger & Co. iron works foundry, formerly located at the East River between E.13th and E.14th Streets. Back when Alphabet City was an industrial district, very little of the neighborhood was residential. For over a century, the East Side hosted at times the largest concentration of factories, stables, warehouses, coal, lumber and iron yards in the city.

Daniel D. Badger, who the New York Times called a "pioneer of this country in the use of iron for building purposes," opened at this location by 1854, soon growing to employ 400 men and produce 400-500 tons of building iron per year. Some of the work of his company, Architectural Iron Works, can still be seen today:

36 Walker Street in 2009. Source: http://www.waltergrutchfield.net

Read more about D.D. Badger, his foundry and work at http://www.waltergrutchfield.net/badger.htm

Looking at the Lower East Side’s Presidential Connections

George and Martha Washington’s mansion at 3 Cherry Street. Source: New York Historical Society.

We've written an article in honor of Presidents' Day, which covers over 200 years of presidential connections to the Lower East Side.

Written exclusively for the Lo-Down, this is the first post in what we hope will be a long series. Give us positive feedback and they'll keep coming :)

Check it out: http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2013/02/looking-at-the-lower-east-sides-presidential-connections.html

LESHP makes NewYork.com's "12 tours locals will love" list

Thank you NewYork.com! Five LESHP tours made their "12 tours locals will love" article...

"New Yorkers have a reputation for rolling their eyes when it comes to tours of the city. After all, when you live here, why  pay money to walk around your own backyard? As it turns out, there are fascinating, information-packed tours out there  even skeptical NYC locals are sure to love. These journeys of discovery will leave the know-it-alls wide-eyed and impressed, and give visitors and residents alike a fresh perspective on their surroundings."

http://www.newyork.com/articles/tours/12-tours-even-locals-will-love-60244/

Vintage photos of winter in New York City

In honor of this weekend's Snowstorm Nemo, here are some images of New York snowstorms from a century ago.

West Street, 1899



Click below for the rest of the photos...

Eric Ferrara makes cover of GIA newspaper

LESHP director Eric Ferrara is featured with Italian American Museum founder Dr. Joseph Scelsa on the cover of this month's Giornale Italo Americano -- a popular and unique newspaper written in both Italian and English.

Ferrara was in Little Italy on January 31, 2013 for a standing-room only presentation for his new book, Lower East Side: Then & Now.

 

Eric Ferrara at the Italian American Museum

Thank you to the Italian American Museum (155 Mulberry Street) for hosting a book signing/presentation last night with LESHP director Eric Ferrara, who was promoting his new book, Lower East Side: Then & Now.

Eric Ferrara at the Italian American Museum, January 31, 2013

New book: "Lower East Side: Then & Now"

We are proud to announce the release of a new book by Lower East Side History Project's Eric Ferrara and David Bellel, entitled Lower East Side: Then & Now, published by Arcadia Publishing.

Using side-by-side images, Ferrara and Bellel compare drastic changes over the last century to select local storefronts and street scapes by presenting dozens of rare and previously unpublished photographs, along with an historical summary of each photo based on original research.

Lower East Side: Then & Now also features "now" images by local photographer Shirley Dluginski and an insightful foreword by historian Joyce Mendelsohn, author of The Lower East Side Remembered and Revisited.
 

The Villager covers "Lower East Side: Oral Histories" book launch

A new book, Lower East Side Oral Histories, is a compilation of interviews by Nina Howes and edited by Lower East Side History Project's Eric Ferrara.

On November 30, 2012, several people involved in the book gathered for a launch party at Duo Multicultural Arts Center. We thank The Villager for covering the event! Read the article.

Above, from left, Nina Howes with interviewees James Galuppo, Nilda Rivera, Jan Lee, Joe Preston, Rebecca Lepkoff, Frankie Alexander and Markian Surmach, son of the late Myron Surmach, who was interviewed for the book.
Copyright Tequila Minsky/The Villager