Automats, taxi dances, and vaudeville : excavating Manhattan's lost places of leisure / David Freeland.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Freeland, David.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Historic buildings--New York (State)--New York.

Historic buildings.

Theaters--New York (State)--New York--History.

Theaters.

New York (N.Y.)--Buildings, structures, etc.

New York (N.Y.).

New York (N.Y.)--Social life and customs.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (298 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, 2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Winner of the Publication Award for Popular Culture and Entertainment for 2009 from the Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society in America Named to Pop Matters list of the Best Books of 2009 (Non-fiction)From the lights that never go out on Broadway to its 24-hour subway system, New York City isn't called "the city that never sleeps" for nothing. Both native New Yorkers and tourists have played hard in Gotham for centuries, lindy hopping in 1930's Harlem, voguing in 1980's Chelsea, and refueling at all-night diners and bars. The slim island at the mouth of the Hudson River is packed with places of leisure and entertainment, but Manhattan's infamously fast pace of change means that many of these beautifully constructed and incredibly ornate buildings have disappeared, and with them a rich and ribald history. Yet with David Freeland as a guide, it's possible to uncover skeletons of New York's lost monuments to its nightlife. With a keen eye for architectural detail, Freeland opens doors, climbs onto rooftops, and gazes down alleyways to reveal several of the remaining hidden gems of Manhattan's nineteenth- and twentieth-century entertainment industry. From the Atlantic Garden German beer hall in present-day Chinatown to the city's first motion picture studio—Union Square's American Mutoscope and Biograph Company—to the Lincoln Theater in Harlem, Freeland situates each building within its historical and social context, bringing to life an old New York that took its diversions seriously. Freeland reminds us that the buildings that serve as architectural guideposts to yesteryear's recreations cannot be re-created—once destroyed they are gone forever. With condominiums and big box stores spreading over city blocks like wildfires, more and more of the Big Apple's legendary houses of mirth are being lost. By excavating the city's cultural history, this delightful book unearths some of the many mysteries that lurk around the corner and lets readers see the city in a whole new light.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 A Round for the Old Atlantic.

2 Chinatown Theater.

3 A Roof with a View.

4 Caretakers of Second Avenue.

5 If You Can Make ’Em Cry.

6 Tenderloin Winners and Losers.

7 A Theater of Our Own.

8 Rise and Fall of the Original Swing Street.

9 The Strike Invisible.

10 Last Dance at the Orpheum.

11 Nights of Gladness. (Billy Rose’s Diamond Horseshoe)

Epilogue

A Note on Sources

Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780814728543

0814728545

9780814727898

0814727891

9781441622921

1441622926

OCLC:

443273400