Manhattan at Mid-Century: An Oral History
Experience the mosaic of mid-century Manhattan in this exuberant oral history that begins in the post–World War II years when the city came into its own, and ends in the mid-1970s when it nearly went bust. This is the story of a time when great ocean liners were docked in the Hudson River ports, Checker cabs hurtled across a two-way Fifth Avenue, and the Third Avenue el cast long shadows onto the street below. There are recollections of Friday night boxing matches at the old Madison Square Garden, of peddling tunes in the heart of Tin Pan Alley at the Brill Building, of a Harlem that had a nightclub on every corner, and a SoHo that was saved from a wrecker’s ball by a “bunch of mothers.” Eleven daily newspapers covered the city beat back then, Automats and five-and-dimes were in each neighborhood, and the New York Philharmonic performed free summer concerts at Lewisohn Stadium on the City College campus. Zabar’s was a small dairy store; Balducci’s was an open-air fruit and vegetable stand. New York was becoming the center of haute cuisine and haute couture; the New York School of abstract expressionists had taken the lead from Paris in avant-garde art.

This transformative time when New York City became the capital of the world is captured here in myriad memories that create an often humorous, sometimes poignant, occasionally bitter—but always loving—testament to the magical mystique of Manhattan. Includes interviews with Jimmy Breslin, Bill Gallo, Monte Irvin, Robert Merrill, Herman Badillo, Elaine Kaufman, Jerry Della Femina, Pauline Trigère, Sirio Maccioni, Jane Jacobs, Saul Zabar, Margaret Whiting, and many more.
1115236786
Manhattan at Mid-Century: An Oral History
Experience the mosaic of mid-century Manhattan in this exuberant oral history that begins in the post–World War II years when the city came into its own, and ends in the mid-1970s when it nearly went bust. This is the story of a time when great ocean liners were docked in the Hudson River ports, Checker cabs hurtled across a two-way Fifth Avenue, and the Third Avenue el cast long shadows onto the street below. There are recollections of Friday night boxing matches at the old Madison Square Garden, of peddling tunes in the heart of Tin Pan Alley at the Brill Building, of a Harlem that had a nightclub on every corner, and a SoHo that was saved from a wrecker’s ball by a “bunch of mothers.” Eleven daily newspapers covered the city beat back then, Automats and five-and-dimes were in each neighborhood, and the New York Philharmonic performed free summer concerts at Lewisohn Stadium on the City College campus. Zabar’s was a small dairy store; Balducci’s was an open-air fruit and vegetable stand. New York was becoming the center of haute cuisine and haute couture; the New York School of abstract expressionists had taken the lead from Paris in avant-garde art.

This transformative time when New York City became the capital of the world is captured here in myriad memories that create an often humorous, sometimes poignant, occasionally bitter—but always loving—testament to the magical mystique of Manhattan. Includes interviews with Jimmy Breslin, Bill Gallo, Monte Irvin, Robert Merrill, Herman Badillo, Elaine Kaufman, Jerry Della Femina, Pauline Trigère, Sirio Maccioni, Jane Jacobs, Saul Zabar, Margaret Whiting, and many more.
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Overview

Experience the mosaic of mid-century Manhattan in this exuberant oral history that begins in the post–World War II years when the city came into its own, and ends in the mid-1970s when it nearly went bust. This is the story of a time when great ocean liners were docked in the Hudson River ports, Checker cabs hurtled across a two-way Fifth Avenue, and the Third Avenue el cast long shadows onto the street below. There are recollections of Friday night boxing matches at the old Madison Square Garden, of peddling tunes in the heart of Tin Pan Alley at the Brill Building, of a Harlem that had a nightclub on every corner, and a SoHo that was saved from a wrecker’s ball by a “bunch of mothers.” Eleven daily newspapers covered the city beat back then, Automats and five-and-dimes were in each neighborhood, and the New York Philharmonic performed free summer concerts at Lewisohn Stadium on the City College campus. Zabar’s was a small dairy store; Balducci’s was an open-air fruit and vegetable stand. New York was becoming the center of haute cuisine and haute couture; the New York School of abstract expressionists had taken the lead from Paris in avant-garde art.

This transformative time when New York City became the capital of the world is captured here in myriad memories that create an often humorous, sometimes poignant, occasionally bitter—but always loving—testament to the magical mystique of Manhattan. Includes interviews with Jimmy Breslin, Bill Gallo, Monte Irvin, Robert Merrill, Herman Badillo, Elaine Kaufman, Jerry Della Femina, Pauline Trigère, Sirio Maccioni, Jane Jacobs, Saul Zabar, Margaret Whiting, and many more.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781589799059
Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing
Publication date: 09/06/2013
Pages: 320
Sales rank: 698,830
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Myrna Katz Frommer and Harvey Frommer met as undergraduates at New York University. The coauthors of five critically acclaimed oral histories, they are cultural historians with a focus on New York City. They are also professors in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program at Dartmouth College. They live in Lyme, New Hampshire and Manhattan.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the New Edition xi

Cast of Characters xv

Prologue xxi

Part 1

1 On the Sidewalks of New York 3

Childhood reminiscences from the Upper West Side, Harlem, Yorkville, Times Square, and the Lower East Side

2 I Want to Be a Part of It 29

Winning auditions for the Philharmonic and the Met; landing a job at the New York Times; coming to MoMA from Portland, Oregon, and to Barnard from Brooklyn; running the streets for the Mercury Messenger Service; wearing "the uniform" at Katie Gibbs

3 If I Can Make It Here … 47

Reaching for the stars: stories of Zabar's, Russ and Daughters, and Balducci's; making a name on Madison Avenue; bringing the Beatles to Carnegie Hall; discovering a calling in SoHo

Part 2

4 Puttin' on the Ritz 73

Food: Le Pavilion launches a gastronomic revolution; from the Colony to Le Cirque; Fashion: Inside Harper's Bazaar, New York steals the crown from Paris; from Sophie's Salon at Saks Fifth Avenue to sewing skins in the fur district

5 Sanctuaries in the City 105

The glorious choirs of Harlem churches; getting the call to the priesthood; the Brotherhood Synagogue and the Jewish motor of New York

6 High Culture or "Who the Hell Is de Kooning?" 117

The art and music scene in the postwar years: from the abstract expressionists to Andy Warhol and pop art; memories of the great conductors; summer serenades at Lewisohn Stadium; the move from Carnegie Hall and the Met to Lincoln Center

7 Making Music 141

Memories of Tin Pan Alley, Atlantic Records and the record industry, and working as an usher at the Fillmore East

8 East Side, West Side 163

Stories from the neighborhoods: the Upper West Side, Chelsea, Greenwich Village, and Harlem

9 All around the Town 197

When New York had eleven-plus dailies; the life of a reporter; Walter Winchell and Ed Sullivan; gangsters and the sporting life at the old Madison Square Garden; nightlife from Toots Shor's to Elaine's to Irish pubs to nightclubs to theater

Part 3

10 Politics as Usual 229

New York mayors from Wagner to Beame; changing demographics; the financial crisis of '75; urban renewal; Roosevelt Island

11 Looking at New York through Its Buildings 251

The changing look of New York; the Third Avenue El comes down, the white apartment houses go up; preservation movements: the saving of the Jefferson Market Courthouse in Greenwich Village; the creation of SoHo

Reprise 269

If You Live Long Enough …

P.S. 281

Index 283

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