Well, I'll be darned. Mr NYC's powers of prophesy have hit again.
In 2021 I blogged about the late 1980s Broadway musical Chess, about how it was a big spectacle with great songs and a muddled plot, and how it didn't last very long. Towards the end of my post I speculated (if I may be so gauche as to quote myself): "Maybe one day it'll come back to Broadway, if the plot can be brought under control and if there is interest in a show about something that clearly is now a historical era."
Guess what? There is a revival! Currently in previews and due to open on Broadway soon. And apparently it has an all-new book, a reworked story, which it very much needed.
Hmmmmm? Do you think perhaps the producers behind this revival saw my blog post and it sparked the idea to bring Chess back? Probably not. But a blogger can dream.
But wait, 'dere's more!
There's a new mini-series on Netflix called Death by Lightening about the 1881 assasination of President James Garfield. His Vice-President was Chester Arthur, former head of the Port of New York who become the 21st President of the United States and created the Civil Service.
I've blogged about Arthur a few times, including about the fact that he was the only other President besides Washington to take the oath of office in NYC. In this mini-series Arthur is played by Nick Offerman, giving this long overlooked historical figure his due -- but after Mr NYC gave it to him first.
Thirty years ago today, right here in NYC, the 37th President of the United States Richard Nixon died at the age of 81.
Like many, Nixon has always fascinated me -- he was perhaps one of the smartest people ever to become president and his rise from poverty in California to the heights of American power is truly astonishing. But he was so paranoid, so full of rage and anger, that he never seemed to enjoy his historic success or where his brilliant mind had taken him in life. Ultimately his rage and paranoia overwhelmed his genius and accomplishments, leading to his presidential and reputational demise.
But I come not to praise or criticize Richard Nixon but to bury him (again) along with the other US Presidents who have died in NYC. Nixon is the most recent of four presidents who expired within the five boroughs. The others are:
- James Monroe, 5th US President, died in NYC on July 4th, 1831 from heart failure at the age of 73.
- Chester Arthur, 21st US President, died in NYC on November 18th, 1886 from a stroke at the age of 57. He's also only one of two presidents (the other being George Washington) who took the oath of office in NYC as well.
- Herbert Hoover, 31st US President, died in NYC on October 20th, 1964 from an internal hemorrhage at the age of 90.
I won't speculate if any of the current living presidents will pass away in NYC but I can't think of a better place for someone who achieved America's highest office to go into their permament reward.
And how appropriate that a criminal case against another former president is opening today in NYC on the anniversary of the death of this other criminal president -- an accountability that Nixon himself managed to avoid.
In 2009, shortly after Barack Obama became president, I did a short blog post about the two presidents who were sworn into office in NYC -- George Washington in 1789 and Chester A. Arthur in 1881.
Everyone knows that Washington was sworn-in here but few probably knew about Arthur -- and I thought it would be cool to commemorate that.
Well, once again, Mr NYC was ahead of his time -- way ahead of his time. NY1 has just done a short story about Arthur's impromptu swearing in on Lexington Avenue and 28th Street. You can see it here.
As President Obama works towards achieving some of his goals during his first 100 days, the New-York Historical Society has a small but interesting exhibit on President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first 100 days of implementing the New Deal. In this era of partisan bickering and gridlock, it's amazing to see how much FDR and the Congress accomplished in only a few short months in 1933.
Also on the same floor is a tiny exhibit about George Washington's Inaugural in 1789 at the Federal Hall. It includes a May 1, 1789 newspaper article reporting on the event. Here's a quick trivia question: how many presidents have taken the oath of office in NYC? Answer: two. 1. George Washington (obviously) on April 30, 1789 at Federal Hall. 2. Chester A. Arthur at 123 Lexington Avenue (his home at the time) on September 20, 1881. President James Garfield had been shot by an assassin some time before and, after a protracted illness, died on this date. Vice-President Arthur assumed the presidency and served until 1885.
During my recent visit to the Transit Museum, I learned some wonderful historical trivia about NYC that I want to share. Also, I have a couple of other interesting present-day tidbits for you to enjoy.
Where did the Dodgers get their name? Before they were the LA Dodgers, this great baseball team was born and bred in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Dodgers were born in 1845 and went through a variety of names until 1911 when they were given the name the Trolley Dodgers. Because of the plethora of trolleys in Brooklyn, Manhattanites had derisively called Brooklynites "trolley dodgers" so Brooklyn decided to co-op the name and give it to their hometown team. In 1913, the name was shortened to Dodgers and the rest is baseball history -- namely, that the Dodgers went West in 1957, never to return.
Who was Elizabeth Jennings? Just imagine what NYC and America was like in 1854. Slavery was still legal in much of the country and segregation was everywhere, even here in NYC. On July 16 of that year, a young black schoolteacher named Elizabeth Jennings wanted to go to church. She was the organist and was running late so she tried to do something that no black person would ever dare do -- ride a streetcar. When she tried to get on, the conductor demanded she leave. The conductor and driver attacked her, called a cop, and she was forcibly ejected.
A proud woman from a proud family, she decided to sue the Third Avenue Railroad company. The incident gained some publicity and Jennings got an ambitious young lawyer to take her case.
She won. The court ruled that:"Colored persons if sober, well behaved and free from disease, had the same rights as others and could neither be excluded by any rules of the Company, nor by force or violence." From then on, the streetcars -- and later the subways and buses and all public transportation in NYC -- were desegregated. And even though America had a long way to go after that (ending slavery, ending Jim Crow laws, passing civil rights, electing the first black president), this was a small light in a dark era, and a proud moment in our city's history.
By the way, the name of the lawyer that represented her was a 24-year old named Chester Allen Arthur who later became president of the United States in 1881.
Moving on to the present day ...
What's this building? If you've ever been on 10th street and 6th avenue, you've probably seen this striking building and wondered about it. Well, here's a little history. Today it is called the Jefferson Market Library but it used to be the Jefferson Market Courthouse. Built between 1874-1877, one of the architects of this building was Calvert Vaux who helped design Central Park with Frederick Law Olmstead. After the building was abandoned as a courthouse in 1945, it lay empty and was targeted for demolition. However, a community activist named Margot Gayle led an effort to save it -- and was assisted by the great writer Lewis Mumford and the poet e.e. cummings. Who would have thunk it? And thank god they did. This wonderful building is now a National Historic Landmark, protected for history and our children.
The NYC of "24": I have never seen -- nor plan to -- the TV show "24." Somehow a show that openly endorses the use of torture and has a neanderthal mentality isn't my cup o'tea. That said, this season, from what I understand, the show is set in NYC and is "redrawing" the map of Manhattan. In fairness to "24", this is not the first show or movie to tinker with the geography of the city. The New York Times provides a short write-up and a map about how Hollywood has re-mapped our fair city.
